Vanished from History: The giant Golden Menorah, still visible on the Arch of Titus in Rome

Imagine you’re at a parade. There, you witnessed an object known around the world — even though no one today has ever seen it. That’s because it completely vanished from the historical record.

Now, when I say “parade,” I don’t mean one from a small Midwestern town, highlighted by Shriners on tiny motorcycles and the reluctant employees of an insurance company wearing matching polo shirts while handing out individually wrapped pieces of gum that lose their flavor on the third chew.

Imagine a parade put on by the Roman Empire. One where they spared even less expense than the owner of a dinosaur theme park. One where you saw an enormous golden menorah.

Pompous Parade Party

You grew up in Rome. You’ve never left. You don’t know all that much about the outside world, aside from bits of news here or there.

Your neighbor Ted told you the Roman troops kept getting spanked by the Jews, but you never really believed him. No one spanks the Romans! Also, Ted is known for being a huge liar and he doesn’t even have a good Roman name.

But one thing’s certain: Rome did defeat the Jews, and the biggest bash anyone could ask for was on full display.

A parade of troops, a parade of prisoners. A parade featuring giant paintings of the war against the Jews. A parade of loot, marching up and down the streets of Rome. Past the Pantheon, through the Circus Maximus, along hundreds of thousands of Romans, dancing and swaying and groping each other.

Kind of like the celebration at the end of The Phantom Menace, but with less Jar-Jar.

Ted told you they had one of the Jewish leaders with them, and he was right. They dragged him through the streets with a rope around his neck, all the way up to the Temple of Jupiter, where they pulled him up a cliff and threw him off.

All much better than tossing out gum, right?

But to you, there’s one thing that stands out. Amid all the gold and silver, all the frenzied excitement, all the wild-eyed Romans foaming at the mouth, there’s one image you can’t get out of your mind: a giant golden candlestick, several feet tall. Sure, this parade was full of things you’d never seen before — but that? Yeah. You’d never even imagined such a thing could exist.

Tall Tales of a Turncoat?

Most of what I just told you is true.

I mean, instead of Santa at the end of the parade, they did execute one of the Jewish leaders. Whether they threw him off a cliff or hung him in a prison is up for debate.

I did make up the groping part, though. But it probably happened.

While “truth” in ancient history is often elusive and a matter of conjecture, we have one single source for all of this that goes into a lot of detail.

There’s a dude named Josephus who wrote extensively about the Jewish War, including a description of the parade, which is called a “triumph.” Now, Josephus isn’t the most reliable source around, for one primary reason: Many consider him to be a sleazy backstabber.

You see, Josephus was a Jewish military commander, but for a variety of reasons — maybe to elevate himself, or perhaps because he understood the might of the Roman Empire — he switched sides.

One of the primary disputes about this primary source revolves around whether or not Josephus is giving us a truthful account of events, or if he was just sucking up to his new bosses. While he does tend to paint the Roman leaders in flattering terms, he also speaks with respect when it comes to the Jews and their traditions.

So as with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Although Josephus was definitely a big time brown noser.

And, of course, on top of the possibly-trustworthy words of Josephus, we have the Arch of Titus, which still towers above the Roman Forum today. Most visitors walk right by it — only some notice the Golden Menorah, or know the purpose of the Arch wasn’t just to praise Titus, but to celebrate the end of the Jewish War.

Roman Spanking

Now, I’m not going to give a full account of the Jewish War. As much as I tend to ramble, I’m not sure anyone would sit still for that. But here’s a quick and dirty summary:

I think it’s fair to say the Jews didn’t really care to play by Roman rules. They had their own religion and their own traditions, which tended to be tolerated by Rome. But sometimes, a local Roman leader or other Roman citizens would disrespect those traditions, and Jews didn’t take kindly to that.

So you’d have a protest, or a riot. Rome under Emperor Nero would crack down, thinking they’d scare the Jews into compliance — but it often had the opposite effect.

Riots became insurrection. Insurrection became outright revolt.

This dragged on for years. It’s crazy to think about what’s often considered one of the largest and most formidable military powers in history getting repeatedly embarrassed by some Jewish rebels, but that’s what happened.

Ted was right. The Romans did kind of get spanked.

