Tag: Pontius

The Roman governor who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion had a complex background. The name Pontius Pilate provides two valuable clues to his background and ancestry. The family name, Pontius, was that of a prominent clan among the Samnites, hill cousins ...

Many ancient authors mention Pontius Pilate, including Tacitus, Josephus Flavius, and Philo of Alexandria. In 1961, during excavations in Caesarea Maritima, Italian archaeologists found a fragment of a stone inscription among the ruins of an ancient theater: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, ...

The Roman governor who presided over Jesus’s trial and ordered his crucifixion had a complex background. The name Pontius Pilate provides two valuable clues to his background and ancestry. The family name, Pontius, was that of a prominent clan among the Samnites, hill cousins...

The family name, Pontius, was that of a prominent clan among the Samnites, hill cousins of the Latin Romans. They had almost conquered Rome in several fierce wars. The Pontii were of noble blood, but when Rome finally absorbed the Samnites, their aristocracy was demoted to the Roman&n...