Triumphal Procession in Rome

Defeat of the Jews played an important role in bolstering Vespasian’s legitimacy when he came to power during the Roman civil war in 69 CE. To commemorate Vespasian and Titus’ subjugation of Judaea, special coins with the inscription IUDAEA CAPTA (“Judaea captive”) were minted. Josephus describes the grand celebratory triumph of Vespasian and Titus in Rome in 71 CE—quite literally a spectacle. Scholars suggest that the grandeur of the event was more appropriate to the celebration of a conquest of new lands than to the subjugation of territory that was already part of the empire. Josephus recounts the enormous floats designed to retell the story of the rebellion and the Roman victory, the spoils taken from Judaea and the Temple, and the procession to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, where Simon bar Giora is executed as the enemy commander in chief. After the triumphs, Vespasian builds a temple in which to display artistic masterpieces, including those taken from the Temple of the Jews.