The Roman General Vespasian was in charge of squashing the rebellion, and was slowly making his way through the area. Then Nero took his own life, leading to Vespasian taking the throne. He handed his old job off to his son Titus — the guy the arch we’re talking about was named after.

Siege of Starvation

Titus eventually laid siege to Jerusalem. Josephus claims the city held over a million people, most of whom were trapped there after coming to the city for Passover. Many dispute that, because: Josephus.

This continued for seven months, and was one of the most bizarre and horrific sieges in human history. Now, I’m certainly not a siege expert — and I’m sure there’s some who exist — but I think this would probably rank on a “Top 10 Wildest Sieges” YouTube video.

Among the lowlights, infighting among rebel leaders led to the burning of food storage in an effort to force people to fight. One especially disturbing event told by Josephus involves a woman who cooked and ate her own child.

He also details what the Romans did to the Jews who attempted to flee Jerusalem:

”…they were first whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were then crucified before the wall of the city.”

Josephus claims there were 500 crucifixions in a day. Of course, he also claims Titus was really upset by this and totally didn’t want to do it, so maybe we shouldn’t take everything at face value.

After copious amounts of suffering and death on both sides, Titus broke through the walls. Then another set of walls, then another. One thing’s for sure: The Jews didn’t go down without a fight.

At the center, at the very end of this siege, lay the massive Jewish Temple. Like the rest of the city, it was destroyed and burned.

Again, Josephus:

”Upon the Jews seeing this fire all about them, their spirits sunk together with their bodies, and they were under such astonishment, that not one of them made any haste, either to defend himself or to quench the fire, but they stood as mute spectators of it only.”

Josephus also claims Titus totally didn’t want the Temple burned, which…yeah. I don’t know about that one.

Temple of Flames

I think we should probably mention what this Temple was, since what we’re talking about was inside of it.

You’ve heard of the Western Wall, right? That’s the spot in Jerusalem where Jews gather to pray. It’s part of the giant retaining wall which surrounds the Temple Mount: The spot where the Temple once stood. It’s well known by Christians as the Temple where Jesus flipped out and flipped tables.

Currently, the Dome of the Rock is up there, a holy site for Muslims. Which…well, that’s another huge topic I won’t get into. 

The Temple destroyed by the Romans is called the “Second Temple.” The first was “Solomon’s Temple,” which was destroyed by the Babylonians centuries earlier.

Yeah…the Jews didn’t have it easy when it came to people trashing their temples.

One of the objects inside Solomon’s Temple is something you’ve probably heard of: a little thing called the Ark of the Covenant. It vanished after that Temple’s destruction.

But the Second Temple had some really cool items as well, including the one we’re talking about: That giant Golden Menorah.

God’s Holy Cookbook

So what is a menorah, exactly? Well, it’s a candlestick. That’s the short version. The longer version (because trust me, you don’t ever want me to give you the “long version” of anything) is that it’s something God said to make.

And God was really, really specific on this. If God was a fashion designer, he’d be supplying detailed patterns and listing instructions down to the thread count.

This, from the Book of Exodus:

“Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair — six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.”

Should I have quoted all of that? I don’t know, it’s pretty long. But now you’ve got enough to make your own YouTube channel where you smelt yourself an authentic menorah. Just be sure to keep it going over the span of a few dozen videos. That’s the only way to build subscribers.

Solomon’s Temple included multiple menorahs. The Second Temple had at least one, as well as a number of other items — including a whole mound of money, gathered from temple taxes.

The sacred items sat at the very heart of Judaism, in the Temple’s Tabernacle, right in front of the “Holy of Holies.” That was the place where God’s presence appeared. The place where Heaven met Earth.

Incidentally, the New Testament says the curtain between the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies tore when Jesus died. Many consider this to be a representation of how the barrier between God and humans was removed. 

That’s not really relevant to the story at all. I just think it’s interesting.

Triumphant Triumph

Yes, I know that title was too easy. Sue me.

This brings us back to the party to end all parties: The Roman Triumph.

I think it’s pretty rare that we have such a well documented firsthand account of what happened to a specific item from ancient history, but that’s what we’ve got. Are you pumped up? You should be. Because not only do we have the relief on the Arch of Titus, but we have the words of Josephus.

