Flavius Josephus

Josephus was born Yosef ben Matityahu to a priestly family in Jerusalem. He commanded Jewish forces in Galilee in the revolt against Rome, surrendered in 67, and later lived in Rome under the patronage of the Flavian emperors. There he wrote The Jewish War and the Jewish Antiquities, completed around 93–94.

His works describe Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas and John the Baptist. Antiquities 20 mentions the execution of ‘the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James’, widely accepted as authentic. The Testimonium Flavianum in Book 18 has clearly been altered by Christian copyists; most scholars think an original, more neutral reference to Jesus lies beneath it.