Augustus – More than Just the Nativity Story

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Augustus – More than Just the Nativity Story

Caesar Augustus is well-known for the Nativity account of Luke pointing to the proclaimed registration decree.^[1] Other little known actions by the Emperor of Rome had further implications long before and after to the accounts written about the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

^{LK 2:1-3} “…a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.” _(NKJV)

Adopted son of Julius Caesar, his birth name of Octavius was officially changed by the Roman Senate in 27 BC to Augustus meaning “the exalted one.” At that time, the Senate granted him full powers to rule Rome where he reigned until his death in 14 AD.^[2]

Initially, Augustus was one of three triumvirate rulers of Rome along with Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus. Antony and his lover, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, allied to challenge the rule of Rome ending with the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.^[3] Augustus triumphed, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, and King Herod unexpectedly rose to prominence.^[4]

Antony and Cleopatra had been backed by Herod in the War of Actium and, being on the losing wrong side, he expected to be executed by Augustus. Thinking he had nothing to lose, Herod traveled to Rome to present himself to Caesar. After a clever argument, Augustus allowed Herod to retain his crown as Judea’s king and began a life-long positive relationship.^[5]

Luke referenced Caesar Augustus and Quirinius governing in Syria while Herod was King at the time Jesus was born. Problematic, Quirinius is not considered by secular history to be a governor in Syria until years later in 6 AD raising a question about the credibility of Luke’s account.^[6] Unwittingly, Jewish historian Josephus injected Augustus into the timeline enigma with a clue that had nothing to do with Caesar’s registration “census” decree.

Wars of the Jews by Josephus adds a piece to the timeline puzzle by bringing to light an intriguing detail. A letter had been sent by Herod to Augustus asking for official guidance on the sensitive matter of the murder conspiracy trial to kill the King by two of his very own sons. Josephus referenced Caesar’s response:^[7]

“With these directions Herod complied and came to Berytus [Beirut] where Caesar had ordered the court to be assembled…The presidents set first, as Caesar’s letters had appointed, who were Saturninus, and Pedanius, and their lieutenants that were with them, with whom was the procurator Volumnius also…after whom sat the principal men of all Syria…” – Wars of the Jews

Caesar Augustus named two Syria province “presidents” and a procurator to be judges – three Roman ruling authorities who had concurrent governing responsibilities in Syria. Conventional wisdom has been that only one president and one procurator governed a Roman province.

Many governors of Syria over the course of decades were routinely referred to as “president” by Josephus, including Varus. Curiously Josephus, the Roman historian of the Jews, did not ever refer to Cyrenius aka Quirinius as the “president” of Syria. Had it not been for Augustus’ letter identified by Josephus that named Pedanius as another president of Syria, the existence of a second concurrent president of Syria would probably not otherwise be known.

Varus succeeded Saturninus in Syria, Sabinus became Augustus’ Syrian procurator, Jesus was born and King Herod died.^[8] Assuming Augustus still recognized two ruling presidents and a procurator in Syria just a few months later, who then was the second president in Syria when Jesus was born – was it Quirinius?

Commencing with the thirteenth consulship of Augustus on February 5, 2 BC, the Roman Senate celebrated his Silver Anniversary as Emperor.^[9] To mark the occasion, Augustus was proclaimed Pater Patriae, the “Father of the Country,” an honor included in his self-authored, “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus” (Res gestae divi Augusti).^[10]

Treatment of the Jews under Augustus was officially decreed to be in moderation. In Rome’s Temple of Caesar, Augustus had chiseled into a pillar his decree granting the Jews certain liberties. Anyone who transgressed this decree was to be severely punished.^[11]

After Herod’s death, Augustus decreed the former Judean kingdom to be ruled by the three surviving sons of King Herod – half by Archelaus as ethnarch and the remaining half divided among Philip and Antipas as tetrarchs. Augustus promised Archelaus “the royal dignity hereafter, if he governed his part virtuously.”^[12]

