Seder Olam Revisited: C32b- Jesus
- Albert Benhamou
- Aug 28, 2025
- 40 min read
Updated: Nov 28, 2025
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Generation 32: Hebrew years 3720-3840 (40 BCE - 80CE)
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To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.
Introduction
This 32nd chronological generation sees the times of great troubles for the Jewish people, with the increase rule of Rome over the Jewish nation, the rise of Christianity and the destruction of the Second Temple.
Hebrew Year | CE | Event | Source |
3786 | 26 | Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 18:55 |
3790 | 30 | The Sanhedrin leaves the Temple | Talmud |
3792 | 32 | Death of John the Baptist | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 18:116 |
3793 | 33 | Crucifixion of Jesus | Gospels |
3798 | 38 | Massacre of Jews in Alexandria | Philo, Flaccus |
3798 | 38 | Marulius, prefect of Judea | |
3801 | 41 | Claudius emperor; Agrippa king of Judea | Talmud Josephus, Jewish Ant. 19:238 |
3804 | 44 | Agrippa II, king of Judea | |
3805 | 45 | Great famine in Judea | |
3806 | 46 | Queen Helena of Adiabene | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 20:17 |
3810 | 50 | Death of Rabban Gamaliel | Talmud |
3813 | 53 | Felix, Procurator of Judea | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 20:141 |
3814 | 54 | Nero emperor | |
3816 | 56 | Death of Queen Helena | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 20:92 |
3816 | 56 | Assassination of Jonathan the High Priest | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 20:160 |
3818 | 58 | Paul the Apostle | |
3822 | 62 | Stoning of James the Just | |
3824 | 64 | The great fire of Rome | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 20,154 |
Year 3786 – 26 CE – Pontius Pilate
Twenty years have passed since Judea became a province of the Roman Empire. Augustus had died in 14 CE and was succeeded by Tiberius who appointed Pontius Pilate to Judea and Flaccus to Egypt. Both caused tensions with the Jews. It did not take long for Pilate to bring upon himself the wrath of the Jewish people:
But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Caesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there [in Herod's Palace, near present-day Jaffa Gate], to abolish the Jewish laws. So, he introduced Caesar's effigies, which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas our law forbids us the very making of images; on which account the former procurators were wont to make their entry into the city with such ensigns as had not those ornaments.
Pilate was the first who brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the people, because it was done in the night time; but as soon as they knew it, they came in multitudes to Caesarea, and interceded with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; and when he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Caesarea. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 18, 55)
This was one of many examples of Pilate’s actions who exacerbated the Jewish population, especially in the holy city of Jerusalem which was against the status quo that prevailed so far, whereas the Jews were to be left quietly with their customs in Jerusalem, as long as taxes were paid to Rome.
About the historicity of Pilate, a stone has been found in Israel in 1961 which bears the name of Tiberieum and Pilatus “Prefect of Judea”. The last mention proves the authenticity of the stone because Pilate was prefect and not only procurator as assumed by the gospels and by Josephus. Unlike a procurator, a prefect had power over civil matters and could pronounce death sentences, which he did against Jesus.
In Rome, Tiberius became wary of the influence of the Jews over the Romans:
As there had been a large influx of Jews into Rome and they were converting many of the native inhabitants to their principles he expelled the great majority of them. (Cassius Dio, Roman History, volume 57, CE 19)
Year 3790 – 30 CE – "I am Gabriel" stone
A large stone found in 2000 by Bedouins near the Dead Sea in Israel came to display for the first time in 2013. Its engraving starts with the words "I am Gabriel", alluding to the angel who will appear in Messianic times. This angel is mentioned in the Bible in Daniel 8:16 and 9:21 as his prophetic vision. It has been confirmed that the inscribed stone dates from the 1st century CE when, after the death of Herod, chaos ensued in Judea and messianic and apocalyptic movements and preachers were numerous to tell about the forthcoming end of the world.
The stone is in a rather bad condition as only 40% of it could eventually be read, although not without some level of interpretation. It caused a sensation in the Christian world in 2008 because one expert claimed that it contained the words "in three days you shall live", alluding to the resurrection of Jesus, a claim that was not substantiated by further analysis. In fact, there is no consensus yet about the transcription of the text as experts are currently divided between four versions. But all the experts agree that this stone is a text of apocalyptic nature, typical of the period between the death of Herod and the destruction of the Second Temple.
Year 3790 – 30 CE – The Sanhedrin leaves the Temple
In these times, the Sanhedrin moved from their traditional location in the Temple precinct, which was the Chamber of the Hewn Stones (in Hebrew Lishkat ha-Gazith) and relocated outside on the Temple Mount. This was due to the corrupt manner with which the High Priest, nominated by the Roman authorities, was driving the religious duties. This move had been considered by the Talmudists as the last straw in the catastrophes that led to the destruction of 70 CE:
180 years before the destruction of the Temple, the wicked state [Rome] spread over Israel. 80 years before the destruction of the Temple, uncleanness was imposed in respect of the country of heathens and glassware. 40 years before the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin went into exile [from the Chamber of the Hewn Stones] and took its seat in the Trade Halls. (Talmud, Shabbat, 15a)
Regarding the start of the Roman influence 180 years before the destruction of the Temple, it is related to the event when king John Hyrcanus moved away from traditional Judaism and became a Sadducee (see document C31b, year 107 BCE). As a result, he persecuted the Pharisees and the Hasmonean dynasty began to adopt foreign Roman culture after him. After his death, his two sons fought for power and sought after foreign support. The "sin" of John Hyrcanus cursed the Hasmonean Dynasty, and it disappeared with the rise of Herod, a foreign king that Rome placed over the Jews.
