There are some incredibly rare coins that are worth a lot of money. While each of these coins tells a story, one coin that was recently discovered has an incredible story that is still important today. The coin is 2,000 years old and was found in Jerusalem. Read on to find out why it is so important.
2,000 years ago Jerusalem was under Roman rule as was much of Europe, the North of Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The height of the Roman Empire came in 117AD. In 132 AD a Jewish man named Shimon Ben-Kosiba led an armed conflict against the Roman Empire for the Judean people. He was known by the name Bar Kokhba which means Son of the Star. Many at the time believed he was the next messiah and he created a massive following.
Over the next four years, the Bar Kokhba revolt took place. During this time the Jewish people started to press their own insignia into Roman coins, declaring them coins of Jerusalem instead. One of these coins was found recently in Jerusalem itself. This is the fourth such coin to have been found within the city parameter and it is causing historians to question their history.
2,000 historic coins to date have been recovered within the city and only four have held the Bar Kokhba marking. There have been many other Bar Kokhba revolt coins discovered but all away from the city. This is because it was the aim and ambition of the group to reclaim Jerusalem but they spent much of the time of the revolt far outside the city.
There is some debate as to whether they held the city for some time or ever broke through at all. To date, the majority of historians have believed that they never held the city. Some now argue that the coins are proof that they were inside city walls. Others argue that Roman soldiers likely took them back home from battle zones with them.
Whether they were successful or not for a short time is unknown. What is known is that they were causing significant casualties to the Roman army. Emperor Hadrian was forced to take notice of the war and recalled 35,000 soldiers from Britain over a two-year period to squash the revolt. The Bar Kokhba revolt came up against the might of the Roman Empire.
Bar Kokhba himself was killed during the fighting and the entire Jewish army was laid waste. After the defeat, the remaining Jews were sold into slavery and forbidden from living in Jerusalem. Hadrian renamed the territory Syria Palestina. The records now show a total of 580,000 Jewish casualties.
It is incredible to consider that a battle that took place 2,000 years ago still holds such significance today. The ongoing battle between Israel and Palestine shows that the deep-rooted history of this area is still stopping peace from taking place. The war has lasted so long that both parties have now committed atrocities and both feel they have a claim to this land.
While history doesn’t hold the answers it does tell the story and show the shocking death toll that has taken place. The fighting has been taking place for more than 2,000 years and doesn’t look close to stopping. It is one of the greatest tragedies of our world.
The Bar Kokhba coin is an incredibly rare artifact and one of few that has survived to this day. It shows the passion of a small group that tried to stand up to the Roman Empire but ultimately failed. The Empire did eventually fall in 395AD. The size of the Empire had become difficult to maintain and in the end, they could not keep fighting on all fronts.
