Coordinates	25°47′14″N80°11′24″N
Name	Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Birth date	ca. AD 70
Birth place	Hippo Regius, Algeria
Death date	ca. 130
Occupation	Secretary, historian
Genre	Biography
Subject	History, biography, oratory
Movement	Silver Age of Latin
Signature	}}

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius (ca. 69/75 – after 130), was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era.

His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, entitled ''De Vita Caesarum''. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. A few of these books have partially survived, but many have been lost.

Life

Suetonius was born the son of Suetonius Laetus, who probably came from Hippo Regius (Annaba, Algeria). Laetus was an equestrian who served and took part in the first Battle of Bedriacum for the Emperor Otho and against the future Emperor Vitellius in AD 69.

Suetonius was a close friend of senator and letter-writer Pliny the Younger. Pliny describes him as "quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing." Pliny helped him buy a small property in Italy and interceded with the Emperor Trajan to grant Suetonius immunities usually granted to a father of three, the ''ius trium liberorum'', because his marriage was childless. Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favour with Trajan and Hadrian. Suetonius may have served on Pliny’s staff when Pliny was Proconsul of Bithynia Pontus (northern Asia Minor) between 110 and 112. Under Trajan he served as secretary of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and director of Imperial archives. Under Hadrian, he became the Emperor's secretary. But, In 119, Hadrian dismissed Suetonius for an affair between him and Empress Vibia Sabina. Suetonius may have later regained imperial favor under Hadrian and returned to his position. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that ''Offices of State'' was one of his last works, and that the subject was chosen to reflect Hadrian's administrative reforms; however, there is no certain evidence for a public career after 120.

Works

Twelve Caesars

He is mainly remembered as the author of ''De Vita Caesarum'', best known in English as "The Twelve Caesars", his only extant work except for the brief lives and other fragments noted below. The Twelve Caesars, probably written in Hadrian's time, is a collective biography of the Roman Empire's first leaders, Julius Caesar (the first few chapters are missing), Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The book was dedicated to a friend Gaius Septicius Clarus, a prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 119. The work tells the tale of each Caesar's life according to a set formula: the descriptions of appearance, omens, family history, quotes, and then a history are given in a consistent order for each Caesar.

Other works

Partly extant

''De Viris Illustribus'' ("On Famous Men" — in the field of literature), to which belong:

*''De Illustribus Grammaticis'' ("Lives Of The Grammarians"; 20 brief lives, apparently complete)

*''De Claris Rhetoribus'' ("Lives Of The Rhetoricians"; 5 brief lives out of an original 16 survive)

*''De Poetis'' ("Lives Of The Poets"; the life of Virgil, as well as fragments from the lives of Terence, Horace and Lucan, survive)

*''De historicis'' ("Lives of the historians"; a brief life of Pliny the Elder is attributed to this work)

''Peri ton par' Hellesi paidion'' ("Greek Games")

''Peri blasphemion'' ("Greek Terms of Abuse")

The two last works were written in Greek. They apparently survive in part in the form of extracts in later Greek glossaries.

Lost works

''Royal Biographies''

''Lives of Famous Whores''

''Roman Manners and Customs''

''The Roman Year''

''The Roman Festivals''

''Roman Dress''

''Offices of State''

''On Cicero’s Republic''

''Physical Defects of Mankind''

''Methods of Reckoning Time''

''An Essay on Nature''

''Grammatical Problems''

''Critical Signs Used in Books''

The Great Fire and the ''Christiani''

In A.D. 64, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Suetonius cast blame on the Emperor Nero himself as the arsonist, claiming he played the lyre and sang the ''Sack of Ilium'' during the fires. Tacitus says that Nero attempted to shift the blame to the ''Chrestiani'', usually taken to mean "Christians", setting off the earliest documented Imperial persecution of what was regarded by the Romans at the time as still a Jewish sect and as a ''superstitio'' ("superstition," or illegitimate form of religious belief). While Suetonius makes no connection to the Christians in his account of the Great Fire, he mentions ''Chrestus'' elsewhere as an example of Nero's harshness, saying that punishments were inflicted on them. In his ''Life of Claudius'', Suetonius says that Jews instigated by ''Chrestus'' were expelled from the city for causing disturbances. Suetonius' mentions of ''Chrestus'' and ''Christiani'', taken with that of Tacitus, is an important piece of evidence in scholarly discussions of the historicity of Jesus.

