The Arch of Titus
A marble arch at the foot of the Palatine in Rome, put up under Domitian in memory of his brother Titus. A relief inside the archway shows Roman soldiers carrying the spoils of the Jerusalem temple in triumph, among them the seven-branched lampstand.
The arch stands at the foot of the Palatine, on the edge of the Roman Forum. According to the body that looks after it, it was built by Domitian in memory of his brother Titus, whom the inscription on the side facing the Colosseum already calls deified, to celebrate his triumph in the Jewish war. That places it after the death of Titus in AD 81.
Two relief panels line the passage. One shows Titus in his chariot, crowned by a winged Victory. The other shows soldiers carrying the spoils taken from the temple of Jerusalem: the silver trumpets, the table of the showbread and the menorah. The scene agrees with the description of the triumph by Josephus, who names the golden table and the lampstand among the objects carried in procession. The arch is a victory monument and shows the event as the victors wished it to be seen. See the Jewish Revolt and the Destruction of the Temple.
Cited in
- AD 66 to AD 70, firm date