First Jewish Revolt coinage refers to the series of coins minted by

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

rebels during the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, the War of Destruction, or the Jewish War, was the first of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Fought in the prov ...

(66–73 CE). Produced primarily in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, these coins adopted distinctly Jewish symbols, such as pomegranates, ''lulavs'' (palm branches), and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

inscriptions in the

paleo-Hebrew script The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...

proclaiming messages like "For the Freedom of

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

" and "Jerusalem the Holy." The coinage, which included silver '' shekels'' and bronze denominations, marked a revival of Jewish political independence, with years dated according to the revolt. Beyond their economic role, the coins served as a symbol of resistance against Roman rule and an assertion of Jewish sovereignty and economic freedom. The coins have been known since medieval times, where they were often described as having Samaritan inscriptions. They were attributed to the First Jewish Revolt in the mid-20th century.

History

In the Revolt's first year (66–67 CE), the Jews minted only silver coins, which were struck from the Temple's store of silver. This was the first instance of silver coinage in Jewish history. The newly minted silver coins included shekels, half-shekels, and quarter-shekels, each being labelled with the year of minting and their denomination.Silver shekel of the First Jewish Revolt from Rome in the British Museum
/ref> and depict a

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

on the

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

with the year of the revolt above, surrounded by the ancient

inscription "Shekel of Israel". Three budding

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

s are featured on the reverse, with the inscription "Jerusalem the Holy".Coins from the First Revolt on Jewish Virtual Library
/ref> During the second (67–68 CE) and third (68–69 CE) years of the Revolt

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

prutah coins were issued, depicting an

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

, and with the date and the Hebrew inscription (חרות ציוןhola Herut Zion)"The Freedom of Zion". In the fourth year of the revolt (69–70 CE) three large sizes of bronze coins were minted, possibly because the supplies of Temple silver were diminishing. It is believed by numismatists that these coins were fractions of a

shekel A shekel or sheqel (; , , plural , ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre, Carthage and Hasmonean Judea. Name The wo ...

. The smaller of these coins also has the depiction of a chalice, together with symbols of the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

, a

lulav ''Lulav'' (; ) is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other Species are the '' hadass'' ( myrtle), ''aravah'' (willow), and ''etrog'' (citron). When bound together, ...

and

etrog Etrog (, plural: ; Ashkenazi Hebrew: , plural: ) is the yellow citron (''Citrus medica'') used by Jews during the weeklong holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and ''Aravah (Sukkot), aravah'', th ...

, and the date and inscription "For the Redemption of Zion". This coin is usually called an 'eighth', probably being an eighth of a shekel. There is broad scholarly agreement that coins issued by the Judean government during the Revolt use an archaic Hebrew script and Jewish symbols including pomegranate buds,

s, and phrases including "Shekel of Israel," and "The Freedom of Zion" (חרות ציון Herut Zion,) as political statements intended to rally support for independence. The medium size coin has the same inscription, with the denomination "''reva''" (quarter) inscribed. An etrog is depicted on the obverse, and two lulav are on the reverse. The larger of the three bronze coins are inscribed "''chatzi''" (half). On the obverse a lulav and etrog are again depicted, with a palm tree and baskets on the reverse. These coins are sometimes referred to as 'Masada coins'.

Interpretation

According to historian David Goodblatt, the use of the term "Freedom to Zion" on circulating coinage aimed to convey the rebels' goals to the masses, mobilizing them to fight for Zion. This can be compared to the ideals expressed in modern

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, particularly in the anthem "

Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...

," suggesting that the rebels' ideology may be characterized as an early form of Zionism, "Zion nationalism." According to James S. McLaren, the names inscribed on the coins may represent three levels of identity: "Zion," referring to the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...

; "Jerusalem," signifying its location; and "Israel," denoting the new Jewish state with Jerusalem as its capital.

References

External links

Shekel of the First Jewish Revolt
in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

The Role of Coins in the First Jewish Revolt

{{First Jewish–Roman War, state=expanded 1st-century artifacts Ancient currencies First Jewish–Roman War Currencies of Israel Historical currencies, List of Coinage Numismatics

History

Interpretation

See also

References

Further reading

External links