References

Еditions

Donna W. Hurley (trans.), ''Suetonius: The Caesars'' (Indianapolis/London: Hackett Publishing Company, 2011).

Bibliography

Barry Baldwin, ''Suetonius: Biographer of the Caesars''. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert, 1983.

External links

Primary sources

''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'' at LacusCurtius (Latin original, English translation)

Suetonius' works at Latin Library (Latin)

*''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'' at Project Gutenberg (English translation - includes ''Lives Of The Grammarians, Rhetoricians, And Poets'')

Gai Suetoni Tranquilli De vita Caesarum libri III-VI Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.

Secondary sources

Livius.org: Suetonius

Category:1st-century births Category:2nd-century deaths Category:Roman era biographers Category:2nd-century historians Category:Latin historians Category:Silver Age Latin writers Category:2nd-century Romans

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Boudica (; alternative spelling: Boudicca), also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" (d. AD 60 or 61) was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.

Boudica's husband Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni tribe who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will was ignored. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans.

In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey in northern Wales, Boudica led the Iceni people, along with the Trinovantes and others, in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes, but now a ''colonia'' (a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers) and the site of a temple to the former emperor Claudius, which was built and maintained at local expense. They also routed a Roman legion, the IX ''Hispana'', sent to relieve the settlement.

On hearing the news of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (London), the twenty-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. Concluding he did not have the numbers to defend it, Suetonius evacuated and abandoned it. It was burnt to the ground, as was Verulamium (St Albans). An estimated 70,000–80,000 people were killed in the three cities (though the figures are suspect). Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces in the West Midlands, and despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated the Britons in the Battle of Watling Street. The crisis caused the emperor Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from the island, but Suetonius' eventual victory over Boudica secured Roman control of the province. Boudica then killed herself so she would not be captured, or fell ill and died; the extant sources, Tacitus and Cassius Dio, differ.

Interest in the history of these events was revived during the English Renaissance and led to a resurgence of Boudica's legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her 'namesake'. Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom. The absence of native British literature during the early part of the first millennium means that Britain owes its knowledge of Boudica's rebellion solely to the writings of the Romans.

History

Boudica's name

Boudica has been known by several versions of her name. Raphael Holinshed calls her Voadicia, while Edmund Spenser calls her "Bunduca", a version of the name that was used in the popular Jacobean play ''Bonduca'', in 1612. William Cowper's poem, ''Boadicea, an ode'' (1782) popularised an alternate version of the name. From the 19th century and much of the late 20th century, "Boadicea" was the most common version of the name, which is probably derived from a mistranscription when a manuscript of Tacitus was copied in the Middle Ages. Her name was clearly spelled ''Boudicca'' in the best manuscripts of Tacitus, but also ''Βουδουικα'', ''Βουνδουικα'', and ''Βοδουικα'' in the (later and probably secondary) epitome of Cassius Dio. ''Boudica'' is a commonly repeated spelling based upon Jackson's hypothesis that it was originally a Proto-Celtic feminine adjective ''*boudīka'', "victorious", derived from the Celtic word ''*bouda'', "victory" (cf. Irish ''bua'' (Classical Irish ''buadh''), ''Buaidheach'', Welsh ''buddugoliaeth''). It is suggested that the most comparable English name would be "Victoria". The name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudica" in Lusitania, "Boudiga" in Bordeaux, and "Bodicca" in Algeria. Based on later development of Welsh and Irish, Kenneth Jackson concludes that the correct spelling of the name in the British language is ''Boudica'', pronounced (the closest English equivalent to the vowel in the first syllable is the ''ow'' in "bow-and-arrow"). The modern English pronunciation is .

Background

Tacitus and Dio agree that Boudica was of royal descent. Dio says that she was "possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women", that she was tall, had hair described as reddish-brown or tawny hanging below her waist, a harsh voice and a piercing glare, and habitually wore a large golden necklace (perhaps a torc), a many-coloured tunic, and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch.

