A Neglected Identification of Bacchius Iudaeus

Abstract

The reverse of a denarius minted in Rome (RRC 431/1), depicting a figure in an act of surrender, has the legend BACCHIVS IVDAEVS, which is a hapax legomenon. No literary or epigraphic sources reference this name, resulting in much speculation. Who was Bacchius Iudaeus, when was the coin minted and to the conclusion of which war does the surrender belong? This paper argues that the denarius was minted in 54 BCE, that the war was the 57–55 BCE revolt in Judea and the figure is its leader, Alexander, son of Aristobulos II.