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[[Image:Pilate-inscription.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dedicatory inscription to Roman Emperor Tiberius by Pontius Pilate, First Century A.D.]]

[[Image:Pilate-inscription.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dedicatory inscription to Roman Emperor Tiberius by Pontius Pilate, First Century A.D.]]

'''Pontius Pilate''', [[Roman]] governor of [[Palestine]] from 26 to 36 A.D., famous for ordering [[Jesus]] to be [[crucifixion|crucified]].  For many years [atheist]]s insisted that Pilate never really existed, but then archeological evidence emerged proving his reign just as the [[Bible]] said.

'''Marcus Pontius Pilatus''', also known as '''Pontius Pilate''', was the [[Roman]] governor of [[Judaea]] from 26 to 36 A.D., and famous for ordering the [[crucifixion]] of [[Jesus of Nazareth]].

When the [[Sanhedrin]] had brought Jesus to him to be put to death, a charge that they had no authority to carry out themselves, Pilate at first tried to remove himself by having the case given to [[Herod Antipas|Herod]] on the grounds that Jesus was a [[Galilean]].  Herod subsequently bounced the case back to Pilate who, after briefly talking with Jesus, determined Jesus was not worthy of death.  The religious authorities had stirred up the crowd and wanted crucifixion. Pilate had Jesus [[flogged]], but this did not appease them.  Ultimately he had the crowd choose between Jesus or [[Barabbas]]. They chose to free Barabbas. Pilate had Jesus crucified, but only after first "washing his hands" of the blood of this innocent man.

Pilate was a Samnite<ref>http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/ItalySamnites.htm</ref>, a loose confederations of ancient Italic clans originally from south-central Italy; his own clan was the "Pontii", hence the origin of his name, and he was an equestrian, i.e. knight of that clan.  He was appointed ''prefect'' (governor) in 26 A.D. by the Roman emperor Tiberius at the behest (or intrigues) of Lucius Aelius Sejanus, a commander of the Praetorian Guard who had political ambitions of his own<ref>https://www.xenos.org/essays/sejanus-and-chronology-christs-death</ref>.  The only written account of the date of his appointment known to have survived to modern times - by way of the death of Tiberius in March, 37 A.D. - is from Josephus, who stated:

:"''"(Tiberius)...sent Valerius Gratus to be procurator of Judea, and to succeed Annus Rufus...When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, after he had tarried in Judea eleven years, when Pontius Pilate became his successor...So Pilate, when he had tarried ten years in Judea, made haste to Rome...but before he could get to Rome, Tiberius was dead."''

Pilate's wife reportedly had a nightmare about what Pontius was about to do, and begged him to have nothing to do with the execution of Jesus. She was the only one who spoke out against crucifying Jesus,<ref>http://www.womeninthebible.net/women-bible-old-new-testaments/wife-of-pilate/</ref> and is venerated as a saint in some churches.

That Pilate was appointed as prefect via Sejanus may have also been due in part to Sejanus' anti-Semitism.  The Praetorian Guard commander issued a number of decrees against the Jewish people throughout the empire, and several ancient writers strongly indicate that is what took place; certainly Pilate was a valuable protege who could carry out Sejanus' decrees in Judaea.  Eusebius wrote:

:''"...Sejanus, who was then in great favor with Tiberius, had made every effort to destroy the whole nation of the Jews from the foundation, and that in Pontius Pilate under whom the crimes were committed against our Savior, having attempted everything contrary to what was lawful among the Jews respecting the Temple at Jerusalem, which was then yet standing, excited them to the greatest tumults."''<ref>Eusebius, ''Ecclesiastical History ii'', V.</ref>

There has been much debate as to how to view Pilate and his choices and how Pilate truly thought. What is known is that Pilate was on very shaky ground.  He owed his political position to [[Sejanus]], a man who had already lost his head. Jewish complaints against him had already resulted in him being overruled by the Emperor once before. His record was such that another difficulty could well lead to his removal, and, indeed, that's exactly what happened in 36 A.D. when the Jews complained against him and he was dismissed from his position for cruelty by even the harsh Roman standards.  In the [[Gospel]] accounts there is a reference made that if Pilate lets Jesus go, then he is "no friend of Caesar".  Being a "friend of Caesar" was a term that had significance to the time as it was the way that political appointments were made. Saying that he was no friend of Caesar would have been viewed as a veiled threat that if he didn't rule the right way, accusations could be made against him to [[Rome]].

Sejanus died in 31 A.D. under suspicious circumstances; it may be true that Tiberius, from his island retreat on Capri, was told of the mistreatment of Jews within Rome on Sejanus' orders and had the commander arrested and executed.  Philo wrote down what followed:

:''"Therefore everyone everywhere, even if he was not naturally well disposed toward the Jews, was afraid to engage in destroying any of our institutions, and indeed it was the same under Tiberius though matters in Italy became troublesome when Sejanus was organizing his onslaughts. For Tiberius knew the truth, he knew at once after Sejanus' death that the accusations made against the Jewish inhabitants of Rome were false slanders, invented by him because he wished to make away with the nation, knowing that it would take the sole or the principal part in opposing his unholy plots and actions, and would defend the emperor when in danger of becoming the victim of treachery. And he charged his procurators in every place to which they were appointed to speak comfortably to the members of our nation in the different cities, assuring them that the penal measures did not extend to all but only to the guilty, who were few, and to disturb none of the established customs but even to regard them as a trust committed to their care, the people as naturally peaceable, and the institutions as an influence promoting orderly conduct."''<ref>Philo, ''Legatio 24'', 159-161</ref>

 

As a protege Pilate was eager to carry out Sejanus' policies once installed as prefect in Judaea. Josephus recorded the placement of Roman standards within Jerusalem,  with the intention of violating the city's sanctity<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' XVIII, 3.1</ref>; he forcibly took money from the Temple treasury to pay for an aqueduct, and had men and women viciously beaten and/or killed when they protested<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' XVIII, 3.2</ref>.  Even in the Gospel of Luke, it is mentioned that Pilate was extremely hostile towards the Jews:

:''There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.''<ref>''Luke'', 13:1</ref>

 

After Sejanus' death, Pilate seemed to have a more even-handed treatment of the Jews, the emperor's hands-off decree notwithstanding.  Jesus' trial showed a prefect who found Him innocent, yet he was forced into the hands of a hostile crowd, culminating in an accusation that "thou art not Caesar's friend"<ref>''John'', 19:12-16</ref>, in reference to the title ''amicus Caesaris'' Pilate held, a title granted to persons favored by the emperor.

 

in 36 A.D. a Samaritan revolt<ref>http://www.livius.org/articles/person/pontius-pilate/pontius-pilate-7/</ref> was quashed by Pilate at Mt. Gerizim, and after complaints of his brutality reached the Roman legate in Syria, Lucius Vitellius (the father of the future emperor Vitellius) dismissed him from office and sent him to Rome. The further fate of Pilate is unknown; one account stated that he was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor Caligula.

 

A slab of stone became the first archaeological find that confirmed the existence of Pilate.  In 1961 in the Mediterranean port of Caesarea, which was once the residence of a Roman governor in Judea, two Italian archaeologists discovered a limestone slab measuring 82 × 100 × 20 cm with a Latin inscription deciphered by archaeologist Antonio Frova as:

:[...PO]NTIUS PILATUS

:[...PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E

:[...FECIT D]E[DICAVIT]

== References ==

== References ==

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[[Category:Biblical Persons]]

[[Category:Biblical Persons]]

[[Category:Romans]]

[[Category:Romans]]