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Arch of Titus

This article is about the main arch of Titus on the Via Sacra. For the one by the Circus Maximus, see Arch of Titus (Circus Maximus).

The Arch of Titus (Italian: Arco di Tito; Latin: Arcus Tītī) is a 1st-century AD honorific arch,[1] located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 81 AD by Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus's official deification or consecratio and the victory of Titus together with their father, Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea.[2]

Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus, showing the "Spoils of Jerusalem" relief on the inside arch
Arch of Titus is located in Rome
Arch of Titus
Arch of Titus
Shown within Augustan Rome
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
LocationRegio X Palatium
Coordinates41°53′26.5812″N 12°29′18.906″E / 41.890717000°N 12.48858500°E / 41.890717000; 12.48858500
Typehonorific arch
History
BuilderEmperor Domitian
Foundedc. 81 A.D 1942–1943 years ago

The arch contains panels depicting the triumphal procession celebrated in 71 AD after the Roman victory culminating in the fall of Jerusalem,[2] and provides one of the few contemporary depictions of artifacts from Herod's Temple.[3] Although the panels are not explicitly stated as illustrating this event, they closely parallel the narrative of the Roman procession described a decade prior in Josephus' The Jewish War.[4][5]

It became a symbol of the Jewish diaspora, and the menorah depicted on the arch served as the model for the menorah used as the emblem of the State of Israel.[6]

The arch has provided the general model for many triumphal arches erected since the 16th century. It is the inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.[7] It holds an important place in art history, being the focus of Franz Wickhoff's appreciation of Roman art in contrast to the then-prevailing view.[8]

History

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Based on the style of sculptural details, Domitian's favored architect Rabirius, sometimes credited with the Colosseum, may have executed the arch. Without contemporary documentation, however, attributions of Roman buildings on the basis of style are considered shaky.[9] The brother and successor of Titus built the arch despite being described as hateful towards Titus by Cassius Dio.[10]

The medieval Latin travel guide Mirabilia Urbis Romae noted the monument, writing: "the arch of the Seven Lamps of Titus and Vespasian; [where Moses' candlestick is having seven branches, with the Ark, at the foot of the Cartulary Tower"].[11][12]

During the Middle Ages, the Frangipani family added a second story to the vault, converting it into a fortified tower;[13] beam holes from the construction remain in the panels.[14] A chamber was built in the upper half, and the roadway was lowered to expose the travertine foundations.

Pope Paul IV (papacy 1555-9), having established the Roman Ghetto in the bull Cum nimis absurdum, made the arch the place of a yearly oath of submission, forcing Jewish elders to kiss the feet of each newly-crowned pope.[15]

In 1716, Adriaan Reland published his De spoliis templi Hierosolymitani in arcu Titiano Romae conspicuis, in English: "The spoils of the temple of Jerusalem visible on the Arch of Titan at Rome".

It was one of the first buildings sustaining a modern restoration, starting with Raffaele Stern in 1817 and continued by Valadier under Pius VII in 1821, with new capitals and with travertine masonry, distinguishable from the original marble. The restoration was a model for the countryside of Porta Pia.[13][16]

At an unknown date, a local ban on Jews walking under the arch was placed on the monument by Rome's Chief Rabbinate; this was rescinded on the foundation of the State of Israel in 1947, and at a Hanukkah event in 1997 the change was made public.[17][18][19] The arch was never mentioned in Rabbinic literature.[20]

Description

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Architecture

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Front view
 
Detail of the central soffit coffers
 
South inner panel, close-up of relief showing spoils from the fall of Jerusalem
 
North inner panel, relief of Titus as triumphator

The arch is large with both fluted and unfluted columns, the latter being a result of 19th-century restoration.[21]

Size

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The Arch of Titus measures: 15.4 meters (50 ft) in height, 13.5 meters (44 ft) in width, 4.75 meters (15.5 ft) in depth. The inner archway is 8.3 meters (27 ft) in height, and 5.36 meters (17.5 ft) in width. [22]

Decorative sculpture

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The spandrels on the upper left and right of the arch contain personifications of victory as winged women. Between the spandrels is the keystone, on which there stands a female on the east side and a male on the west side.[21]

The soffit of the axial archway is deeply coffered with a relief of the apotheosis of Titus at the center. The sculptural program also includes two panel reliefs lining the passageway within the arch. Both commemorate the joint triumph celebrated by Titus and his father Vespasian in the summer of 71.

