A bronze certificate issued to a soldier 1,922 years ago is a remnant of Rome's military presence in the land of Israel (Courtesy of the Israel Museum)
Posted on 04/22/2012 8:41:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
We do not know the name of the Roman war veteran who owned this bronze certificate, which marked his discharge from active service 1,922 years ago. His name was engraved on the tablet when it was issued in Rome, but that part is missing.
We do know that he was discharged in 90 CE and that he served in one of the empire's combat units stationed in the unruly province of Judea. Because a Roman soldier served 25 years before being released, we can deduce that this anonymous fighter was in active service as a younger man during one of the key events in Jewish history: Rome's suppression of the Jewish revolt and destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. He might have been a participant.
The certificate, currently displayed along with other Roman military artifacts at the Israel Museum, was a copy given to the soldier -- the original remained the property of the government and would have been displayed in Rome, on the Capitoline Hill or in the Forum. It was issued, the text informs us, in the name of the emperor Domitian, identified here as "Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, son of the deified Vespasian, Pontifex Maximus."
The inscription also identifies the commander of Rome's forces in Judea at the time, an imperial administrator named Titus Pomponius Bassus, who was known to scholars from other records. Bassus spent several years as a governor in Anatolia, and later ran a government program in southern Italy that offered incentives to encourage childbirth, according to a 2003 article in the museum's journal, Studies in Archaeology, which first published details of the certificate after its acquisition. But this tablet was the first indication that Bassus had ever been governor of Judea.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...
A bronze certificate issued to a soldier 1,922 years ago is a remnant of Rome's military presence in the land of Israel (Courtesy of the Israel Museum)
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks lbryce. |
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Love this. Thanks for sharing.
A great post for all Freepers saving their discharge papers to show their spouse that accuses them of starting down the road to being a hoarder.
Roman-related stuff is always welcome.
Ummm, this plaque is a remnant of the pagan Roman Empire.
In AD 90, the Holy Roman Empire would have to wait another 600 years to start, was not all that holy, was established by a German (not a Roman), and not an empire (more a confederacy), long after the fall of the original Roman Empire.
If that bronze tablet is the discharge certificate, I'd hate to have to carry around the 214!
Very interesting.
I absolutely hate that politically correct term. It's also confusing to folks who were schooled in the post-war era. Like me.
Oldest DD 214 I’ve ever seen.
This is from the Times of Israel, and C.E. is what they use in Israel - Common Era, because, surprise, surprise, the Jews consider Jesus to be a false god and do not accept (and find absolutely revolting) the notion that their god can have a son, or for that matter, “die”.
paging John Kerry! John Kerry, please pick up the white courtesy phone...
They do not consider him to be "the" messiah.
The term C.E. is used in 90% of my college history books.
From what bodily orifice do you pull your information from?
I am referring to this article, not your college text book.
And yes, for the Jews, Jesus is a false god. You’re aware of the Trinity, aren’t you? Go have a discussion on this with someone who is a serious, practising Jew, and then let me know.
In AD 90, the Holy Roman Empire would have to wait another 600 years to start, was not all that holy, was established by a German (not a Roman), and not an empire (more a confederacy), long after the fall of the original Roman Empire
The original Roman Empire did not fall till 1453, something like 5 centuries after the founding of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Eastern Roman Empire is often considered a separate entity as the Byzantine Empire, but there is no particularly logical reason to do so, as it had a continuous existence (with an intermission) from Constantine to its fall.
Nicely done!
See what you did, now I am verklempt again...I'll give you another topic...
Okay, back to the history books for me!
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