The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70 · External witness
Pontius Pilate
recalled AD 36/37; d. c. 37+ (trad. suicide) · Prefect of Judaea · Judge of Jesus · Caesarea Maritima / Jerusalem
External witness
Who Pontius Pilate was
Fifth prefect of Judaea (26–36), attested by Tacitus, Josephus, Philo — and by a dedication stone found at Caesarea in 1961 reading [PO]NTIVS PILATVS [PRAEF]ECTVS IVDA[EA]E. The Gospels show him shrewd, contemptuous, and finally pliable: “I find in him no fault at all,” then the handwashing, then the sentence. No name outside the church entered the creed but his — “suffered under Pontius Pilate,” the faith’s permanent date-stamp in imperial history, which Ignatius and Justin already use exactly so. Recalled after a Samaritan massacre; Eusebius reports the tradition that he died by his own hand under Caligula.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Pontius Pilate live?
Pontius Pilate is dated recalled AD 36/37; d. c. 37+ (trad. suicide) in the archive, which places Pontius Pilate in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Pontius Pilate?
Pontius Pilate is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ignatius of Antioch, Tacitus, Justin Martyr and The Pilate cycle. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Pontius Pilate from?
The archive associates Pontius Pilate with Caesarea Maritima / Jerusalem.
Who were Pontius Pilate’s contemporaries?
The archive links Pontius Pilate to 11 other figures, including Joseph Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, The Centurion at the Cross and Pontius Pilate's Wife (Procula). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
To the Trallians 9
c. AD 108Jesus Christ, of the race of David, the son of Mary, who was truly born and ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died.Ignatius of Antioch · 9 · source text
Annals XV.44
c. AD 116Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.Tacitus · read ↗
First Apology 35 (appeal to the Acts of Pilate)
c. AD 155And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.Justin Martyr · First Apology 35 · source text
Acts of Pilate I–XVI (the cycle bearing his name)
c. AD 350Connected in the archive
People
- Joseph Caiaphas
- Herod Antipas
- The Centurion at the Cross
- Pontius Pilate's Wife (Procula)
- Emperor Tiberius
- Cornelius Tacitus
- Joseph of Arimathea
- Nicodemus the Pharisee
- Lysanias of Abilene
- Barabbas
- Jesus of Nazareth
Events in this lifetime
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Pontius Pilate, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.