I know, I know. You don’t believe Josephus. And yeah, you should be skeptical. But I don’t think this is something he would’ve made up.

It seems fairly clear that he was actually there in the crowd. Well, maybe not in the crowd — probably gobbling grapes with all the other Roman suckups. He lists what was seen in the parade, and gets to a point where he’s discussing the various spoils taken from the war. Then, this:

”…for those that were taken in the temple of Jerusalem, they made the greatest figure of them all; that is, the golden table, of the weight of many talents; the candlestick also, that was made of gold.”

He’s describing items we see on the Arch’s relief. Not just the Menorah, but also the golden showbread table from the Temple, which resembled the Ark of the Covenant. Another item we see on the relief is a pair of silver trumpets.

Now, it’s important to note that the Menorah on the relief isn’t exactly how it appeared in the Temple. Josephus says the base is different, but doesn’t explain why. I would assume it had either been damaged, or the Romans just decided it didn’t look cool enough.

Josephus then wraps up his narrative of the triumph by praising his totally awesome new Roman friends: Emperor Vespasian, and his sons Titus and Domitian. Both sons would later become Emperors — the three collectively known as the Flavian Dynasty.

No one is better! They’re smart, they’re kind, and they’re so very sexy. They love Josephus, Josephus loves them, and all is well in the world.

Museum of the Menorah

You didn’t think Josephus would leave us hanging, did you? After all, the Menorah had to go somewhere after the parade.

”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…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; he also laid up therein those golden vessels and instruments that were taken out of the Jewish temple, as ensigns of his glory.”

So the Emperor Vespasian built what’s called the “Temple of Peace,” which was basically a museum. The name seems a bit ironic considering what led to its construction, but I guess that’s Rome for you.

The Temple of Peace is gone. Virtually nothing remains, as is the case with much of what was in and around the Forum. In fact, the only reason the Arch of Titus is still standing is because it was incorporated into Medieval fortifications, and later restored.

So Josephus says the “golden vessels” from the Second Temple went to the Temple of Peace. And some Jews in the 2nd Century wrote about seeing items from the Temple, including this:

“Rabbi Simeon said, ‘When I went to Rome, there I saw the Menorah.’”

But the Menorah certainly isn’t in Rome anymore. Well…probably not, anyway. There’s a number of stories about what happened to it when Rome fell.

Find My Menorah

Here’s where the tale gets a bit wild. Yeah, I know. You don’t get much more wild than a Roman triumph, with all the partying and the groping. So you’ll just have to go with me on this one.

So get out the red string, and start wishing we’d stuck an Airtag on the Menorah.

The Temple of Peace burned in 192 CE, and was later restored. Did the Menorah melt? I tend to think not — if the objects inside were destroyed, why would you restore the building? And wouldn’t someone have written about it, if all these objects were gone? And on top of that, can jet fuel melt…nevermind.

In 324 CE, the Emperor Constantine moved the capital from Rome to a city which would soon be named Constantinople. There, the Roman Empire persisted for over a thousand years in the place now known as Istanbul.

But Rome itself wasn’t quite so lucky.

A Germanic people called the Vandals sacked Rome in 455 CE. Pesky Vandals, always…defacing things. And as we all know, sacking a city means you grab as much as you can, and stuff it in your pockets.

Some claim the Menorah was melted down. Others say it got lost in the Tiber River. But there’s yet another tale of its fate.

Byzantine Revenge

The “surviving” part of Rome — the part in Constantinople, what we call the “Byzantine Empire” — decided to get a bit of revenge on those mean old Vandals, who’d set up shop in old Carthage in North Africa.

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian sent his General Belisarius to go show those Vandals what was up. And that’s what he did, taking them down in 534 CE.

He came back with loot, as one does. This, from a historian named Procopius:

“And there was booty…among these were the treasures of the Jews, which Titus, the son of Vespasian, together with certain others, had brought to Rome after the capture of Jerusalem.”

Of course, this brings us back to the age-old question: Was Procopius just making stuff up? This quote comes from a book called “The Vandalic Wars,” which seems fairly straightforward. But there’s another book he wrote called “Secret History,” with chapter titles like “Why Justinian was a big fat loser and everyone hated his guts.”

I’m only exaggerating a little bit.