This corruption in the Temple, echoed by the departure of the Sanhedrin, was seen by the Sages as one of the steps that led to the catastrophes that enfolded:
Correspondingly the Sanhedrin wandered to ten places of banishment, as we know from tradition, namely from the Chamber of Hewn Stone to Hanuth and from Hanuth to [inside the city of] Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem to Yavneh, and from Yavneh to Usha, and from Usha [back] to Yavneh, and from Yavneh [back] to Usha, and from Usha to Shefaram, and from Shefaram to Beth Shearim, and from Beth Shearim to Sepphoris, and from Sepphoris to Tiberias; and Tiberias is the lowest-lying of them all, as it says, [Isaiah 29:4] "And brought down you shall speak out of the ground." (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 31a-b)
Hanuth means the shop, or the "Bazaar", which was still located on the Temple Mount. Concerning Yavneh, the Sanhedrin and all the religious leaders moved from Jerusalem to Yavneh during the Roman siege by Vespasian and before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Usha and Shefaram are located in Lower Galilee in the northern part of Israel. The Sanhedrin moved first to Usha at the time of Rabban Gamaliel II, during the persecutions of Hadrian when he banned Jews from Jerusalem and even from Judea. It then moved to Shefaram at the time of his son, Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel II. The Sanhedrin then moved to Beth Shearim at the time of Rabbi Juda ha-Nassi, who was a native of this village, but he moved it again to Sepphoris where he started to compile the Mishna. After his death, the Sanhedrin moved to Tiberias where the Talmud of Jerusalem was completed, and then the Christian Byzantine authorities banned the Sanhedrin institution.
Year 3792 – 32 CE – John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher who would go from city to city to tell people that the apocalypse was soon to come and that they had to purify themselves before the Day of Judgment. The Essenes' doctrine followed the same belief, as its members were already preparing themselves for the coming of Messiah. But the Essenes isolated themselves in their refuges and remote cities, in a sort of selfish manner not caring about the rest of the Jewish nation, while John was preaching this belief to all the people during his itineraries. It is during one of his predications that Jesus met him, probably in 30 CE, and was "baptized" by John (from the Jewish point of view, it was an act of purification) in the Jordan River. Then their roads parted, and Jesus followed his own mission.
It was in this time that Herod Antipas was defeated in a war against Aretas IV, king of the Nabateans, seated in Petra. The cause of this war, besides the contest about borders, was that Herod Antipas had repudiated his wife, the daughter of Aretas IV, to live with his sister-in-law Herodias, who separated from her husband Herod Philip, Antipas' half-brother. This union of Antipas and Herodias was against Jewish Law because Philip was still alive (he also had one child from Herodias, a daughter called Salome). The war that ensued cost Antipas his army. This disaster was seen by the people as a divine punishment against Antipas’ sin.
This sin is what John the Baptist chose to denounce publicly. As a reprisal, John was beheaded on orders from Herod Antipas in year 31 or 32 CE in the fortress of Machaerus (a Hasmonean fortress on the eastern side of the Dead Sea). According to the New Testament, Salome danced in front of her stepfather, and this pleased him so much that he told her, in front of all the audience, that she could ask anything for up to half his kingdom and he would grant it to her (Mark 6, 21-26). On the advice of her mother Herodias, she asked the head of John the Baptist.
This circumstance is however not mentioned in historical sources, such as Josephus, so can be questionable. Here is Josephus’ version of John’s death:
Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod [Antipas]'s army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.
Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod [Antipas], who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly, he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Machaerus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 18, 116)
Year 3793 – 33 CE – Crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus’ ministry to preach in the nation also brought him to an abrupt end. The reason for his condemnation and execution was that he exacerbated the people in charge of the Temple. But, in his days, the charge was completely corrupt: the High Priest was nominated by the Romans, and they would elect a person who was likely to bring them the highest revenue. The High Priest in turn distributed the roles in the Temple based on the richest families in the city, all Sadducees. The High Priest and his staff were collaborating with the Roman authorities and, sometimes, became targets for the Sicarii assassins. Judas who betrayed Jesus, according to the New Testament, was nicknamed Iscariot, which means the Sicarii because he was part of this sect before he became a disciple of Jesus. Strangely enough, Josephus mentioned a man called Judas was founded the sect of Zealots and maybe of the more radical Sicarii too (see document C32a, year 6 CE). Likewise, Paul (who was called Saul of Tarsis) had been a Zealot before becoming an apostle.
As of the religious authorities, the Sanhedrin, composed of Pharisees, they already publicly acknowledged the corruption taking place in the Temple and moved away from the Temple precinct a couple of years before Jesus was arrested (see above, year 30 CE). The later accusation by the Christian world that "the Jews killed Jesus" is unfounded because Judea was already a Roman province at these times (since year 6 CE), and they alone had the authority and right of life or death on individuals. The High Priest, who was a Sadducee, was a mere collaborator and did not represent the entire Jewish nation which was broadly against the Roman occupation and closer to the religious authorities.
Josephus may have written about Jesus in his Jewish Antiquities, chapter 18,63. But the original text, written in Greek, had greatly been altered by Christian monks, probably in the Middle-Ages, and it was kept as such in subsequent versions. This passage is called the Testimonium Flavianum. But more faithful versions of Josephus are probably the ones found in Arabic translations from the 10th and 12th centuries:
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus, and his conduct of life was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples.
Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his doctrine. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the Prophets have told wonders. (Shlomo Pines, An Arabic version of the Testimonium Flavianum and its implications. 1971, pages 9-10)
In the later version of the Testimonium Flavianum, there is, among other alterations, the addition of the sentence: He [Jesus] was the Christ [or Messiah]. But it is very unlikely that Josephus would have openly stated that he was the Christ, meaning the Anointed or Messiah, when he was himself devoid of religious belief. At best he would have written that Jesus’ followers believed him to be the Messiah, as written in the medieval Arabic translations.
It is widely accepted that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Some people assume that the Last Supper was the actual dinner of the Passover Eve but that is not possible because no public execution, nor public condemnation, would have been carried out on the next day, which would be the first day of the religious festival. In addition, the first day of the festival, which is the 15 Nisan in the Hebrew calendars, can never fall on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.
Rather, the gospels of Mark and Luke mentioned that the Last Supper took place on the first day of the festival , although their narrative is in contradiction with the Gospel of Matthew:
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread [Passover], when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” (Mark 14:12)
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” (Luke 22:7-8)
The first day of the festival is on 15 Nisan, so the crucifixion took place in the morning of 16 Nisan which can indeed fall on a Friday. If we look at the years when Pilate ruled over Judea, between years 26 and 36, the two only years when the 16 Nisan falls on a Friday are for years 27 and 30 CE. If we assume that Luke was correct when he stated that Jesus was born at the time of the census of Quirinius, which took place in year 6 CE (see document C32a, year 4 BCE), and that Jesus was crucified on a Friday in the first day of Passover (which is really unlikely because of the religious festival), then Jesus was crucified in 30 CE, at the age of 24. But this does not fit another gospel which stated that Jesus was about 30 years old when these events took place (his mission and his crucifixion). So, if Jesus was crucified on a Friday, it is likely that it happened before the start of the Passover festival, not during the festival.
Another article stated that Jesus’ crucifixion could have taken place on 3 April 33 CE which was indeed a 16 Nisan but a Sunday, not a Friday. The article based its theory on the fact that a gospel mentioned an earthquake when Jesus was crucified and one such event could have taken place on that date of year 33 CE (to read this article, click here)
We can see that, like for the birth of Jesus which has contradictory details between the gospels of Matthew and Luke, his crucifixion is also problematic about the year.
The debate about the year of Jesus' crucifixion took a new spin when, in 1980, a subterranean burial cave had been found in Talpiot, a close suburb in the South-East of modern-day Jerusalem. Te cave contained several ossuaries from the same family and dated from the Second Temple period. One ossuary bears the name "Jeshua bar Yossef", in other words "Jesus son of Joseph". Of course, there would have been many people called Jeshua son of Joseph in those times, because they are common names. But other ossuaries bore other names related to the historicity of Jesus, such as Miriam for Mary. So, this has helped build a case that that cave was used to place the ossuaries of Jesus and his family. Furthermore, one of the ossuaries bears the name of "Yehuda bar Jeshua", in other words “Judah son of Jesus”, which means that Jesus would have been married, most probably to Mary Magdalena, and had a son! This would not be surprising for a practicing Jew of these times and of his age. On its side, the Church rejects the theory that this burial cave belonged to Jesus' family.
A few centuries later, the Christian theologians accused the Jews of having crucified Jesus. It was convenient to do so, instead of accusing the Romans who, by that time, had adopted Christianity as a state religion. This was the case of Orosius who re-wrote History about 400 CE to fit the new paradigm:
In the seventeenth year of this emperor [Tiberius], the Lord Jesus Christ of His own free will submitted to His passion. Nevertheless, it was through their own impiety that the Jews arrested Him and nailed Him to the cross. (Orosius, A History against the Pagans, book 7, part 4)
As of Pilate, he ended his governing role in Judea in 36 CE and reached Rome in 37 CE, when Tiberius had already died and was succeeded by Caius Caligula. He was replaced in Judea by Vitellius, the Roman governor of Syrian province. The latter came from Antioch to Jerusalem and restored quiet with tact and without antagonism. He even appointed the former High Priest to his role, an act which pleased the Pharisees.
Year 3798 – 38 CE – The massacre of Alexandria
When Flaccus Avilius was appointed by Tiberius to rule over the Egyptian province at the beginning of his reign, the city of Alexandria in Egypt counted about one million Jews. And tensions were frequent between them and the Hellenized Egyptians. This situation was a matter of concern for all Roman governors there. But Flaccus maintained order during the first five years of tenure. His attitude however changed after the death of his protector, Tiberius, in 37 CE, when Flaccus learned that the next emperor, Gaius Caligula, was seeking revenge against Tiberius’ clan and close friends. Flaccus was among them and expected public trial followed by death. He consequently lost the spirit of managing public affairs in Egypt.
During the first few months of his reign, Caligula was considered as a moderate ruler, but he was sexually pervert and was suspected of having intercourse with his sisters. There was surely some truth in it, as he became cruel and extravagant after the death of his preferred sister, Drusilla, in 38 CE. Caligula even ordered that divine honors be paid to her in the Roman Empire. It was at this time that Flaccus was convinced by Egyptian advisers that his personal affairs would get better if he would show severity against the Jewish population of Alexandria. His designs were reported by Philo, a Hellenistic Jew of Alexandria who had endeavored to reconcile Greek philosophy with Jewish tradition. First, pretexting a lack of respect from the Jews to the new Emperor, Flaccus ordered the synagogues to be destroyed. Soon after, he directed his decrees against the people themselves:
Since, therefore, the attempt which was being made to violate the law appeared to him to be prospering, while he was destroying the synagogues, and not leaving even their name, he proceeded onwards to another exploit, namely, the utter destruction of our constitution, that when all those things to which alone our life was anchored were cut away, namely, our national customs and our lawful political rights and social privileges, we might be exposed to the very extremity of calamity, without having any stay left to which we could cling for safety, for a few days afterwards he issued a notice in which he called us all foreigners and aliens, without giving us an opportunity of being heard in our own defense, but condemning us without a trial; and what command can be more full of tyranny than this? He himself being everything--accuser, enemy, witness, judge, and executioner, added then to the two former appellations a third also, allowing anyone who was inclined to proceed to exterminate the Jews as prisoners of war.
