by Paulo Barata
of Tiberias and Taricheae in Galilee, and Julias, with fourteen villages near it, in Perinea. Agrippa expended large sums in beautifying Jerusalem and other cities, especially Berytus. His partiality for the latter rendered him unpopular amongst his own subjects, and the capricious manner in which he appointed and deposed the high priests made him disliked by the Jews. In 66 the Jews expelled him and Berenice from Jerusalem.
According to Photius, Agrippa died, childless, before 93/94. He was the last prince of the house of the Herodes.
It was before him and his sister Berenice that, according to the New Testament, Paul the Apostle pleaded his cause at Caesarea Maritima, possibly in 59.
Hevel*
Employee of Ahasver in Jaffa, proselyte
Hillel
Family of Gamaliel
Jeremiah*
Companion of Ahasver, member of the Sanhedrin
Jonathan
Jonathan ben Annas, son of Annas , High Priest
Son of Annas ben Seth, was High Priest of Judaea in 36-37 and in 44. Murdered by the sicarii (under the instigation of Marcus Antonius Felix, some rumored) in 57.
Joseph
Joseph of Arimathea, benefactor of Ahasver, proselyte
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.
A native of Arimathea, in Judea, Joseph was apparently a man of wealth‚ and probably a member of the Sanhedrin, one of the rabbinical courts that existed in eastern Mediterranean. According to Mark, Joseph was an "honorable counselor who was searching for the kingdom of God (this use of counselor is generally associated with the Sanhedrin).
Menahem*
Friend of Isaac, scribe
Mordechai*
Tutor of Yeshua (son of Ahasver), proselyte
Nicodemus
Friend of Joseph of Arimathea, proselyte
Philo Judaeus
Hellenistic philosopher
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 B.C.E. - 50 C.E.), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt during the Roman Empire.
Philo used philosophical allegory to attempt to fuse and harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoic philosophy. His allegorical exegesis was important for several Christian Church Fathers, but he has barely any reception history within Judaism. He believed that literal interpretations of the Hebrew Bible would stifle mankind's view and perception of a God too complex and marvelous to be understood in literal human terms.[citation needed]
Some scholars hold that his concept of the Logos as God's creative principle influenced early Christology. Other scholars, however, deny direct influence but say both Philo and Early Christianity borrow from a common source.
The few biographical details known about Philo are found in his own works, especially in Legatio ad Gaium [embassy to Gaius], and in Josephus. The only event in his life that can be decisively dated is his participation in the embassy to Rome in 40 C.E. He represented the Alexandrian Jews before Roman Emperor Caligula because of civil strife between the Alexandrian Jewish and Greek communities.
Pinchas*
Friend of Simon (father)
Simeon
Son of Gamaliel, Nasi of the Sanhedrin
Theudas
Pseudo-Messiah
Theudas was a Jewish rebel of the 1st century AD. His name, if a Greek compound, may mean "gift of God", although other scholars believe its etymology is Semitic and might mean "flowing with water".
At some point between 44 and 46 AD, Theudas led his followers in a short-lived revolt. Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the Jordan river; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it. Many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them. After falling upon them unexpectedly, they slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem.
Some writers are of the opinion that he may have said he was the Messiah. The movement was dispersed, and was never heard of again.
Theophilus
Theophilus ben Annas, son of Annas, High Priest
Yehuda of Gamala
Rebellious leader, pseudo-messiah
Judas of Galilee or Judas of Gamala led a violent resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judaea Province around 6 CE. The revolt was crushed brutally by the Romans.
Josephus states that Judas, along with Zadok the Pharisee founded the "fourth sect", of 1st century Judaism (the first three are the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes). Josephus blames this sect, usually identified with the later Zealots, a group of theocratic-nationalists who preached that God alone was the ruler of Israel and later urged that no taxes should be paid to Rome, for the Great Jewish Revolt and for the destruction of Herod's Temple.
Josephus does not relate the death of Judas, although he does report that Judas' sons James and Simon were executed by procurator Tiberius Julius Alexander in about 46 CE.
Judas is mentioned in the New Testament Book of Acts of the Apostles. The author has Gamaliel, a member of the Sanhedrin, refer to him as an example of a failed Messianic leader.
The Romans
Augustus
Adoptive son of Julius Caesar, first emperor
(23 September 63 BC - 19 August 14)
1st Roman Emperor. Ruled from 27 BC to 14.
Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.
Born into an old, wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavii family, in 44 BC, Augustus was adopted posthumously by his maternal great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar following Caesar's assassination. Together with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, he formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at Phillipi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its members: Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Augustus in 31 BC.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies. In reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and those of tribune and censor. It took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen"). The resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace). Despite continuous wars or imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and one year-long civil war over the imperial succession, the Mediterranean world remained at peace for more than two centuries. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanded possessions in Africa, expanded into Germania, and completed the conquest of Hispania. Beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states, and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard, created official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign.
Augustus died in 14 AD at the age of 75. He may have died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him.
Aulus Persius
Poet and satirist
Aulus Persius Flaccus (Volterra, 34 - 62), was a Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satires, he shows a stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for the abuses of his contemporaries. His works, which became very popular in the Middle Ages, were published after his death by his friend and mentor the stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Cornutus.
The first satire censures the literary tastes of the day as a reflection of the decadence of the national morals. The remaining satires handle in order (2) the question as to what we may justly ask of the gods (cf. Plato's second Alcibiades), (3) the importance of having a definite aim in life, (4) the necessity of self-knowledge for public men (cf. Plato's first Alcibiades), (5) the Stoic doctrine of liberty (introduced by generous allusions to Cornutus' teaching), and (6) the proper use of money.
Celer
Tribune
Cestius Gallus
Governor of Roman Syria
Gaius Cestius Gallus (d. 67 AD) was the son of a consul in ancient Rome and himself a suffect consul in 42. He was legate of Syria from 63 or 65.
He marched into Judaea in 66 in an attempt to restore calm at the outset of the Great Jewish Revolt. He succeeded in conquering Beit She'arim "the new city" also called Bezetha, in the Jezreel Valley, seat of the Great Sanhedrin (Jewish supreme religious court) at the time, but was unable to take The Temple Mount.
During his withdrawal to the coast his army was ambushed near Beth Horon, and only succeeded in making good his escape to Antioch by sacrificing the greater part of his army and a large amount of war material.
Soon after his return Gallus died (before the spring of 67), and was succeeded in the governorship by Licinius Mucianus.
Emperor Nero appointed General Vespasian, the future Emperor, instead to crush the rebellion.
Cicero
Politician, philosopher and writer
Marcus Tullius Cicero (January 3, 106 BC - December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose in not only Latin but European languages up to the 19th century was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style.
Claudius
Nephew of Tiberius, emperor
(1 August 10 BC - 13 October 54)
4th Roman Emperor. Ruled from 41 to 54.
A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office.
Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began theconquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day.
He was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more