Fiscus Judaicus

Common card · No. 443585

The fiscus Iudaicus or fiscus Judaicus (Latin for 'Jewish tax') was a tax imposed on Jews in the Roman Empire after the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in AD 70. The fiscus Iudaicus replaced the traditional half-shekel Temple tax which had been paid annually by Jews for the maintenance of the Temple in Jerusalem. The new poll tax redirected those funds to the reconstruction of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in Rome, which had been destroyed during the Year of the Four Emperors. The redirection of these funds represented a significant humiliation for the Jewish population of the empire. The tax continued even after the Capitoline Temple was rebuilt, contributing to Roman finances and serving as a deterrent against proselytism and conversion to Judaism. Under Domitian, the enforcement of the tax became stringent. Suetonius recounts that the tax was then applied to those who denied their Jewish origin or practiced Jewish customs without identifying as Jewish, and describes an...

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