So, when the people received this license, what did they do? There are five districts in the city, named after the first five letters of the written alphabet, of these two are called the quarters of the Jews, because the chief portion of the Jews lives in them. There are also a few scattered Jews, but only a very few, living in some of the other districts. What then did they do? They drove the Jews entirely out of four quarters, and crammed them all into a very small portion of one [this was probably the first 'ghetto' in Jewish History], and by reason of their numbers they were dispersed over the sea-shore, and desert places, and among the tombs, being deprived of all their property; while the [Egyptian] populace, overrunning their desolate houses, turned to plunder, and divided the booty among themselves as if they had obtained it in war. And as no one hindered them, they broke open even the workshops of the Jews, which were all shut up because of their mourning for Drusilla, and carried off all that they found there, and bore it openly through the middle of the marketplace as if they had only been making use of their own property. And the cessation of business to which they were compelled to submit was even a worse evil than the plunder to which they were exposed, as the consequence was that those who had lent money lost what they had lent, and as no one was permitted, neither farmer, nor captain of a ship, nor merchant, nor artisan, to employ himself in his usual manner, so that poverty was brought on them from two sides at once, both from rapine, as when license was thus given to plunder them they were stripped of everything in one day, and also from the circumstance of their no longer being able to earn money by their customary occupations. (Philo, Flaccus, VIII, 53-57)
On the birthday of Caligula (he was born on 31 August 12 CE), a massacre was carried out in the portion of the city where the Jews had been crammed in:
Some persons even, going still great and greater lengths in the iniquity and license of their barbarity, disdained all blunter weapons, and took up the most efficacious arms of all, fire and iron, and slew many with the sword, and destroyed not a few with flames. And the most merciless of all their persecutors in some instances burnt whole families, husbands with their wives, and infant children with their parents, in the middle of the city, sparing neither age nor youth, nor the innocent helplessness of infants. And when they had a scarcity of fuel, they collected faggots of green wood, and slew them by the smoke rather than by fire, contriving a still more miserable and protracted death for those unhappy people, so that their bodies lay about promiscuously in every direction half burnt, a grievous and most miserable sight. And if some of those who were employed in the collection of sticks were too slow, they took their own furniture, of which they had plundered them, to burn their persons, robbing them of their most costly articles, and burning with them things of the greatest use and value, which they used as fuel instead of ordinary timber.
Many men too, who were alive, they bound by one foot, fastening them round the ankle, and thus they dragged them along and bruised them, leaping on them, designing to inflict the most barbarous of deaths upon them, and then when they were dead, they raged no less against them with interminable hostility, and inflicted still heavier insults on their persons, dragging them, I had almost said, though all the alleys and lanes of the city, until the corpse, being lacerated in all its skin, and flesh, and muscles from the inequality and roughness of the ground, all the previously united portions of his composition being torn asunder and separated from one another, was actually torn to pieces.
And those who did these things, mimicked the sufferers, like people employed in the representation of theatrical farces; but the relations and friends of those who were the real victims, merely because they sympathized with the misery of their relations, were led away to prison, were scourged, were tortured, and after all the ill treatment which their living bodies could endure, found the cross the end of all, and the punishment from which they could not escape. (Philo, Flaccus, IX, 67-72)
With such demonstrations of support to Caligula’s orders, Flaccus thought to escape from trial and death. But he was mistaken. He was eventually taken prisoner in Rome and executed there.
Year 3798 – 38 CE – Marullus and Caligula
Caligula appointed Marullus as prefect of Judea in 38 CE with orders to turn the Temple of Jerusalem into a Roman shrine and to place a statue of him, Emperor Caligula, in it. The statue was prepared but, wisely, Marullus decided to save more time and waited for the emperor’s order to take it to Jerusalem.
Year 3801 – 41 CE – Claudius
Caligula was assassinated in 41, and the idea to send his statue to Jerusalem was swiftly abandoned. Caligula was the first Roman emperor to be assassinated (Julius Caesar was assassinated too but he was not emperor at the time). Caligula was replaced by his uncle Claudius.