Putting to the test Augustus’ decree concerning the Jews, Caesar stood by his word. Ten years later, after Archelaus failed to govern Judea with moderation, a complaint was lodged against him by “the principal men of Judea.” Augustus banished Archelaus to Vienne, a punishment which had long-term implications for others, too.^[13]

Emperor Tiberius adopted the governing philosophies of Augustus including the treatment of the Jews with moderation. This philosophy affected the governing standards of the two Roman Procurators sent to Judea during the 22-year rule of Tiberius, the second of whom was Pilate.^[14]

Two years after condemning Jesus to the cross at the behest of the Jews, Pilate himself was subjected to a complaint lodged by Samarians of Judea charging mistreatment. Vitellius, governor of Syria, removed Pilate as procurator of Judea and sent him to Rome to be judged by Tiberius. Before he reached Rome, Tiberius was murdered and tradition says Pilate was banished by Emperor Caligula to Marseilles, in southern France.^[15]

Actions taken by Augustus affected Herod, Quirinius, Tiberius and Pilate – all secular historical figures mentioned in the Gospel accounts who had impacts on the birth, life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Does this historical information lend credibility to the Gospel accounts about Jesus?

Updated September 22, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES

[1] “Augustus.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2014. <http://www.livius.org/person/augustus> Tacitus, Gaius Cornelius. The Annals. 14 AD. Internet Classic Archive. 2009. <http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.html>
[2] Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. n.d. <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/home.html> “Augustus Comes to Power.” UNRV History |The Roman Empire. United Nations of Roma Victrix. 2020. <http://www.unrv.com/fall-republic/augustus.php> “Augustus.” Livius.org. “Augustus Biography.” TheFamousPeople. photo. n.d. <https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gaius-julius-caesar-augustus-779.php>
[3] “Second Triumvirate.” Livius.org. 2015. <http://www.livius.org/articles/concept/triumvir/second-triumvirate>
[4] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XIV, Chapter 14; Book XV, Chapters V-VI. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. Book XV, Chapter VI.1, 5-7. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book I, Chapter 20.1-3. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> “Mark Antony.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Antony-Roman-triumvir/Alliance-with-Cleopatra> Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Jerusalem.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>
[5] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XIV, Chapter VI.5-6.
[6] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapter I.1. Schurer, Emil. A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Volume 1. 1890. pp 350-351. <http://books.google.com/books?id=BRynO3W9FPcC&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=Tiberius&f=false> The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Volume 9. p 375. Doig, Kenneth F. New Testament Chronology. Chapter 5. 1990. <https://books.google.com/books?id=pZJAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA375&lpg=PA375&dq=Sentius+Saturninus+bio+encyclopedia&source=bl&ots=Yr6hey_Yyt&sig=ACfU3U3_QfHNQxSi3nMAhiiAZdTJqMNr_Q&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikl7O2j5_nAhURXM0KHToTC2oQ6AEwA3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sentius%20Saturninus%20bio%20encyclopedia&f=false> No Woe Zone. <http://nowoezone.com/NTC05.htm> “Syria.” Regnal Chronologies. 2014. <http://web.raex.com/~obsidian/Syria.html#Syria>
[7] Josephus, Flavius. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXVII.2. Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVI, Chapter XI. CR Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXXII.1
[8] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapters V.2, VII.1, IX.3. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapters XXXII.1, 5, XXXIII.7-8; Book II, Chapter II.2. Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the death of Herod.” 2015. Academia.edu. 2014. <http://www.academia.edu/2518046/Dating_the_death_of_Herod> Martin, Ernest L. The Star of Bethlehem – The Star That Astonished the World. Chapter 11. A.S.K. (Associates for Scriptural Knowledge. 2003. <http://web.archive.org/web/20190620081117/http://www.askelm.com/star>
[9]Martin, Ernest L. The Star of Bethlehem – The Star That Astonished the World. Gertoux. “Dating the two Censuses of Quirinius.” Augustus. The Deeds of the Devine Augustus. “pater patriae.” Nova Roma. 2007. <www.novaroma.org/nr/Pater_Patriae_(Nova_Roma)> “pater patriae.” Encyclopædia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/pater-patriae> Mosley, John. “Common Errors in ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Planetarium Shows.”
[10] Augustus, Caesar. The Deeds of the Devine Augustus (Res gestae divi Augusti). <http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html> “pater patriae.” Nova Roma. Martin. The Star of Bethlehem. Chapter 13. Mosley, John. “Common Errors in ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Planetarium Shows.” Third Quarter 1981, International Planetarium Society, Inc. n.d. <http://www.ips-planetarium.org/?page=a_mosley1981>
[11] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVI, Chapter VI.2, 8.
[12] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII. Chapter XI.4; Book XVII. Chapter XII.2. Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Galilee; Herod the Great; Jerusalem; Judaea.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Idumaea; Jerusalem.” 2002. < https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>
[13] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII. Chapter XIII.2; Book XVIII, Chapter I.1.
[14] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapter II.2; VI.5 “Valerius Gratus.” Encyclopedia.com. 2019. <https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/valerius-gratusdeg>
[15] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XIII. 2, 5.

