Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus succeeded Augustus in AD 14 and reigned until 37, spending his last decade on Capri. Pilate governed Judea as his appointee, and the silver denarius shown to Jesus in the question about tribute probably bore his image.
Luke dates John the Baptist’s preaching to the fifteenth year of Tiberius (c. AD 28–29). Tacitus says Christus was executed ‘in the reign of Tiberius’ by Pilate, and Justin Martyr repeats the dating. Later Christian legend, reported by Tertullian and Eusebius, claimed that Tiberius proposed to recognise Christ as a god, a story historians do not accept.
Where to start
Every mention
12 writings- AD 85The Gospel of LukeThe New Testament2×
- AD 93Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Book 18: the Testimonium Flavianum and John the BaptistWitnesses Outside the Church3×
- AD 116Tacitus, Annals 15.38–44: the Great Fire and Nero’s punishment of the ChristiansWitnesses Outside the Church3×
- AD 120Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25: the expulsion over “Chrestus”Witnesses Outside the Church2×
- AD 153Justin Martyr, First ApologyThe Early Church2×
- AD 180Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book IThe Early Church1×
- AD 221Julius Africanus on Thallus and Phlegon: the darkness at the crucifixionWitnesses Outside the Church2×
- AD 320Eusebius, Church History, Book IThe Early Church5×
- AD 400The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate) and the Pilate LettersThe Other Gospels2×
- 2026Jesus’s life: a chronological catalogue of the canonical narrativesThe Dossier1×
- 2026The documentary record of Jesus and the movements that interpreted himThe Dossier1×
- 2026Sources and further readingThe Dossier2×