Year 3801 – 41 CE – Agrippa king of Judea
Claudius replaced Marullus by Agrippa, a Jewish prince from the Herodian family, who had been educated in Rome and who, owing to his earlier friendship with Caligula, had already been named king of some parts of Herod former kingdom (Philip's tetrarchy in 37 CE and Galilee in 39 CE). In 41, Claudius, who had also befriended Agrippa, extended his kingdom to Judea as well. In Rome, Claudius also adapted the rules regarding the Jewish population:
In the matter of the Jews, who had again increased so greatly that by reason of their multitude it would have been hard without raising a tumult to bar them from the city, he decided not to drive them out, but ordered them to follow that mode of life prescribed by their ancestral custom and not to assemble in numbers. The clubs instituted by Gaius [Caligula], he disbanded. Also, seeing that there was no use in forbidding the populace to do certain things unless their daily life should be reorganized, he abolished the taverns where they were wont to gather and drink and commanded that no dressed meat nor warm water should be sold [as they were signs of luxury]. Some who disobeyed this ordinance were punished. (Cassius Dio, Roman History, volume 60)
The Jews of Rome, who lived in the Trastevere area (across the Tiber River), were not the only ones to have increased in substantial number. In Judea, Agrippa carried out a census in an indirect fashion because, since the days of King David, censuses were considered as bad omen:
Our Rabbis taught: King Agrippa once wished to cast his eyes on the hosts of Israel. Said he to the High Priest: “Cast your eyes upon the Passover sacrifices”. He [thereupon] took a kidney from each, and six-hundred-thousand pairs of kidneys were found there, twice as many as those who departed from Egypt, excluding those who were unclean and those who were on a distant journey; and there was not a single Paschal lamb for which more than ten people had not registered; and they called it, ‘The Passover of the dense throngs.’ (Talmud, Pesachim, 64b)
Agrippa was well received by the Jewish people because of his kind character and attention to the faith:
Agrippa's temper was mild, and equally liberal to all men. He was humane to foreigners and made them sensible of his liberality. He was in like manner rather of a gentle and compassionate temper. Accordingly, he loved to live continually in Jerusalem and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept himself entirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head without its appointed sacrifice. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 19,328)
In his times, the Judean province was quiet, and Jerusalem attracted scores of pilgrims or visitors.
In 1913, a slab of limestone with the following Greek text was found in Jerusalem. It is known as the Theodotos Inscription and mentions an ancient synagogue, probably built at the time of the Maccabees, which was also used as a hostel for foreign visitors and pilgrims:
Theodotos, son of Vettanos, a priest and
an archi-synagogos, son of an archi-synagogos
grandson of an archi-synagogos, built
the synagogue for the reading of
Torah and for teaching the commandments.
Furthermore, the hostel, and the rooms, and the water
installation for lodging
needy strangers. Its foundation stone was laid
by his ancestors, the
elders, and Simonides
(Theodotos Inscription, translation K.C. Hanson & Douglas E. Oakman)
This inscription proves that, already in the 1st century BCE, and probably earlier since the restrictions imposed by the Seleucid Greeks against the Temple service, the Jews were used to meet in synagogues for Torah reading (the synagogues were not used as prayer halls at this time). This fact is also confirmed in the New Testament:
For Moses of old time has in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. (Acts, 15:21)
Another synagogue was identified on the archaeological site of Umm el-Umdan near Modi'in, birthplace of the Maccabean revolt. The synagogue, which is the earliest found in the world, dates from the late Hasmonean times (1st century BCE). It was a small public building, with two pillars to support a roof, with stone benches all around the walls. But its entrance was towards the east, which means that the holy ark (that contained the Torah scrolls) was facing the west, while Jerusalem is located east from Modi’in. In this period, there was not yet the custom to build synagogues with the ark facing towards Jerusalem, because the Temple was still standing. And the synagogues were not places of prayer but places of meeting and read the Torah in front of the community, three times a week (on Mondays, Thursdays and Shabbats).
Agrippa was favorable to Jewish independence from Rome. He always acted in this goal but ruled for too short a time to make a lasting effect. In Jerusalem, he started to build the so-called "Third Wall", which extended the defense walls of the city more north, about 100 meters north from present-day northern walls and Damascus Gate.
But Claudius, having been made aware of these works, ordered to stop the construction of this wall: Roman's concept of security relied on the presence of troops, not on the erection of walls. This defense wall was however completed a few years later, during the Great Revolt of 66-70 CE.
Year 3801 – 41 CE – Claudius' letter to the people of Alexandria
Following the anti-Jewish riots in Alexandria, Claudius endeavored to restore quiet by peaceful means when he declared:
Since I am assured that the Jews of Alexandria, called Alexandrians, have been joint inhabitants in the earliest times with the Alexandrians, and have obtained from their kings equal privileges with them, as is evident by the public records that are in their possession, and the edicts themselves; and that after Alexandria had been subjected to our empire by Augustus, their rights and privileges have been preserved by those presidents who have at divers times been sent thither; and that no dispute had been raised about those rights and privileges, even when Aquila was governor of Alexandria; and that when the Jewish ethnarch was dead, Augustus did not prohibit the making such ethnarchs, as willing that all men should be so subject [to the Romans] as to continue in the observation of their own customs, and not be forced to transgress the ancient rules of their own country religion; but that, in the time of Caius, the Alexandrians became insolent towards the Jews that were among them, which Caius, out of his great madness and want of understanding, reduced the nation of the Jews very low, because they would not transgress the religious worship of their country, and call him a god: I will therefore that the nation of the Jews be not deprived of their rights and privileges, on account of the madness of Caius; but that those rights and privileges which they formerly enjoyed be preserved to them, and that they may continue in their own customs. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 19,279)
He also agitated the threat to those among the Greek population who were causing agitation against the Jews. The fact was that the Jews of Alexandria had sent a deputation to Caligula to seek protection against the Greeks; among them was Philo, who accused a certain Isidorus and his companion Lampo of agitating hatred against the Jews during the tenure of Flaccus. Claudius ultimately sentenced both to death. An anti-Jewish pamphlet, called The Acts of the Pagan Martyrs (otherwise known as The Acts of the Alexandrian Martyrs), had been written in these times on these two executions.
Claudius' letter continued as follows:
As for the question , which party was responsible for the riots and feud (or rather, if the truth be told, the war) with the Jews, although in confrontation with their opponents your ambassadors, and particularly Dionysios the son of Theon, contended with great zeal, nevertheless I was unwilling to make a strict inquiry, though guarding within me a store of immutable indignation against whichever party renews the conflict. And I tell you once and for all that unless you put a stop to this ruinous and obstinate enmity against each other, I shall be driven to show what a benevolent Prince can be when turned to righteous indignation. Wherefore, once again I conjure you that, on the one hand, the Alexandrians show themselves forbearing and kindly towards the Jews who for many years have dwelt in the same city, and dishonor none of the rites observed by them in the worship of their god, but allow them to observe their customs as in the time of the Deified Augustus, which customs I also, after hearing both sides, have sanctioned.