Pilate – the Story Behind the Story

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Pilate – the Story Behind the Story

Pilate will be forever known as the Roman Procurator who condemned Jesus of Nazareth to be crucified.^[1] Why he made this judgement defies sensible logic considering Pilate himself and Herod the Tetrarch, son of King Herod, both found Jesus guiltless of any crime.

In the case of Pilate and Jesus, the politics were much deeper than conveyed in the Gospel accounts which primarily focused on the political pressures from the Jewish leadership.^[2] Roman influences were just as much, if not more, a significant factor.^[3]

Roman politics were no different than they are today, except perhaps for the deadly endgame objective to totally eliminate the opponent, often by death – including Caesars.^[4] Each government official had to try to avoid the pitfalls that came with authority, quite commonly from blood relatives and spouses.^[5]

Only two Procurators were sent to Judea by Tiberius Caesar during his 22-year reign. Gratus was first to be sent to Jerusalem serving Rome as Procurator for 11 years.

One of Gratus’ noteworthy last actions was to appoint Joseph Caiaphas as High Priest. Pontius Pilate followed as the second Roman Procurator sent by Tiberius serving 10 years.^[6]

Insights to the thinking and behaviors of Tiberius Caesar are key to understanding what drove the actions and behaviors of Pilate. What affected the Caesar’s reaction to various scenarios included his view of the Empire past and present; what he deemed to be important; and his temperament.

Highly regarding the policies and decrees of his predecessor, Caesar Augustus, Tiberius said, “I who respect as law all his actions and sayings.”^[7] Highlighting this, Tiberius was once observed sacrificing to the Divine Augustus.^[8]

Jews were to be treated with moderation by decree of Augustus.^[9] In fact, the decree was chiseled into a pillar in the Temple of Caesar in Rome granting the Jews certain liberties – anyone who transgressed it was to be severely punished:^[10]

“Cesar Augustus, High Priest, and Tribune of the people ordains thus: …the Jews have liberty to make use of their own customs, according to the law of their fathers, as they made use of them under Hyrcanus the High Priest of Almighty God; and that their sacred money be not touched, but be sent to Jerusalem; and that it be committed to the care of the receivers at Jerusalem; and that they be not obliged to go before any judge on the Sabbath-day, nor on the day of the preparation to it, after the ninth hour… And if any one transgress any part of what is above decreed, he shall be severely punished.”