Her husband, Prasutagus, was the king of Iceni, people who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk. They initially were not part of the territory under direct Roman control, having voluntarily allied themselves to Rome following Claudius' conquest of AD 43. They were jealous of their independence and had revolted in AD 47 when the then-governor Publius Ostorius Scapula threatened to disarm them. Prasutagus lived a long life of conspicuous wealth, and, hoping to preserve his line, made the Roman emperor co-heir to his kingdom along with his wife and two daughters. It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king, who would agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will: the provinces of Bithynia and Galatia, for example, were incorporated into the Empire in just this way. Roman law also allowed inheritance only through the male line. So when Prasutagus died, his attempts to preserve his line were ignored and his kingdom was annexed as if it had been conquered. Lands and property were confiscated and nobles treated like slaves. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped. Cassius Dio says that Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, chose this time to call in their loans. Tacitus does not mention this, but does single out the procurator, Catus Decianus, for criticism for his "avarice". Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.

Boudica's uprising

In AD 60 or 61, while the current governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) in the north of Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels and a stronghold of the druids, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, amongst others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader. According to Tacitus, they drew inspiration from the example of Arminius, the prince of the Cherusci who had driven the Romans out of Germany in AD 9, and their own ancestors who had driven Julius Caesar from Britain. Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory. Perhaps it is significant that Boudica's own name means "victory" (see above).

The rebels' first target was Camulodunum (Colchester), the former Trinovantian capital and at that time a Roman ''colonia''. The Roman veterans who had been settled there mistreated the locals, and a temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. The Roman inhabitants of the city sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred auxiliary troops. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. Archaeologists have shown that the city was methodically demolished. The future governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX ''Hispana'', attempted to relieve the city, but suffered an overwhelming defeat. His infantry was wiped out; only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. The location of this famous battle is claimed by the village of Great Wratting, in Suffolk, which lies in the Stour Valley on the Icknield Way West of Colchester, and by a village in Essex. After this defeat, Catus Decianus fled to Gaul.

When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried along Watling Street through hostile territory to Londinium (London). Londinium was a relatively new town, founded after the conquest of 43AD, but it had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of travellers, traders, and probably, Roman officials. Suetonius considered giving battle there, but considering his lack of numbers and chastened by Petillius's defeat, decided to sacrifice the city to save the province. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burnt it down, slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius. Archaeology shows a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before 60 AD within the bounds of the Roman city. Verulamium (St Albans) was next to be destroyed.

In the three cities destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more detail: that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.

Romans rally

Suetonius regrouped with the XIV ''Gemina'', some ''vexillationes'' (detachments) of the XX ''Valeria Victrix'', and any available auxiliaries. The prefect of Legio II ''Augusta'', Poenius Postumus, ignored the call, but nonetheless the governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men. He took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the West Midlands somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street, in a defile with a wood behind him. But his men were heavily outnumbered. Dio says that, even if they were lined up one deep, they would not have extended the length of Boudica's line: by now the rebel forces numbered 230,000. However, this number should be treated with scepticism: Dio's account is known only from a late epitome, and ancient sources commonly exaggerate enemy numbers. While Boudica's army continued their assault in Verulamium (St. Albans), Suetonius regrouped his forces. According to Tacitus, he amassed a force including his own Legio XIV ''Gemina'', parts of the XX ''Valeria Victrix'', and any available auxiliaries, a total of 10,000 men. A third legion, II ''Augusta'', near Exeter, failed to join him; a fourth, IX ''Hispana'', had been routed trying to relieve Camulodunum.

Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. Tacitus gives her a short speech in which she presents herself not as an aristocrat avenging her lost wealth, but as an ordinary person, avenging her lost freedom, her battered body, and the abused chastity of her daughters. Their cause was just, and the deities were on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery, that was their choice.

However, the lack of manoeuvrability of the British forces, combined with lack of open-field tactics to command these numbers, put them at a disadvantage to the Romans, who were skilled at open combat due to their superior equipment and discipline, and the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could put forth only as many troops as the Romans could at a given time.

First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of ''pila'' (heavy javelins) to kill thousands of Britons who were rushing toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers, who had now used up their ''pila'', were then able to engage Boudica's second wave in the open. As the Romans advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families, whom they had stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. This is not the first instance of this tactic. The women of the Cimbri, in the Battle of Vercellae against Gaius Marius, were stationed in a line of wagons and acted as a last line of defence; Ariovistus of the Suebi is reported to have done the same thing in his battle against Julius Caesar. Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.

Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. Catus Decianus, who had fled to Gaul, was replaced by Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus. Suetonius conducted punitive operations, but criticism by Classicianus led to an investigation headed by Nero's freedman Polyclitus. Fearing Suetonius' actions would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus. The historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus tells us the crisis had almost persuaded Nero to abandon Britain.

Location of her defeat

The location of Boudica's defeat is unknown. Most historians favour a site in the West Midlands, somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street. Kevin K. Carroll suggests a site close to High Cross in Leicestershire, on the junction of Watling Street and the Fosse Way, which would have allowed the Legio II ''Augusta'', based at Exeter, to rendezvous with the rest of Suetonius's forces, had they not failed to do so. Manduessedum (Mancetter), near the modern town of Atherstone in Warwickshire, has also been suggested, as has 'The Rampart' near Messing in Essex, according to legend. More recently, a discovery of Roman artefacts in Kings Norton close to Metchley Camp has suggested another possibility, and a thorough examination of a stretch of Watling Street between St. Albans, Boudica's last known location, and the Fosse Way junction has suggested the Cuttle Mill area of Paulerspury in Northamptonshire, which has topography very closely matching that described by Tacitus of the scene of the battle.

Historical sources

Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of this period, took a particular interest in Britain as Gnaeus Julius Agricola, his father-in-law and the subject of his first book, served there three times. Agricola was a military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus, which almost certainly gave Tacitus an eyewitness source for Boudica's revolt. Cassius Dio's account is only known from an epitome, and his sources are uncertain. He is generally agreed to have based his account on that of Tacitus, but he simplifies the sequence of events and adds details, such as the calling in of loans, that Tacitus does not mention.

Gildas, in his 6th century ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', may have been alluding to Boudica when he wrote ''"A treacherous lioness butchered the governors who had been left to give fuller voice and strength to the endeavours of Roman rule."''

Cultural depictions

History and literature

By the Middle Ages Boudica was forgotten. She makes no appearance in Bede's work, the ''Historia Brittonum'', the ''Mabinogion'' or Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''History of the Kings of Britain''. But the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus during the Renaissance allowed Polydore Virgil to reintroduce her into British history as "Voadicea" in 1534. Raphael Holinshed also included her story in his ''Chronicles'' (1577), based on Tacitus and Dio, and inspired Shakespeare's younger contemporaries Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher to write a play, ''Bonduca'', in 1610. William Cowper wrote a popular poem, ''Boadicea, an ode'', in 1782. and several ships were named after her. A great bronze statue of Boudica with her daughters in her war chariot (furnished with scythes after the Persian fashion) was commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft. It was completed in 1905 and stands next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with the following lines from Cowper's poem, referring to the British Empire:

Regions Caesar never knew Thy posterity shall sway.

Ironically, the great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the British Empire, and her statue stood guard over the city she razed to the ground.

In more recent times, Boudica has been the subject of numerous documentaries, including some by Discovery Channel, History International Channel, and the BBC.

Boudica and King's Cross

The area of King's Cross, London was previously a village known as Battle Bridge which was an ancient crossing of the River Fleet. The original name of the bridge was Broad Ford Bridge.

The name "Battle Bridge" led to a tradition that this was the site of a major battle between the Romans and the Iceni tribe led by Boudica. The tradition is not supported by any historical evidence and is rejected by modern historians. However Lewis Spence's 1937 book ''Boadicea - warrior queen of the Britons'' went so far as to include a map showing the positions of the opposing armies. There is a belief that she was buried between platforms 9 and 10 in King's Cross station in London, England. There is no evidence for this and it is probably a post World War II invention.

Fiction

Boudica has been the subject of two feature films, the 1928 film ''Boadicea'', where she was portrayed by Phyllis Neilson-Terry, and 2003's ''Boudica'' (''Warrior Queen'' in the USA), a UK TV film written by Andrew Davies and starring Alex Kingston as Boudica. She has also been the subject of a 1978 British TV series, ''Warrior Queen'', starring Siân Phillips as Boudica. Jennifer Ward-Lealand portrayed Boudica in an episode of ''Xena - Warrior Princess'' entitled "The Deliverer" in 1997.

The Viking Queen is a 1967 Hammer Films adventure film set in ancient Britain, in which the role of Queen Salina is based upon the historical figure of Boudica.