And on the other hand, I explicitly order the Jews not to agitate for more privileges than they formerly possessed, and not in the future to send out a separate embassy as though they lived in a separate city (a thing unprecedented), and not to force their way into gymnasiarch or cosmetic games, while enjoying their own privileges and sharing a great abundance of advantages in a city not their own, and not to bring in or admit Jews who come down the river from Egypt or from Syria, a proceeding which will compel me to conceive serious suspicions. Otherwise, I will by all means take vengeance on them as fomenters of which is a general plague infecting the whole world. (Letter of the Emperor Claudius to the Alexandrians, published in 1912; to read the full text online, click here)
This letter is interesting because it gives a pattern about what antisemitism is all about (although the actual term did not exist until the 19th century), and the dangers of assimilation of the Jews into their hosts' culture. What did Claudius ask from the Jews? To live according to their traditions and refrain from forcing their way into their hosts' Hellenistic culture and traditions. With the Emancipation of the 19th century in Europe, the same themes will surge again against the Jews who will be accused of taking away the culture of their hosts, whether in Germany, France, Poland or elsewhere.
Year 3804 – 44 CE – Agrippa II
Agrippa invited to Tiberias the foreign rulers who wanted to gain more independence from Rome. The Roman Pro-Consul in Syria had learned about it and started to act against Agrippa. He invited him to a meeting in Caesaria and there Agrippa died, aged 44, of sudden abdominal pain, probably caused by poisoning. He had only reigned about 3 years over Judea, and was succeeded by his 17 years old son, Agrippa II. But Judea was extracted from this realm, and Roman representatives started to rule again over this renewed Roman province.
Year 3805 – 45 CE – The great famine and false prophets
In year 45, the 4th year of Claudius, a famine started in Judea and lasted two to three years. This severe famine is mentioned in the New Testament, Acts 11:28, as having spread throughout the entire Roman empire. Other sources however point to the fact that the famine was local to Judea. It was a time of great distress which favored the ones who preached repentance, cleansing from their sins, and so on. One of them is mentioned by Josephus:
Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea [Cuspius Fadus was procurator for about two years, from 44 to 45-46 CE], that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them, who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,97)
The Roman authorities would take no chance with those who would cause public unrest, and they knew that this could lead to rebellion against Rome. For the same reason they executed Jesus, as a predicator driving crowds to follow him, as well as false prophets who flourished in these times as mentioned by Josephus.
Fadus was soon after replaced by Tiberius Julius Alexander, a former Jew from Alexandria whose family was assimilated to Roman culture and had even obtained Roman citizenship. He would frequently show extra zeal to act against his former brethren as a proof of his allegiance to Rome. Both him and Agrippa II later took part in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, as they sided with the Romans against their fellow Jews.
Year 3806 – 46 CE – Queen Helena of Adiabene
Adiabene was a province of the Armenian empire. The king had his sister Helena as one of his wives. They had a son called Izates. Josephus narrated the following:
About this time, it was that Helena, queen of Adiabene, and her son Izates, changed their course of life, and embraced the Jewish customs. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,17)
Following the influence of some Jewish person in their kingdom, they converted to Judaism after the death of the king.
When Izates’ reign was secure as the legitimate heir, his mother Helena decided to move to Jerusalem and settled there. When she arrived in the city, she found the people oppressed by the above-mentioned famine:
Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs [such details show that the famine was located in Judea alone, not in Egypt nor in Cyprus for example]. And as soon as they came back, and had brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it and left a most excellent memorial behind her of this benefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to the principal men in Jerusalem. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,49)
The mention of the famine is helpful to determine the time when Helena came to Jerusalem, which would have been around year 46. Like in the time of the patriarchs, Egypt was the savior of the region as it continued to produce the much-needed corn.
Year 3810 – 50 CE – Death of Rabban Gamaliel
Rabban Gamaliel was the grandson of Hillel, and the nassi (President of the Sanhedrin) in these days. He was a respected Pharisee scholar who greatly contributed to the discussions that will be consigned in the Talmud. His death marked a turning point of the righteous life in Judea:
Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time. (Talmud, Sotah, 15:18)
Our Rabbis taught: From the days of Moses up to Rabban Gamaliel, the Torah was learnt only standing. When Rabban Gamaliel died, feebleness descended on the world, and they learnt the Torah sitting; and so, we have learnt that ‘from the time that Rabban Gamaliel died, [full] honor ceased to be paid to the Torah’. (Talmud, Megilah, 21a)
According to the New Testament, Acts, 22:3, Paul the Apostle was a student of Rabban Gamaliel before he became a follower of the early Christian sect.
Year 3810 – 50 CE – Shimon ben Gamaliel
Shimon ben Gamaliel succeeded his father as nassi. His key teaching was:
Rabban Shimon son of Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: on justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: judge you truthfully and a judgment of peace in your gates. (Talmud, Avot, 1:18)
This statement is extracted as an application of divine commandments given to the prophet Zechariah:
“These are the things that you shall do: Speak you every man the truth with his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates; and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate”, says the Lord. (Zechariah 8:16-17)
Shimon remained nassi until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. He was killed during the Judeo-Roman war, but he was already in old age at the time. His tomb in Kfar Kanna in Galilee is a site of pilgrimage to this day. The tomb was vandalized by Arab residents in April 2006 during the Passover Jewish festival.