Backing up his words, Augustus received a complaint by the Jews against Ethnarch Archelaus, a ruling heir of King Herod. Archelaus was banished to Vienna by Augustus who took away his wealth for treating the Jews harshly.^[11]

No doubt Pilate was aware of how Tiberius desired to follow the examples of Augustus and the fate of Archelaus. Ruthless as a ruler, as time went on the level of depravity and cruelty by Tiberius was on full display.^[12]

Tacitus called it a “cruel temper” surmising absolute power perverted the actions of Tiberius.^[13] Josephus described Tiberius as having an “intractable” temper, a “tyrant.”^[14]

Regardless of the view of the Jews by Augustus, at heart Tiberius believed religious beliefs of the Jews to be “superstitions” and banned them from the city of Rome. An example, Jews in military service were assigned “to provinces of a less healthy environment.”^[15]

Walking a fine line, Pilate had to separate what Tiberius deemed a superstitious religion from the treatment of the people of Judea. The risk – if a report got back to Caesar that Pilate had mistreated the Jewish people, bad things could happen…thus was the authoritative profile of the ruler Pilate served.

Pilate first provoked the Jews by moving his Roman troops from Caesarea to Jerusalem “to abolish the Jewish laws.” During the night, Roman ensigns with effigies of Caesar were brought into the city violating Jewish law prohibiting the images.^[16]

Rebellion ensued with thousands of Jews petitioning Pilate to remove the images. In front of Pilate, Jewish zealots prostrated themselves on the ground pulling back their hair to expose their necks for the sword. Taken aback, Pilate removed the ensigns.

Next incitement, Pilate announced the construction of a Jerusalem aqueduct to be paid using the “sacred money” of the Jews. Protests again ensued by tens of thousands of Jews who cast insults at the crier who made the announcement.

Addressing the crowd himself, more aspersions were now hurled at Pilate who took offense. Planning for this likelihood, the Procurator had Roman soldiers dress in disguise and mingle in the crowd.^[17]

Giving the signal, the soldiers reacted and pulled out daggers wounding and killing many of the unarmed protesters. No action was taken by Tiberius and Pilate remained as Procurator.

According to Luke 3:1, Jesus began his ministry in the 15^th year of Tiberius meaning that Pilate was entering his fifth year as Procurator when the ministry of Jesus began. After a 3-year ministry, it reckons that Pilate was about in his 8^th year as Procurator when Jesus was delivered to him to be judged.

By now, Tiberius was a seasoned Caesar in his 18^th year of rule with his cruelties being well-known. With a long track record of the Emperor to consider, Pilate had to ponder the risks that came with working for a tyrant who was feared even by Roman citizens.

During the famed ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and with Pilate in Jerusalem, it set the two on an inevitable collision course. In the next sequence of incidents with the Jews, Josephus wrote:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man…”

“…Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross…” – Josephus ^[18]

After holding their own trial for blasphemy and rendering a verdict of guilty, the Jewish leadership brought Jesus to Pilate for Roman judgement under the accusation of insurrection and tax evasion. As the Roman authority in Judea, the Procurator had little choice but to deal with the situation.^[19]

Directly asking Jesus if he is a king, Jesus admitted it to Pilate, just not a King of this world. Perplexed, Pilate sent Jesus to be judged by Galilee Tetrarch Herod Antipas who just happened to be in Jerusalem at that time.

Neither Tetrarch Herod nor Procurator Pilate found any guilt in Jesus for insurrection or incensus against Rome despite Jesus admitting to Pilate that he is a King.^[20] Announcing his decision, Jewish reaction was raucous shouting for Jesus to be crucified.

Compelling him to wash his hands of the contrivance, Pilate proclaimed to the crowd of Jews, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”^[21] Jesus was then sentenced to be crucified.

Was Pilate’s decision to have Jesus crucified the result of political fears of the Jews and Tiberius Caesar as the Gospel of John alluded or was it part of a divine Messiah plan where an innocent man was to be crucified – or maybe both?^[22]

Postscript: Pilate, too, was caught in the spiderweb of Jewish-Roman politics. About two years later, the Samarians lodged a complaint against Pilate for his abuses of them to Vitellius, Roman provincial governor of Syria. Vitellius removed both Pilate and Caiaphas from their positions sending Pilate to Rome to be judged by Tiberius, but the Caesar was murdered while he was enroute.^[23] Tradition holds that Pilate, like Archelaus, was banished to Vienna by Caius, better known as Caligula.^[24]