In the fictional world of Ghosts of Albion, Queen Bodicea is one of three Ghosts who once were mystical protectors of Albion and assists the current protectors with advice and knowledge.

Boudica's story is the subject of several novels, including books by Rosemary Sutcliff, Pauline Gedge, Manda Scott, Alan Gold, Diana L. Paxson, David Wishart, George Shipway, Simon Scarrow and J. F. Broxholme (a pseudonym of Duncan Kyle). She plays a central role in the first part of G. A. Henty's novel ''Beric the Briton'' and in a children's novel by Henry Treece. One of the viewpoint characters of Ian Watson's novel ''Oracle'' is an eyewitness to her defeat. She has also appeared in several comic book series, including the ''Sláine'', which featured two runs, entitled "Demon Killer" and "Queen of Witches" giving a free interpretation of Boudica's story. Other comic appearances include ''Witchblade'' and ''From Hell''. Boudicca is a character in the animated series ''Gargoyles''. Additionally, in the alternate history novel ''Ruled Britannia'' by Harry Turtledove, Boudicca is the subject of a play written by William Shakespeare to incite the people of Britain to revolt against Spanish conquerors.

Henry Purcell's last major work, composed in 1695, was music for play entitled ''Bonduca, or the British Heroine'' (Z. 574). Selections include "To Arms", "Britons, Strike Home" and "O lead me to some peaceful gloom". Boudica has also been the primary subject of songs by Irish singer/songwriter Enya, Dutch soprano Petra Berger, Scottish singer/songwriter Steve McDonald, English metal band Bal-Sagoth, Faith and the Muse and Dreams in the Witching House. She has also been mentioned in The Libertines' song The Good Old Days.

Other cultural references

In 2003, an LTR retrotransposon from the genome of the human blood fluke ''Schistosoma mansoni'' was named ''Boudicca''. The Boudicca retrotransposon, a high-copy retroviral-like element, was the first mobile genetic element of this type to be discovered in ''S. mansoni''.

In July 2008, the UK Television series ''Bonekickers'', dedicated an hour to Boudica in the episode named "The Eternal Fire".

On her 1987 debut album, the Irish singer Enya performed the song "Boadicea".

Various female politicians, including former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark have been called Boadicea.

Róisín Murphy is featured in a song titled "Boadicea" from Mason (DJ)'s 2010 debut album.

Boudicca is mentioned several times in the novel Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

Boudicca is referenced in the opening line of The Good Old Days by The Libertines.

See also

Woman warrior

List of women warriors in folklore

References

Further reading

External links

(Subscription required).

The Iceni Hoard at the British Museum

James Grout: ''Boudica'', part of the Encyclopædia Romana

Trying to Rule Britannia; BBC; 6 August 2004

Iceni at Roman-Britain.org

Iceni at Romans in Britain

''Boadicea may have had her chips on site of McDonald's'' by Nick Britten

PBS Boudica / Warrior Queen website

Warrior queens and blind critics - article on the 2004 film ''King Arthur'' which discusses Boudica

Channel 4 History - In Boudica's Footsteps

Category:Ancient people who committed suicide Category:Women in ancient warfare Category:Monarchs of British tribes Category:Queens regnant in the British Isles Category:Rebellions against the Roman Empire Category:1st-century conflicts Category:Year of birth unknown Category:61 deaths Category:Celtic people Category:People from Norfolk Category:1st-century female rulers Category:1st-century monarchs in Europe

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Coordinates	25°47′14″N80°11′24″N
Name	Gaius Julius Caesar
Title	Dictator of the Roman Republic
Full name	Gaius Julius Caesar
Reign	October 49 BC –15 March 44 BC (as dictator and/or consul)
Consort	Cornelia Cinna minor 84 – 68 BC Pompeia 68 – 63 BC Calpurnia Pisonis 59 – 44 BC
Issue	Julia Caesaris 85/84 – 54 BCCaesarion 47 – 30 BCAugustus 63 BC – 14 AD (grand-nephew, posthumously adopted as Caesar's son in 44 BC)
Royal house	Julio-Claudian
Father	Gaius Julius Cæsar
Mother	Aurelia Cotta
Birth date	13 July 100 BC
Birth place	Subura, Rome
Death date	15 March 44 BC (aged 55)
Death place	Curia of Pompey, Rome
Place of burial	}}

Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

In 60 BC, Caesar entered into a political alliance with Crassus and Pompey that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed within the Roman Senate by the conservative elite, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing. The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a standoff between Caesar and Pompey, the latter having taken up the cause of the Senate. Ordered by the senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched from Gaul to Italy with his legions, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world.