Year 3813 – 53 CE – Felix, procurator of Judea
In the 12th year of his reign, Claudius appointed Felix as procurator for Judea. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he fell in love with Drusilla, the daughter of defunct Agrippa I, and sister of Agrippa II. The woman was of great beauty but had been promised to Azizus, the king-priest of Emesa (now Homs in Syria) who accepted to convert to Judaism for her and be circumcised for this marriage. As Felix was not Jewish, he had to use a subterfuge:
And he [Felix] sent to her a person whose name was Simon, one of his friends, a Jew he was, and by birth a Cypriot, and one who pretended to be a magician, and endeavored to persuade her to forsake her present husband, and marry him; and promised, that if she would not refuse him, he would make her a happy woman.
Accordingly, she acted ill, and because she was desirous to avoid her sister Bernice's envy, for she was very ill treated by her on account of her beauty, was prevailed upon to transgress the laws of her forefathers, and to marry Felix [without him to convert]; and when he had had a son by her, he named him Agrippa. But after what manner that young man, with his wife, perished at the conflagration of the mountain Vesuvius [in year 79], in the days of Titus Caesar, shall be related hereafter. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,141)
Year 3814 – 54 CE – Nero
Claudius proved to be an able ruler, but he was assassinated in 54. He was succeeded by his adopted son, Nero. Nero was the son of Agrippina the Younger, one of the sisters of Caligula. The official father of Nero was the husband of Agrippina, but he only accepted paternity. It is more likely that Agrippina had been made pregnant by her brother who would be accused of having incestuous relationship with his sisters. Caligula in fact preferred his sister Drusilla and got insane when she died.
Nero was therefore a member of the ruling Julia-Claudia family and was even the first cousin of Messalina, the first wife of Claudius, who was executed for cheating on her imperial husband.
Year 3816 – 56 CE – Death of Queen Helena
In year 56, Izates of Adiabene was fatally ill after 24 years of reign:
But when Helena, his mother, heard of her son's death, she was in great heaviness, as was but natural, upon her loss of such a most dutiful son; yet was it a comfort to her that she heard the succession came to her eldest son. Accordingly, she went to him in haste; and when she came into Adiabene, she did not long outlive her son Izates.
But Monobazus [the new king] sent her bones, as well as those of Izates, his brother, to Jerusalem, and gave order that they should be buried at the pyramids which their mother had erected; they were three in number, and distant no more than three furlongs from the city Jerusalem. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,92)
Helena and her son Izates were buried at a small distance north of Jerusalem in a place known today as the “Tombs of the Kings”, a site owned by France. Her sarcophagus had been found in the 20th century and taken to the Musee du Louvre in Paris. This causes controversy with religious Jews to this day as they claim that the tomb of a Jewess was defiled.
Year 3816 – 56 CE – Assassination of Jonathan
Felix had a grudge against Jonathan the High Priest and decided to get rid of him. To do so, he managed to hire a close friend of Jonathan called Doras to help assassins to get close to the victim and carry out their deed:
Doras complied with the proposal, and contrived matters so, that the robbers might murder him after the following manner: certain of those robbers went up to the city, as if they were going to worship God, while they had daggers under their garments, and by thus mingling themselves among the multitude they slew Jonathan and, as this murder was never avenged, the robbers went up with the greatest security at the festivals after this time; and having weapons concealed in like manner as before, and mingling themselves among the multitude, they slew certain of their own enemies, and were subservient to other men for money; and slew others, not only in remote parts of the city, but in the temple itself also; for they had the boldness to murder men there, without thinking of the impiety of which they were guilty. And this seems to me to have been the reason why God, out of His hatred of these men's wickedness, rejected our city; and as for the temple, He no longer esteemed it sufficiently pure for Him to inhabit therein, but brought the Romans upon us, and threw a fire upon the city to purge it; and brought upon us, our wives, and children, slavery, as desirous to make us wiser by our calamities. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,160)
Indirectly, Felix used Sicarii members to carry out his design. They were a secret faction and started to be active in Jerusalem during Felix' rule. They then started to carry out assassinations of Romans and of Jewish people who were collaborating with Rome. Josephus had bad opinion of them, stating they were driven by motives of robbery. This may however be a simplicist view of the historian who, once in Rome and with Roman citizenship, blamed all the disasters that fell upon the Jewish nation upon its people, and not much upon the Romans:
And again, the robbers stirred up the people to make war with the Romans and said they ought not to obey them at all; and when persons would not comply with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,167)
Year 3818 – 58 CE – Paul the Apostle
Felix is known in the New Testament for having imprisoned Paul the Apostle for two years before the end of his post as procurator in the year 60. Paul had returned to Judea in 57 after a predication tour in the communities in Asia Minor to bring them to the belief of Jesus as Messiah. This mission was given by the "church" of Jerusalem, led by Jesus' brother James the Just. But when Paul tried to gain support from the Jewish community in Asia and Greece, he met with strong refusal to believe that the Messiah had come and died while the world was still the same. But when he attempted to enroll pagan Greeks, who were keen to listen to philosophical and moral lectures, he obtained much better result. He aimed to please everyone who would follow his predications, even if it was meant to deceit people. He explained his method himself in a letter to the Corinthians:
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. (New Testament, I Corinthians, 9:20-22)
Paul then returned to Jerusalem to meet with James and tried to convince him to put their efforts to bring Gentiles to the new faith. But James and his followers were pious Jews who remained in the Jewish faith: they only thought that Jesus was the Messiah, but who lived and died as a Jew. Not someone causing a departure from Jewish faith. So they rebuked Paul. He also attempted to convert Jews in Jerusalem, but it resulted into public outrage and trouble that got to the attention of the Romans who, as normal, wanted to maintain order.