The south inner panel depicts the spoils taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. The golden candelabrum or Menorah is the main focus and is carved in deep relief.[23] Other sacred objects being carried in the triumphal procession are the Gold Trumpets, the fire pans for removing the ashes from the altar, and the Table of Showbread.[21] These spoils were likely originally colored gold, with the background in blue.[21] In 2012 the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project discovered remains of yellow ochre paint on the menorah relief.[24]

The north inner panel depicts Titus as triumphator attended by various genii and lictors, who carry fasces. A helmeted Amazonian, Valour, leads the quadriga or four horsed chariot, which carries Titus. Winged Victory crowns him with a laurel wreath.[21] The juxtaposition is significant in that it is one of the first examples of divinities and humans being present in one scene together.[21] This contrasts with the panels of the Ara Pacis, where humans and divinities are separated.[21]

The sculpture of the outer faces of the two great piers was lost when the Arch of Titus was incorporated in medieval defensive walls.[21] The attic of the arch was originally crowned by more statuary, perhaps of a gilded chariot.[21] The main inscription used to be ornamented by letters made of perhaps silver, gold or some other metal.

Inscriptions

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Original inscription

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The inscription

The original inscription is attached to the east side of the Arch. It is written in Roman square capitals and reads:

SENATVS

POPVLVSQVE·ROMANVS
DIVO·TITO·DIVI·VESPASIANI·F(ILIO)

VESPASIANO·AVGVSTO

(Senatus Populusque Romanus divo Tito divi Vespasiani filio Vespasiano Augusto),[25] which means

The Senate and the Roman people (dedicate this) to the deified Titus Vespasian Augustus, son of the deified Vespasian."[26]

1821 inscription

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The opposite side of the Arch of Titus received new inscriptions after it was restored during the pontificate of Pope Pius VII by Giuseppe Valadier in 1821. The restoration was intentionally made in travertine to differentiate between the original and the restored portions.

The inscription reads:

INSIGNE · RELIGIONIS · ATQVE · ARTIS · MONVMENTVM

VETVSTATE · FATISCENS
PIVS · SEPTIMVS · PONTIFEX · MAX(IMVS)
NOVIS · OPERIBVS · PRISCVM · EXEMPLAR · IMITANTIBVS
FVLCIRI · SERVARIQVE · IVSSIT

ANNO · SACRI · PRINCIPATVS · EIVS · XXIIII

 
Arch of Titus, photographed around 1880.

(Insigne religionis atque artis, monumentum, vetustate fatiscens: Pius Septimus, Pontifex Maximus, novis operibus priscum exemplar imitantibus fulciri servarique iussit. Anno sacri principatus eius XXIV), which means

(This) monument, remarkable in terms of both religion and art,
had weakened from age:
Pius the Seventh, Supreme Pontiff,
by new works on the model of the ancient exemplar
ordered it reinforced and preserved.

• In the 24th year of his sacred rulership. •

Architectural influence

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Works modelled on, or inspired by, the Arch of Titus include:

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The Arch in Art

See also

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External videos
  Smarthistory - Arch of Titus[29]
Related to the Jewish revolt
Related to Roman triumph and the Arch

