Struck under Vespasian but in the name of his son Titus, this commemorative issue belongs to the extensive Judaea Capta series produced following the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the destruction of the Second Temple — an event Titus personally commanded. The series was minted across multiple denominations and continued for roughly a decade, functioning as sustained imperial propaganda celebrating the suppression of the Jewish revolt and the wealth it brought back to Rome.
RIC II.1 626 is among the scarcer Titus-obverse bronzes in the Capta group. Vespasian needed the victory badly; his claim to the purple rested almost entirely on military success, and the Jewish triumph financed the Colosseum.
Struck under Vespasian but in the name of his son Titus, this commemorative issue belongs to the extensive Judaea Capta series produced following the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the destruction of the Second Temple — an event Titus personally commanded. The series was minted across multiple denominations and continued for roughly a decade, functioning as sustained imperial propaganda celebrating the suppression of the Jewish revolt and the wealth it brought back to Rome.
RIC II.1 626 is among the scarcer Titus-obverse bronzes in the Capta group. Vespasian needed the victory badly; his claim to the purple rested almost entirely on military success, and the Jewish triumph financed the Colosseum.