These times were times of great distress for the Jews, and many sects believed that the end of the world would come soon (the Apocalypse). These sects were eschatological movements, to which the Essenes belonged as well. In their case, they were not followers of Jesus and continued to expect the venue of the Messiah. So, in a sense, it is wrong to talk about "early Christians" or "church of Jerusalem" because these people were no different from the rest of the Jewish community, and they didn't create a new faith: they were only Jews who believed that the Messiah had come. Other Jewish movements in the future also adopted the belief that such or such person was the Messiah, for example in the known case of Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676) (see document C46a, year 1648).
The contention with these "early Christians", and all Jews in fact, was that Paul was admitting Gentiles to the faith by telling them they did not need to follow the Jewish Law, nor be circumcised. His mission was thus considered unlawful in the eyes of the Jewish Law, and this put him at odds with Jesus’ brother, James the Just. As his attempts caused public unrest in Jerusalem, Paul was arrested in 58 CE by the Romans when he tried to defend himself in front of a hostile crowd of Jews who viewed him as an apostate in the eyes of the Jewish Law:
I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city [Jerusalem]. I studied under Gamaliel [who was the grandson of Hillel and nassi until his death in the year 50 CE] and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. (New Testament, Acts 22:3)
Paul was sent to Caesaria where he appeared before Felix, in the presence of Drusilla, before being imprisoned:
But after some days, Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, and he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. (New Testament, Acts, 24:24)
When Felix was recalled back to Rome two years later, in year 60, Paul was brought for retrial by the new procurator of Judea, Porcius Festus. Paul asked that, being a Roman citizen, he would appeal to the emperor himself. So, he was sent to Rome for trial. History lost track of what happened to him in Rome, but it is believed that he was condemned to death and executed, maybe in the reprisal against early Christians in 64 CE, following the great fire at the time of Nero (see below).
Year 3822 – 62 CE – Stoning of James the Just
The case of Paul brought the attention of the Jewish authorities upon this new sect, the "church of Jerusalem", who declared that the Messiah had already come. There were already several attempts to declare someone to be the Messiah. A false prophet, or a predicator, who came from Egypt was also mentioned by Josephus:
Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one that said he was a prophet and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of five furlongs. He said further that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they fell down. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,167)
The church of Jerusalem, like other eschatological sects of these times, thus got into trouble with accusations of false prophecy which is punishable by death according to Jewish Law. Under normal circumstances, a condemnation was however extremely hard to obtain, due to the strict rules imposed by Jewish Law to convince a person of guilt. But, at the time, Festus the procurator who replaced Felix had died and a replacement was on his way from Rome. Agrippa II took this opportunity to change the High Priest by a Sadducee called Ananus son of Ananus. The latter wanted to make a show of authority and took the complaints about false prophecy to make an example. He brought James to trial and managed to condemn him to public stoning by the Sanhedrin (the religious court) in 62. This however was blameful, and a delegation was sent to meet the new procurator, Albinus, for Ananus’ abuse of power (because conveying the Sanhedrin was not allowed to pronounce a death sentence without prior approval by the Roman governor):
But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority].
Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa II], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a Sanhedrin without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Joshua, the son of Damneus, high priest. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,197)
So, Ananus only remained in his post for three months. The bad choices of Agrippa II for the role of high priest, favoring his aristocratic acquaintances from the Sadducees, made him unpopular among the Jews, particularly in Jerusalem. After this event, the remaining members of the church of Jerusalem felt they were in danger, so they moved to Pella, a pagan city in the Decapolis, which is now in modern-day Jordan.
The Decapolis was a set of ten cities where Gentiles could live inside the Judean realm without the constraints of Jewish laws; nine of these cities were located on the Eastern side of the Jordan River while one of them, Scythopolis, at the foot of the Biblical Beth-Shean, which was the capital of the Decapolis, was located on the western side of the river. Damascus and Amman (then called Philadelphia) were also cities of the Decapolis.
Year 3824 – 64 CE – The great fire of Rome
Nero was a good ruler, but his reputation was later tarnished by rumors that he set fire to Rome in the year 64. However, Roman historian Tacitus told of Nero’s efforts to relief the unfortunate Romans, and that the fire destroyed his own palace:
Nero at this time was at Antium and did not return to Rome until the fire approached his house, which he had built to connect the palace with the gardens of Maecenas. It could not, however, be stopped from devouring the palace, the house, and everything around it.
However, to relieve the people, driven out homeless as they were, he threw open to them the Campus Martius and the public buildings of Agrippa, and even his own gardens, and raised temporary structures to receive the destitute multitude. Supplies of food were brought up from Ostia and the neighboring towns, and the price of corn was reduced to three sesterces a peck. These acts, though popular, produced no effect, since a rumor had gone forth everywhere that, at the very time when the city was in flames, the emperor appeared on a private stage and sang of the destruction of Troy, comparing present misfortunes with the calamities of antiquity. (Tacitus, The Annals, XV, 39)
The fire was most probably caused by accident. But, to divert the anger of the Roman people from rumors involving him, Nero accused the Christians to have set the fire. And persecutions ensued:
As a consequence, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but, even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. (Tacitus, The Annals, XV, 44)
It is worth noting from the above text that the Roman historian had confirmed that Jesus was put to death by Pilate and not by the Jews !
Josephus had also warned his readers that some historians had told lies about Nero:
Nor do I wonder at such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writings preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20,154)
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Elul 5785 - August 2025
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