References

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  1. ^ It was not a triumphal arch; Titus's triumphal arch was in the Circus Maximus.
  2. ^ a b "The Arch of Titus". exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  3. ^ The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel, Steven Fine, 2016
  4. ^ Rocca, Samuele (2021-06-14). "Flavius Josephus and the Arch of Titus: Commemorating the Jewish War in Word and Stone". The Arch of Titus. BRILL. pp. 43–54. doi:10.1163/9789004447790_006. ISBN 9789004447790. S2CID 240655021. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  5. ^ DesRosiers, Nathaniel (2019-09-01). "Another Temple, Another Vessel: Josephus, the Arch of Titus, and Roman Triumphal Propaganda". Near Eastern Archaeology. 82 (3). University of Chicago Press: 140–147. doi:10.1086/704960. ISSN 1094-2076. S2CID 204473434.
  6. ^ Mishory, Alec. "Israel National Symbols: The State Emblem". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  7. ^ Diana Rowell (23 August 2012). Paris: The 'New Rome' of Napoleon I. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-1-4411-2883-6.
  8. ^ Holloway, R. Ross. “SOME REMARKS ON THE ARCH OF TITUS.” L’Antiquité Classique, vol. 56, 1987, pp. 185. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41656878 Archived 2022-12-31 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 31 Dec. 2022.
  9. ^ Triumphal Arch of Titus, 17 January 2022, archived from the original on 2023-09-05, retrieved 2023-09-05
  10. ^ "Cassius Dio — Epitome of Book 67". Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  11. ^ In English https://archive.org/stream/marvelsromeorap00nichgoog#page/n50/mode/2up; in Latin: "Arcus septem lucernarum Titi et Vespasiani, ubi est candelabrum Moysi cum arca habens septem brachia in piede turris cartulariae", Mirabilia Urbis Romae, page 4
  12. ^ For a review of historical references to the Arch of Titus, see: Élisabeth Chevallier, Raymond Chevallier, Iter Italicum: les voyageurs français à la découverte de l'Italie ancienne Archived 2023-03-26 at the Wayback Machine, Les Belles Lettres, 1984, ISBN 9782251333106, pages 274–291
  13. ^ a b A Let's Go City Guide: Rome, p. 76, Vedran Lekić, 2004; ISBN 1-4050-3329-0.
  14. ^ De la Croix, Horst; Tansey, Richard G.; Kirkpatrick, Diane (1991). Gardner's Art Through the Ages (9th ed.). Thomson/Wadsworth. p. 232. ISBN 0-15-503769-2.
  15. ^ Stille, Alexander (2005). Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi rule, 1922-1945. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-521-84101-6.
  16. ^ The Buildings of Europe: Rome, page 33, Christopher Woodward, 1995; ISBN 0-7190-4032-9.
  17. ^ Sotto l' arco di Tito la festa degli ebrei Archived 2018-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, la Repubblica, 23 December 1997. Accessed 27 July 2019.
  18. ^ Festa di Channoukà Archived 2018-11-29 at the Wayback Machine: Celebrazione dei 50 anni dello Stato d'Israele presso l'Arco di Tito alla presenza delle autorità e della Comunità israelitica romana. On Radio Radicale website, 23 December 1997. Accessed 27 July 2019.
  19. ^ Morton Satin, a division director at the Food and Agriculture Organization published an article in The Forward, stating that he had successfully "stirred up had triggered considerable deliberation within Rome's Jewish community" for a public end to the ban: Satin, Morton (2013-12-01). "One Man's Campaign Against the Arch of Titus — and How It Changed Italy's Jews". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2014-12-24. Retrieved 2014-07-30. According to an ancient ban placed on the monument by Rome's Jewish authorities, once a Jewish person walks under the arch, he or she can no longer be considered a Jew... the chief rabbi of Rome had told the Israeli Embassy that the original ban was no longer valid, since an independent State of Israel had been established. Unfortunately, no one who knew about the ban had ever been informed of its abrogation!
  20. ^ Steven D. Fraade, The Temple as a Marker of Jewish Identity Before and After 70 CE: The Role of the Holy Vessels in Rabbinic Memory and Imagination, p. 246. "the Arch of Titus is never mentioned in rabbinic sources... there are several references to second-century rabbinic viewings of captured Temple objects in Rome"
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Artus, Paul (2006). Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire. Bellona Books. pp. 45–48. ISBN 978-0-9582693-1-5.
  22. ^ "Arch of Titus, Rome - Building Info". Aviewoncities.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  23. ^ Ermengem, Kristiaan Van. "Arch of Titus, Rome". A View On Cities. Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  24. ^ "Center for Israel Studies | Yeshiva University". Yu.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  25. ^ CIL 6.945
  26. ^ a b c d e Dr. Jeffrey Becker. "The Arch of Titus". Khan Academy website. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  27. ^ "The Dewey Arch". Rochester New York Democrat and Chronicle (via newspapers.com). 29 September 1899. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Fusiliers' Arch in Dublin, Ireland". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  29. ^ "Arch of Titus". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2012.

Further reading

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  • R. Ross Holloway. "Some Remarks on the Arch of Titus". L'antiquité classique. 56 (1987) pp. 183–191.
  • M. Pfanner. Der Titusbogen. Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1983.
  • L. Roman. "Martial and the City of Rome". The Journal of Roman Studies 100 (2010) pp. 1–30.
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Arch of Titus
 
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  Media related to Arch of Titus at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Arch of Septimius Severus 		Landmarks of Rome
Arch of Titus 		Succeeded by
Arcus Novus
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