Page 19 - Torch Magazine #24 - Spring 2024

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eventually concluded that victory would come by starving out the Jews barricaded inside Those who tried to to escape were tortured After Passover that year Titus gave the the the order to to to attack catapulting boulders into the the the city ramming the the the walls with battering rams and and and fighting Jewish defenders in in in in hand-to-hand combat Eventually after months of attacking Jerusalem the the the Roman troops set fire to the the the Temple and Titus ordered the the the the complete destruction of the the the city Troops plundered the the the Temple taking gold and silver spoils spoils Titus distributed the the spoils spoils among his troops in celebration and forced many captured Jews to to fight gladiator battles for for entertainment Titus returned to Rome with around 50 000 Jewish slaves and hoards of of spoils It was a a a a a a a a a a a centrepiece of of Roman Roman Imperial culture for Roman Roman generals to parade
their their campaign success in in a a a a a a a a a a a triumphal procession displaying their their captives and and looted goods The ritual of of triumph and and retelling of of battlefield victory caught the the public’s imagination and boosted their support for overseas warfare Meanwhile the the the wealth and plunder gave them a a a a a a a a a a a fascinating window into the the the spectacle of far-away lands Titus’s triumphant entry was one of the most spectacular processions that Rome had ever seen The thousands of Jewish slaves and and plundered spoils were paraded victoriously for several days as Rome’s citizens lined the streets in in awe Titus’s triumphant procession was so memorable that an an arch commemorating the the parade
was commissioned by his brother Emperor Domitian in in in Titus’s honour in in in in AD AD 81 (Titus died in in in in AD AD 80) Located in in in in the the the the Forum the the the the heart of ancient Rome the the the the arch still stands on on the the the the main processional route and and is decorated with friezes depicting Titus’s victory parade
On On the the arch Titus Titus is depicted as a a a a a a a a deity – soaring on the the the wings of of an eagle One of of the the the reliefs depicts Jewish slaves bent over in in in in the the the procession carrying treasures from Jerusalem upon their shoulders including the the the the easily recognisable seven-branch menorah from the the the Jewish Temple the the the shewbread table and trumpets (originally painted yellow ochre) Make no mistake the commission was was not just a a a a a a celebration of victory it was was a a a a a a a deliberate effort to to humiliate the the Jewish people Depicting weak enslaved Jews carrying the the Holy Temple’s golden menorah through Rome was in every way antisemitic Visitors to to to the the arch today may also make another observation The carved procession of of Jews carrying the the the the Temple items is moving in in the the the the the direction of of the the the the the Colosseum which
is is is just across the the the the the road from the the the the the Roman Forum It is is is as if the the the architect is is is purposely leading us in in that direction The Colosseum had not been built when the procession of Jewish slaves took place however the the connection is is not coincidental The Colosseum was directly funded from the the the spoils of of of the the the Roman siege of of of Jerusalem The building of of of the the the Colosseum began between AD AD 70-72 immediately after the the destruction of of Jerusalem and was completed in in AD AD 80 a a a a a a a year before the the unveiling of of the the arch Revisionist history plays down this important fact but it is is is is is well documented that the the Colosseum was built to commemorate the the destruction of Jerusalem Jerusalem and was funded by Jerusalem’s plunder possibly including items from the the Temple Some historians have gone further in in in in saying that some of the the construction materials were also from Jerusalem Moreover it it is widely accepted that it it was built largely by