The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130 · External witness
Emperor Vespasian
AD 9 – 79 · Roman Emperor · Subduer of the Jews, no persecutor · Rome
External witness
Who Emperor Vespasian was
The general who took the Jewish War to the gates of Jerusalem and left his son Titus to finish it, then founded the Flavian dynasty. Tertullian enters him in the apologists' ledger of emperors: for all his victory over the Jews, he never turned the laws against the Christians — proof, the argument runs, that only the bad emperors persecuted.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Vespasian live?
Emperor Vespasian is dated AD 9 – 79 in the archive, which places Emperor Vespasian in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130).
Which early sources mention Emperor Vespasian?
Emperor Vespasian is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Suetonius, Tertullian and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Vespasian from?
The archive associates Emperor Vespasian with Rome.
Who were Emperor Vespasian’s contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Vespasian to 2 other figures, including Flavius Josephus and Emperor Domitian. 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.
Suetonius, Life of Vespasian 4–5 (the Judaean prophecy)
c. AD 121There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.Suetonius · read ↗
Apology 5
c. AD 200Consult your histories… such a persecutor was never a Vespasian, though the subduer of the Jews.Tertullian · 5 · source text
Ecclesiastical History III.12 (the search for the line of David)
c. AD 325Vespasian after the conquest of Jerusalem gave orders that all that belonged to the lineage of David should be sought out.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History III.12 · 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
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Emperor Vespasian.
- 1Rome