But let’s take what Procopius says at face value here. He doesn’t go into detail on what these “treasures of the Jews” were, but I think we can assume he’s talking about the Menorah and the other items we see on the Arch of Titus. After all, he mentions Titus in the very same section, drawing comparisons between Belisarius’ triumph and Titus’.

And Procopius goes on:

”And one of the Jews, seeing these things, approached one of those known to the emperor and said: ‘These treasures I think it inexpedient to carry into the palace in Byzantium. Indeed, it is not possible for them to be elsewhere than in the place where Solomon, the king of the Jews, formerly placed them. For it is because of these that Gizeric captured the palace of the Romans, and that now the Roman army has captured that of the Vandals.’”

So basically this dude is telling the Emperor Justinian that the Jewish treasures are bad luck. He’s saying they led to the Vandals sacking Rome, and now Justinian has conquered the Vandals.

Procopius then says Justinian was scared of what he heard, and immediately sent the treasures “to the sanctuaries of the Christians in Jerusalem.”

Christian Conspiracies

We have no record of the Menorah arriving in Jerusalem. Nor do we have any accounts of anyone seeing it there.

But I guess that’s not surprising. After all, Jerusalem was conquered by the Persians several decades later. If there’s one thing Jerusalem is known for, it’s getting conquered and reconquered.

Okay, it’s known for a lot more than that. Just go with me on this.

So maybe the Persians took it. Or maybe someone else did. Maybe it was melted down, as has often been claimed. Maybe it was stashed somewhere in Jerusalem, where it still sits today — after all, there’s stories about all sorts of hidden objects in the Old City.

I think there’s a tale of one of Elvis’ jumpsuits being concealed behind a wall next to a shop that sells low quality refrigerator magnets and tie-dyed yarmulkes.

But there’s a couple of other stories about the Menorah’s whereabouts, which are a bit more bizarre.

A Medieval Jewish traveler named Benjamin of Tudela wrote that the treasures from the Temple were in a cave in Rome:

“In the church of St. John in the Lateran…is the cave where Titus the son of Vespasian hid away the Temple vessels which he brought from Jerusalem.”

Obviously this doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. There’s no record of Titus putting anything in a cave, nor do I know why he would. If you were trying to sell yourself as the King of Bowling, would you put your bowling trophies in the cellar? No.

A Medieval mosaic found in St. John Lateran refers to a “golden candelabrum,” which has led some to believe it was hidden there.

There’s also a couple of Medieval texts stating that the altar in the church hid the Ark of the Covenant, as well as some other items, like this one from a book that was put out by the church, essentially for tourists:

”In the Lateran Church…the principal altar of the same church is the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant; or rather, as they say, the Ark is on the inside, and on the outside it is hidden by an altar…This very Ark, with the candelabra and other temple objects, Titus and Vespasian carried off from Jerusalem…” 

Apparently the altar was sealed except for one day a year when the Pope would say mass — and of course no one could see inside except the Pope. So we have to take this with a grain of salt, and remember that holy relics were big business in the Middle Ages. Any church worth its salt would claim to have the official Saltshaker of Christ. That’s what would bring in the pilgrims.

This, as well as other stories, have built up a theory that the Vatican has the Menorah, and is hiding it.

One man claimed the Pope showed it to him in 1962. The stories are so prevalent that in 2004, the Israel Antiquities Authority went to the Vatican and searched the storerooms. They didn’t find anything.

Golden Legacy

As far as anyone knows for certain, the Golden Menorah has vanished from history — though it certainly hasn’t been forgotten.

After many centuries of refusing to walk beneath the Arch of Titus, Roman Jews did just that when the state of Israel was created in 1948.

The image of the Golden Menorah as seen on the Arch became the official symbol of Israel. There’s even a tremendously expensive replica of it on display in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.

While we don’t know the whereabouts of the Menorah, or if it still exists at all, there is one bit of evidence from the Jewish Wars that couldn’t be more well known.

No, I don’t mean the Arch of Titus. I mean a structure just down the road from it — a structure built by Vespasian and Titus and Domitian, using money they took from Jerusalem, constructed by Jewish slaves they brought back to Rome.

Back then, they called it the Flavian Amphitheater. We call it the Colosseum.