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Josephus on the Temple spoils in Rome

c. 71–75 CE, Rome. His own words.

Where and when

c. 71–75 CERome

about 1,953 years ago

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Josephus

, RomeHis own words

In plain words, ours

He put the gold vessels and tools taken from the Jewish temple there as trophies. But their Law and the purple curtains of the holy place he had kept in the palace.

…he also laid up therein those golden vessels and instruments that were taken out of the Jewish temple, as ensigns of his glory. But still he gave order that they should lay up their Law, and the purple veils of the holy place, in the royal palace itself, and keep them there.

Josephus, The Jewish War 7.158Translated by William Whiston (1737)Read the full passage (Josephus, The Jewish War 7.158, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

Rome, c. 71-75 CE, after the triumphs. Vespasian builds a Temple of Peace, finished fast, Josephus says, and fills it with pictures, statues and rare treasures. In 70 CE Titus had taken Jerusalem and its Temple had burned.

Checked claim by claim against: Titus takes Jerusalem and the Temple burns, the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

The treasures did not stay in Rome: Procopius records that the Vandal king Gaiseric took them to Carthage after sacking Rome in 455, and that they were paraded in Constantinople in 534.

Based on Wikipedia: Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)

In the 6th century, the Byzantine historian Procopius recorded that the Jewish treasures Titus had carried off from Jerusalem were among the trophies paraded in Constantinople in 534 after the Vandalic War.

He states that these had previously been taken to Carthage by the Vandal king Gaiseric, after his sack of Rome in 455.

Wikipedia, Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-25. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. c. 64–68 CEabout 7 years earlier Nero on his new house, as Suetonius tells it Also in Rome
  2. 69 CEabout 4 years earlier Four emperors in one year Also in Rome
  3. 70 CEabout 3 years earlier Titus takes Jerusalem and the Temple burns The event behind it
  4. set in 71 CEabout 2 years earlier Josephus on the war paraded through Rome Same passage
  5. c. 73–74 CEBegins this year Masada falls, ending the Jewish revolt Same years
  6. c. 71–75 CEThis momentJosephus on the Temple spoils in Rome
  7. set in c. 73–74 CEBegins this year Eleazar's speech at Masada, per Josephus More from Josephus
  8. set in c. 73–74 CEBegins this year Eleazar's speech at Masada, in Josephus More from Josephus
  9. set in c. 73–74 CEBegins this year Josephus on the Romans entering Masada More from Josephus
  10. 80 CEabout 7 years later Titus opens the Colosseum with games Also in Rome

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

After these triumphs were over, and after the affairs of the Romans were settled on the surest foundations, Vespasian resolved to build a temple to Peace, which was finished in so short a time, and in so glorious a manner, as was beyond all human expectation and opinion: for he having now by Providence a vast quantity of wealth, besides what he had formerly gained in his other exploits, he had this temple adorned with pictures and statues; for in this temple were collected and deposited all such rarities as men aforetime used to wander all over the habitable world to see, when they had a desire to see one of them after another;

The quote: he also laid up therein those golden vessels and instruments that were taken out of the Jewish temple, as ensigns of his glory. But still he gave order that they should lay up their Law, and the purple veils of the holy place, in the royal palace itself, and keep them there.

Josephus, The Jewish War 7.158Translated by William Whiston (1737)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
c. 71–75 CE. Vespasian built the Temple of Peace after the triumph of 71 CE, finishing it quickly, Josephus says; he wrote this in the 70s CE.
Whose words
His own words.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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