Updated December 6, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Trans. and commentary, William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. Book XVIII, Chapter III.3. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Tacitus, Gaius Cornelius. The Annals. 109 AD. Books XV.44. <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/15B*.html> Lucian of Samosata. “The Death of Peregrine.” The Works of Lucian of Samosata. Volume IV. 1905. p 82. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl4/wl420.htm> “Pontius Pilate Biography.” TheFamousPeople. photo. n.d. <https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrEfjiRA0djwjcA1lUPxQt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=pontius+pilate+images&type=sdff_9527_FFW_ZZ&hsimp=yhs-3&hspart=iba&grd=1&ei=UTF-8&fr=yhs-iba-3#id=0&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefamouspeople.com%2Fprofiles%2Fimages%2Fpontius-pilate-1.jpg&action=click>
[2] Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18.
[3] John 19:12. CR Luke 23:24. Smith, Murray J. “The Political Context of the Gospels.” Academia. 2010. pp 98-100. <file:///C:/Users/KIM_VO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/The_Political_Context_of_the_Gospels.pdf>
[4] Tacitus, Gaius Cornelius. The Annals. Books I, VI. “Julius Caesar.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020.
<https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler> “Tiberius.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius/Reign-as-emperor>
[5] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XIII. 2, 5; Book XVIII, Chapter VI.6-7, 10. Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter 9.5 Tacitus. Annals. Books II, XV. Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Tiberius, #50, 51, 52.< http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/home.html>
[6] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapter II.2; VI.5 “Valerius Gratus.” Encyclopedia.com. 2019. <https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/valerius-gratusdeg> Carrier, Richard C. “Herod the Procurator: Was Herod the Great a Roman Governor of Syria?” 2011. pp 34-37. <https://www.academia.edu/1203990/Herod_the_Procurator_Was_Herod_the_Great_a_Roman_Governor_of_Syria?email_work_card=view-paper>
[7] Tacitus. Annals. Book IV. Strabo. Geography. 6.4. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=6:chapter=4&highlight=tiberius>
[8] Tacitus. Annals. Book IV.
[9] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XIII. 2.
[10] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XVI, Chapter VI.2. n.d <https://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Augustus&f=false>
[11] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XIII. 2, 5. Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Herod Antipas.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Jerusalem.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>
[12] Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Tiberius, #49, 50, 55, 59, 61, 62, 66, 67.
[13] Tacitus. Annals. Book VI.
[14] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters II.4, VI.5.
[15] Suetonius. “Tiberius.” #36.
[16] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapter III.1. Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter IX.3. Calmet, Augustin. Calmet’s Great Dictionary of the Holy Bible. Pilate. 1813. <https://books.google.com/books?id=FgM2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PP305&lpg=PP305&dq=Pilate+banished,+Vienne&source=bl&ots=fIZ2ZHY3xl&sig=ACfU3U101WIrN_RVsnslwXcQIHIdEdILGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJxYrQpYbnAhUJOisKHZ5HB1gQ6AEwEHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Pilate%20banished%2C%20Vienne&f=false>
[17] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters III.2. Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter IX.4. Calmet, Augustin. Calmet’s Great Dictionary of the Holy Bible. Pilate.
[18] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters III.3.
[19] Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18.
[20] Luke 26:6-12. Bunson, Matthew. Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Herod Antipas.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> Tarwacka, Anna. “The consequences of avoiding census in Roman law.” 2013. <https://www.academia.edu/5525859/The_consequences_of_avoiding_census_in_Roman_law>
[21] Matthew 27:24-26; Mark 15:11-15; Luke 23:20-25; John 19:4-15.
[22] John 19:12. Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters III.1.
[23] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters III.3, IV.2.
[24] “Caius Caesar Augustus Caligula.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/caius-caesar-agustus-caligula> Cohen, Jennie. “7 Things You May Not Know About Caligula.” History.com. 2012. <https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-caligula> Smith, William, ed. Dictionary of Greek and Roman. “Vienna.” n.d. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=vienna-geo&highlight=pilate>