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Arch of Titus

Center for Israel Studies

The Arch of Titus Project

The Arch of Titus Project is a multi-faceted exploration of the Arch of Titus, a triumphal arch built in Rome to commemorate the victory of the Roman general, later emperor, Titus, in the Jewish War of 66-74 CE. One of the most significant Roman artifacts to have survived, the Arch of Titus has been of continuing significance for both Jews and Christians for nearly two millennia. The image of the seven-branched menorah that appears on the Arch is now a symbol of the State of Israel.

 

The Arch of Titus in Rome
Arch of Titus Book Cover

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome-and Back

The Arch of Titus (Brill 2021) assembles an international array of scholars to explore the Arch in all of its complexity. This volume celebrates an exhibition mounted at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Museum and is the final statement of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Arch of Titus Project.

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome-and Back

The Arch of Titus in New York

The Arch of Titus in New York

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Menorah at the Met

The Menorah at the Met

Coloring the Arch of Titus

Our coloration of the Arch of Titus in Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2017. 

Coloring the Arch of Titus

Cousera Course

The Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah explores one of the most significant Roman monuments to survive from antiquity, from the perspectives of Roman, Jewish and later Christian history and art.

Cousera Course

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ logo

International Conference

A symposium on the Arch hosted by Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­â€™s Center for Israel Studies and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Museum in 2017

International Conference

Students of Prof. Fine

Menorah Myth Busters

When Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ senior Ari Rosenberg signed up for a summer school course on the Arch of Titus, he was just trying to fulfill his last history requirement with what sounded like an interesting class taught by Dr. Steven Fine. 

 

Menorah Myth Busters

The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel

Harvard University Press 2016

The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel

Arch of Titus Book Cover

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome-and Back

The Arch of Titus (Brill 2021) assembles an international array of scholars to explore the Arch in all of its complexity. This volume celebrates an exhibition mounted at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Museum and is the final statement of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Arch of Titus Project.

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome-and Back

The Arch of Titus in New York

The Arch of Titus in New York

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Menorah at the Met

The Menorah at the Met

Coloring the Arch of Titus

Our coloration of the Arch of Titus in Biblical Archaeology Review May/June 2017. 

Coloring the Arch of Titus

Cousera Course

The Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah explores one of the most significant Roman monuments to survive from antiquity, from the perspectives of Roman, Jewish and later Christian history and art.

Cousera Course

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ logo

International Conference

A symposium on the Arch hosted by Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­â€™s Center for Israel Studies and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Museum in 2017

International Conference

Students of Prof. Fine

Menorah Myth Busters

When Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ senior Ari Rosenberg signed up for a summer school course on the Arch of Titus, he was just trying to fulfill his last history requirement with what sounded like an interesting class taught by Dr. Steven Fine. 

 

Menorah Myth Busters

The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel

Harvard University Press 2016

The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel

The Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum

Constructed soon after the death of Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 81 CE, the Arch of Titus commemorates the Roman triumph awarded to Emperor Vespasian and to Titus, his son and heir, for their victory in the Jewish War (66-74 CE). The most historically important element of the Arch’s iconography is the display of spolia from the war, including such sacred vessels from the Jerusalem Temple as the seven-branched Menorah and the Table of the Showbread. The first-century CE Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes the triumph and the deposition of these artifacts in Rome, and they are also mentioned in later Rabbinic literature. The menorah on the Arch of Titus was chosen as the symbol of the State of Israel in 1949.

The Arch Spoils Relief

The Digital Restoration Project

In June 2012, an international team of scholars organized by the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Center for Israel Studies assembled at the Arch of Titus and scanned its bas reliefs for evidence of their ancient colors. Using UV-VIS Absorption Spectrometry, our team of international historians and scientists looked for traces of color on the spoils relief so as to digitally restore what the Arch would have looked like in full color.

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ logo at the Arch
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