The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70 · External witness
Ananus II (the Younger)
d. AD 68 (killed in the revolt) · High Priest · Convened the Sanhedrin against James · Jerusalem
External witness
Who Ananus II (the Younger) was
Youngest son of the Annas of the Gospels, and high priest for three months in AD 62 — long enough, in the interval between the procurators Festus and Albinus, to summon the Sanhedrin and have James the Just stoned. Josephus records that the city's law-observant elite were scandalized and Agrippa stripped him of the priesthood; six years later the Idumaeans killed him in the revolt's first purges.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Ananus II die?
Ananus II (the Younger) is dated d. AD 68 (killed in the revolt) in the archive, which places Ananus II in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70).
Which early sources mention Ananus II?
Ananus II (the Younger) is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Flavius Josephus and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Ananus II from?
The archive associates Ananus II (the Younger) with Jerusalem.
Who were Ananus II’s contemporaries?
The archive links Ananus II (the Younger) to 3 other figures, including James the Just, Annas (Ananus I) and Flavius Josephus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Jewish War IV.5.2 (his death as the fall's beginning)
c. AD 78I should not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city.Flavius Josephus · read ↗
Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1
c. AD 93Ananus, thinking he had now a proper opportunity, Festus being dead and Albinus but upon the road, assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James… and delivered them to be stoned.Flavius Josephus · source text
Ecclesiastical History II.23 (the death of James laid to his account)
c. AD 325The more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History II.23 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Ananus II.