Pontius Pilate Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Role as governor of Judea === [[File:Judaea Roman Province.svg|thumb|Map of the province of Judaea during Pilate's governorship in the first century.]] Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, during the reign of the emperor [[Tiberius]]. The post of governor of Judaea was of relatively low prestige and nothing is known of how Pilate obtained the office.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=398}} Josephus states that Pilate governed for ten years (''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' 18.4.2), and these are traditionally dated from 26 to 36/37, making him one of the two longest-serving governors of the province.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=8}} As Tiberius had retired to the island of [[Capri]] in 26, scholars such as E. Stauffer have argued that Pilate may have actually been appointed by the powerful [[Praetorian Prefect]] [[Sejanus]], who was executed for treason in 31.{{sfn|Maier|1968|pp=8–9}} Other scholars have cast doubt on any link between Pilate and Sejanus.{{sfnm|1a1=McGing|1y=1991|1p=427|2a1=Carter|2y=2003|2p=4|3a1=Schwartz|3y=1992|3p=398}} [[Daniel R. Schwartz]] and Kenneth Lönnqvist both argue that the traditional dating of the beginning of Pilate's governorship is based on an error in Josephus; Schwartz argues that he was appointed instead in 19, while Lönnqvist argues for 17/18.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|pp=396–397}}{{sfn|Lönnqvist|2000|p=67}} These proposed dates have not been widely accepted by other scholars.{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=122}} Pilate's title of prefect{{efn|Pilate's title as governor, as attested on the Pilate stone, is "[[Prefect#Ancient Rome|prefect]] of Judaea" ({{Lang|la|praefectus Iudaeae|italics=yes}}). His title is given as {{Lang|la|[[Procurator (Ancient Rome)|procurator]]|italics=yes}} in Tacitus, and with the Greek equivalent {{Transliteration|grc|epitropos|italics=yes}} ({{Lang|grc|ἐπίτροπος|italics=no}}) in Josephus and Philo.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=397}} The title prefect was later changed to "procurator" under the emperor [[Claudius]], explaining why later sources give Pilate this title.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=11–12}} The [[New Testament]] uses the generic Greek term {{Transliteration|grc|[[Hegemony|hegemon]]|italics=yes}} ({{Lang|grc|ἡγεμών|italics=no}}), a term also applied to Pilate in Josephus.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=397}}}} implies that his duties were primarily military;{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=11}} however, Pilate's troops were meant more as a police than a military force, and Pilate's duties extended beyond military matters.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=197}} As Roman governor, he was head of the judicial system. He had the power to inflict [[capital punishment]], and was responsible for collecting tributes and taxes, and for disbursing funds, including the minting of coins.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=197}} Because the Romans allowed a certain degree of local control, Pilate shared a limited amount of civil and religious power with the Jewish [[Sanhedrin]].{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=70}} Pilate was subordinate to the legate of [[Roman Syria|Syria]]; however, for the first six years in which he held office, Syria's legate [[Lucius Aelius Lamia (consul 3)|Lucius Aelius Lamia]] was absent from the region, something which [[Helen Bond]] believes may have presented difficulties to Pilate.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=5, 14–15}} He seems to have been free to govern the province as he wished, with intervention by the legate of Syria only coming at the end of his tenure, after the appointment of [[Lucius Vitellius (consul 34)|Lucius Vitellius]] to the post in 35.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=398}} Like other Roman governors of Judaea, Pilate made his primary residence in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]], going to [[Jerusalem]] mainly for major feasts to maintain order.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=7–8}} He also would have toured around the province in order to hear cases and administer justice.{{sfn|Carter|2003|p=46}} As governor, Pilate had the right to appoint the Jewish [[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]] and also officially controlled the vestments of the High Priest in the [[Antonia Fortress]].{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|pp=86–88}} Unlike his predecessor, [[Valerius Gratus]], Pilate retained the same high priest, [[Caiaphas|Joseph ben Caiaphas]], for his entire tenure. Caiaphas would be removed following Pilate's own removal from the governorship.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=19}} This indicates that Caiaphas and the priests of the [[Sadducees|Sadducee sect]] were reliable allies to Pilate.{{sfn|Carter|2003|p=48}} Moreover, Maier argues that Pilate could not have used the [[temple treasury]] to construct an [[Roman aqueduct|aqueduct]], as recorded by Josephus, without the cooperation of the priests.{{sfn|Maier|1971|p=364}} Similarly, Helen Bond argues that Pilate is depicted working closely with the Jewish authorities in the execution of Jesus.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=89}} Jean-Pierre Lémonon argues that official cooperation with Pilate was limited to the Sadducees, noting that the [[Pharisees]] are absent from the gospel accounts of Jesus's arrest and trial.{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=172}} Daniel Schwartz takes the note in the [[Gospel of Luke]] ([[Luke 23]]:12) that Pilate had a difficult relationship with the Galilean Jewish king [[Herod Antipas]] as potentially historical. He also finds historical the information that their relationship mended following the execution of Jesus.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=400}} Based on [[John 19]]:12, it is possible that Pilate held the title "friend of Caesar" ({{Lang-la|amicus Caesaris|italics=yes}}, {{Lang-grc|φίλος τοῦ Kαίσαρος|italics=no}}), a title also held by the Jewish kings [[Herod Agrippa I]] and [[Herod Agrippa II]] and by close advisors to the emperor. Both Daniel Schwartz and Alexander Demandt do not think this especially likely.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=398}}{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=60–61}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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