Numerous Roman coins have been discovered bearing the words Iudea capta (Judea captured), marking the quashing of the Jewish revolt in the year 70 CE. But now archaeologists have discovered one inscribed with the more accurate phrase Iudea recepta (Judea recaptured). Raphael Poch explains what this discovery reveals about the way Vespasian, emperor of Rome, exploited his victory over the Jews:

The chief archivist of the department of archaeology and numismatics at the Israel Museum, Haim Gitler, explained that “in place of newspaper or Internet, the main form of media to spread propaganda in the time of antiquity was the minting of coins. . . . When it comes to the capta coins, it is simple propaganda. Vespasian wanted to make widely known to his people that it was he who conquered the Jews. Rome printed the coins until the year 81 CE [eleven years after the revolt]. . . . This war—and it was a war as opposed to a mere rebellion—was a particularly tough one for Rome, and one whose victory they wanted to highlight.”

Gitler and other scholars point to the fact that to date, only one of these coins has been found, signifying that there were very few minted. They explain the cause of this as being that Vespasian complied with Roman tradition in printing recepta coins for a province already captured, but regretted his decision due to the toll that the war took on the Romans, as well as the need to promote his own victories following the [period of political upheaval in Rome, which his reign brought to an end].

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.