Arch of Titus

A triumphal arch located on the Via Sacra in Rome, erected by Emperor Domitian in approximately 81 AD to commemorate the victories of his brother Titus, including the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The inner panels of the arch contain two carved relief scenes: one depicts Roman soldiers carrying spoils from the Jerusalem Temple, including a large seven-branched menorah, the Table of Showbread, and silver trumpets; the other shows Titus in a triumphal chariot. The menorah relief is the earliest known depiction of the Temple menorah in art. The arch provides visual confirmation of the destruction of the Second Temple as prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24:2: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." The arch has stood in Rome for nearly two millennia as a permanent monument to the historical event recorded in Jewish and Christian sources.