Part
2: The striking of coins in first-century Palestine
During the
1st century CE, the Romans ruled the world in which Christ lived. Following
the death of Herod the Great (fig. 2) in the year 4 BCE, the kingdom was divided
among his three sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip. Herod's title
of King of the Jews was not bestowed upon his sons, who received a lower rank.
Herod Archelaus received the most significant inheritance, and with the endorsement
of the Emperor Augustus, was named Ethnarch (ruler of the people) of Judea,
Samaria and Idumea. Jerusalem was his capital city, and he also inherited
the city's established mint, which continued to strike coins similar in style
and technique to those issued by his father, Herod.
The end of
the Second Temple period was marked by a great deal of spiritual ferment.
Relations between Herod Archelaus and the Jews deteriorated, and riots and
murderous acts broke out. In response, Augustus sent Quirinius, the Syrian
procurator, to depose Archelaus and impose order on Judea, before turning
it into a Roman province. He also conducted a census for purposes of collecting
taxes for the Roman treasury.
In 6 CE, a new administration
run by Roman procurators was established in Judea. This administration continued
uninterrupted until the Jewish War of 66 CE, aside from the short rule of
Agrippa I (37-43 CE). Like his grandfather Herod, Agrippa was a king under
the patronage of Rome. Unlike Herod, however, he saw himself as a Jewish
king
concerned with Jewish interests in Eretz Israel and in the Diaspora, and
he tried to rule in accordance with the will of the Jewish people. The course
of his reign is reflected in the coins he struck.
Click
to view enlarged
Fig. 2: Prutah of King Agrippa I depicting three
ears of corn and bearing the date "Year 6", 41-42 CE
Collection of the Kadman Numismatics Pavilion, K-5755 |
|
At first,
Agrippa was granted only the territories previously held by Philip, and he
minted his first coins from the capital Paneas. In 38 CE, after Caligula became
the Roman emperor, Agrippa took over rule of the territories held by Antipas
as well, and he apparently coined his next series of coins in 39 CE in Tiberias.
In 41-42 CE, Caligula granted Agrippa authority over Jerusalem and Samaria,
and he minted the famous prutahs of the "Year 6" in Jerusalem (fig.
2). Agrippa died suddenly in 43 CE, leaving his 16-year-old son, Agrippa 11,
as heir to the throne. Though in the past, kings and emperors had ascended
the throne at such a young age, in this case the Romans chose to grant control
of Judea to Roman procurators. These Roman procurators, who ruled Judea from
6 CE until the Jewish war in 66 CE, with an interval during the reign of Agrippa
1; also assumed the right to mint coins.
The spirit
of compromise between the Jewish people and the Roman administration prevailed
during the period of the first procurators. Many people were still overcome
with hatred for Herod and his dynasty and did not detect any deterioration
in their conditions under the new regime. The role of the procurators was
to supervise tax collection and judicial proceedings. To whatever extent possible,
they avoided clashing with or antagonizing the local population. This sensitivity
is also apparent in the coins they issued, which do not feature any portraits
whatsoever and do not differ from issues struck by local authorities. Symbols
for the coins were also selected from an assortment of topics that would not
offend the religious sensitivities of the Jews, at least up until the rule
of Pontius Pilate (26-36 CE).
During the
reign of Pontius Pilate, relations between the Roman government and the Jews
took a turn for the worse, and it was during this period that Christ was tried
and crucified in Jerusalem. Pilate's activities, chronicled in many literary
sources, provide insight into the personality of this complex figure as well
as illuminate the nature of his coinage. The image that emerges from these
sources reveals a mixture of good will and creative rule combined with continuous
disputes, misunderstandings and a lack of perception regarding local sensibilities.
Christian sources present Pilate as someone who sought to save Christ, as
a righteous ruler who claimed innocence but was forced to give in to pressure
exerted by the Jews. This position is contrasted by Jewish sources, such as
Josephus Flavius, who present Pilate as a despotic ruler known for his cruelty
and his ignorance of Jewish traditions and attitudes.
An example
of the ambivalent attitude of Pilate's government toward the Jews can be seen
in the large building and development projects instituted during his reign
contrasted with actions taken against the Jewish religion. This ambivalence
was also expressed in Pilate's coins: like his predecessors, he continued
to mint prutahs without the portrait of the emperor, but he also minted coins
bearing vessels used in pagan rites, such as the lituus (augural staff) and
the simpulum (a ladle for libations). These patterns were insulting to the
Jewish religion.
Diverse
and complex events that occurred during the 1st century CE combined to bring
about the Jewish War of 66 CE. Josephus places direct responsibility for
the
deteriorating conditions on the procurator Florus (64-66 CE), whose frequent
provocation led to irate responses on the part of the Jewish people and weakened
the moderate government. Coins were minted in Jerusalem immediately after
the outbreak of hostilities. The striking of Jewish silver shekels was thus
a declaration of war and of political sovereignty as well. During the five
years of the war, silver shekels and halfshekels were struck (fig. 3). The
coins bear the war years, from Year "1" to Year "5," but
they do not bear the names of the leaders of the revolt. In addition, a variety
of bronze coins were minted, the most prevalent being the prutah. These coins
bore war slogans, such as "Freedom of Zion" and "Redemption
of Zion."
|
From:
Christianity on Coins of the Holy Land, Exhibition Catalog, Eretz
Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, 2000. |
Part 1: Monetary system during Temple times
ll
Part 3:
The fall of Jerusalem and the Bar Cochba War