After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic. However, the result was a series of civil wars, which ultimately led to the establishment of the permanent Roman Empire by Caesar's adopted heir Octavius (later known as Augustus). Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources.

Early life and career

Caesar was born into a patrician family, the ''gens Julia'', which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. The ''cognomen'' "Caesar" originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarean section (from the Latin verb to cut, ''caedere'', ''caes-''). The ''Historia Augusta'' suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin ''caesaries''); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin ''oculis caesiis''); or that he killed an elephant (''caesai'' in Moorish) in battle. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential. Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia, while his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesar's childhood. Caesar's formative years were a time of turmoil. There were several wars from 91 BC to 82 BC, although from 82 BC to 80 BC, the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla was purging Rome of his political enemies. Domestically, Roman politics was bitterly divided. In 85 BC Caesar's father died suddenly so at sixteen Caesar was the head of the family. The following year he was nominated to be the new high priest of Jupiter. Since the holder of that position not only had to be a patrician but also be married to a patrician, he broke off his engagement to a plebeian girl he had been betrothed to since boyhood, and married Lucius Cinna's daughter Cornelia. Then, having brought Mithridates to terms, Sulla returned to Rome and had himself appointed to the revived office of dictator. Sulla's proscriptions saw hundreds of his political enemies killed or exiled. Caesar, as the nephew of Marius and son-in-law of Cinna, was targeted. He was stripped of his inheritance, his wife's dowry and his priesthood, but he refused to divorce Cornelia and was forced to go into hiding. The threat against him was lifted by the intervention of his mother's family, which included supporters of Sulla, and the Vestal Virgins. Sulla gave in reluctantly, and is said to have declared that he saw many a Marius in Caesar.

Caesar left Rome and joined the army, where he won the Civic Crown for his part in an important siege. On a mission to Bithynia to secure the assistance of King Nicomedes's fleet, he spent so long at his court that rumours of an affair with the king arose, which Caesar would vehemently deny for the rest of his life. Ironically, the loss of his priesthood had allowed him to pursue a military career: the high priest of Jupiter was not permitted to touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night outside Rome, or look upon an army. Hearing of Sulla's death in 78 BC, Caesar felt safe enough to return to Rome. Lacking means since his inheritance was confiscated, he acquired a modest house in a lower-class neighbourhood of Rome. Instead, he turned to legal advocacy. He became known for his exceptional oratory, accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption.

On the way across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner. He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. When the pirates thought to demand a ransom of twenty talents of silver, he insisted they ask for fifty. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity—a promise the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their throats cut. He was soon called back into military action in Asia, raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east.

On his return to Rome, he was elected military tribune, a first step in a political career. He was elected quaestor for 69 BC, and during that year he delivered the funeral oration for his aunt Julia. His wife, Cornelia, also died that year. After her funeral, in the spring or early summer of 69 BC, Caesar went to serve his quaestorship in Spain. While there he is said to have encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and realized with dissatisfaction he was now at an age when Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved comparatively little. On his return in 67 BC, he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla, and whom he later divorced. In 63 BC, he ran for election to the post of Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the Roman state religion. He ran against two powerful senators. There were accusations of bribery by all sides. Caesar won comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing. When Cicero, who was consul that year, exposed Catiline's conspiracy to seize control of the republic, several senators accused Caesar of involvement in the plot.

After his praetorship, Caesar was appointed to govern Spain, but he was still in considerable debt and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Spain, he conquered two local tribes and was hailed as ''imperator'' by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem. As ''imperator'', Caesar was entitled to a triumph. However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony, but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time available. He asked the senate for permission to stand ''in absentia'', but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.

Consulship and military campaigns

In 60 BC, Caesar sought election as consul for 59 BC. Two other candidates stood for the consulship, and the election was dirty. Even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in favor of one of Caesar's opponents. Caesar won, along with conservative Marcus Bibulus. Caesar was already in Crassus' political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds for a decade, so Caesar tried to reconcile them. Between the three of them, they had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the First Triumvirate (rule of three men), was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter Julia. Caesar also married again, this time Calpurnia, who was the daughter of another powerful senator.

Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, and the triumvirate's opponents were intimidated. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavorable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His bodyguards had their ceremonial axes broken, two high magistrates accompanying him were wounded, and Bibulus had a bucket of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved ineffective. Roman satirists ever after referred to the year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar".

When Caesar was first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit his future power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than the governorship of a province, as his military command duty after his year in office was over. With the help of political allies, Caesar later had this overturned, and was instead appointed to govern Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Illyricum (southeastern Europe), with Transalpine Gaul (southern France) later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of his governorship, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one. When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his province.

Conquest of Gaul

Caesar was still deeply in debt, and there was money to be made as a governor, whether by extortion or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces bordered on unconquered territory, and parts of Gaul were known to be unstable. Some of Rome's Gallic allies had been defeated by their rivals, with the help of a contingent of Germanic tribes. The Romans feared these tribes were preparing to migrate south, closer to Italy, and that they had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated these tribes.

In response to Caesar's earlier activities, the tribes in the north-east began to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move, and, after an inconclusive engagement against the united tribes, he conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one of his legions began the conquest of the tribes in the far north (directly opposite Britain). During the spring of 56 BC, the Triumvirate held a conference, as Rome was in turmoil and Caesar's political alliance was coming undone. The meeting renewed the Triumvirate and extended Caesar's governorship for another five years. The conquest of the north was soon completed, while a few pockets of resistance remained. Caesar now had a secure base from which to launch an invasion of Britain. In 55 BC Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by two Germanic tribes, and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued two other tribes, he crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one of his enemies the previous year. His intelligence information was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the coast, he could not advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter. He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, and established a few alliances. However, poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, which forced Caesar to leave Britain for the last time.

While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had died in childbirth. Caesar tried to re-secure Pompey's support by offering him his great-niece in marriage, but Pompey declined. In 53 BC Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of the east. Rome was on the edge of civil war. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an emergency measure, and married the daughter of a political opponent of Caesar. The Triumvirate was dead.

In 52 BC another, larger revolt erupted in Gaul, led by Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix managed to unite the Gallic tribes and proved an astute commander, defeating Caesar in several engagements, but Caesar's elaborate siege-works at the Battle of Alesia finally forced his surrender. Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year, Gaul was effectively conquered. Plutarch claimed that the army had fought against three million men during the Gallic Wars, of whom 1 million died, and another million were enslaved. The Romans subjugated 300 tribes and destroyed 800 cities. However, in view of the difficulty in finding accurate counts in the first place, Caesar's propagandistic purposes, and the common exaggeration of numbers in ancient texts, the stated totals of enemy combatants are likely to be too high.

Civil war

In 50 BC, the Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome because his term as governor had finished. Caesar thought he would be prosecuted if he entered Rome without the immunity enjoyed by a magistrate. Pompey accused Caesar of insubordination and treason. In January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon river (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only one legion and ignited civil war. Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted the Athenian playwright Menander, in Greek, "the die is cast". Erasmus, however, notes that the more accurate translation of the Greek imperative mood would be "alea icta esto" ''let'' the die be cast. Pompey and much of the senate fled to the south, having little confidence in his newly raised troops. Despite greatly outnumbering Caesar, who only had his Thirteenth Legion with him, Pompey did not intend to fight. Caesar pursued Pompey, hoping to capture him before his legions could escape. Pompey managed to escape before Caesar could capture him. Caesar decided to head for Spain, while leaving Italy under the control of Mark Antony. Caesar made an astonishing 27-day route-march to Spain, where he defeated Pompey's lieutenants. He then returned east, to challenge Pompey in Greece where in July 48 BC at Dyrrhachium Caesar barely avoided a catastrophic defeat. He decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus in an exceedingly short engagement later that year.

In Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator, with Mark Antony as his Master of the Horse (second in command); Caesar presided over his own election to a second consulship and then, after eleven days, resigned this dictatorship. Caesar then pursued Pompey to Egypt, where Pompey was soon murdered. Caesar then became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra. Perhaps as a result of the pharaoh's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar sided with Cleopatra; he is reported to have wept at the sight of Pompey's head, which was offered to him by the pharaoh as a gift. In any event, Caesar defeated the pharaoh's forces in 47 BC and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their victory with a triumphant procession on the Nile in the spring of 47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, introducing Caesar to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian pharaohs. Caesar and Cleopatra never married, as Roman law recognized marriages only between two Roman citizens. Caesar continued his relationship with Cleopatra throughout his last marriage, which lasted 14 years – in Roman eyes, this did not constitute adultery – and may have fathered a son called Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome on more than one occasion, residing in Caesar's villa just outside Rome across the Tiber.

Late in 48 BC, Caesar was again appointed Dictator, with a term of one year. After spending the first months of 47 BC in Egypt, Caesar went to the Middle East, where he annihilated the king of Pontus; his victory was so swift and complete that he mocked Pompey's previous victories over such poor enemies. Thence, he proceeded to Africa to deal with the remnants of Pompey's senatorial supporters. He quickly gained a significant victory in 46 BC over Cato, who then committed suicide. After this victory, he was appointed Dictator for ten years. Nevertheless, Pompey's sons escaped to Spain. Caesar gave chase and defeated the last remnants of opposition in the Battle of Munda in March 45 BC. During this time, Caesar was elected to his third and fourth terms as consul in 46 BC and 45 BC (this last time without a colleague).

Dictatorship and assassination

While he was still campaigning in Spain, the Senate began bestowing honors on Caesar. Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead pardoning almost all, and there was no serious public opposition to him. Great games and celebrations were held in April to honor Caesar’s victory at Munda. Plutarch writes that many Romans found the triumph held following Caesar's victory to be in poor taste, as those defeated in the civil war had not been foreigners, but instead fellow Romans. On Caesar's return to Italy in September 45 BC, he filed his will, naming his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian) as the heir to everything, including his name. Caesar also wrote that if Octavian died before Caesar did, Marcus Junius Brutus would be the next heir in succession.

During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism, the central government had become powerless, the provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors, and the army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals. With a weak central government, political corruption had spiraled out of control, and the status quo had been maintained by a corrupt aristocracy, which saw no need to change a system that had made its members rich.

Between his crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, and his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate goals. First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces, and thus bring order back to the empire. Second, he wanted to create a strong central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to knit together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit. and so he assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Finally, he enacted a series of reforms that were meant to address several long neglected issues, the most important of which was his reform of the calendar.

Dictatorship

When Caesar returned to Rome, the Senate granted him triumphs for his victories, ostensibly over Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces and Juba, rather than over his Roman opponents. Not everything went Caesar's way. When Arsinoe IV, Egypt's former queen, was paraded in chains, the spectators admired her dignified bearing and were moved to pity. Triumphal games were held, with beast-hunts involving 400 lions, and gladiator contests. A naval battle was held on a flooded basin at the Field of Mars. At the Circus Maximus, two armies of war captives, each of 2,000 people, 200 horse and 20 elephants, fought to the death. Again, some bystanders complained, this time at Caesar's wasteful extravagance. A riot broke out, and only stopped when Caesar had two rioters sacrificed by the priests on the Field of Mars.

When the triumph was over, Caesar set forth to passing an unprecedented legislative agenda. He ordered a census be taken, which forced a reduction in the grain dole. Then he mandated that jurors could only come from the senate or the equestrian ranks. Next, he passed a sumptuary law that restricted the purchase of certain luxuries. After this, he passed a law that rewarded families for having many children, to speed along the repopulation of Italy. Then he passed a law that outlawed professional guilds, except those of ancient foundation, since many of these were subversive political clubs. He then passed a term limit law applicable to governors. He passed a debt restructuring law, which ultimately eliminated about a fourth of all debts owed. The Forum of Caesar, with its Temple of Venus Genetrix, was then built among many other public works. Caesar also tightly regulated the purchase of state-subsidised grain and reduced the number of recipients to a fixed number, all of whom were entered into a special register. From 47 to 44 BC he made plans for the distribution of land to about 15,000 of his veterans. The most important change, however, was his reform of the calendar. The calendar at the time was regulated by the movement of the moon, and this had resulted in a great deal of disorder. Caesar replaced this calendar with the Egyptian calendar, which was regulated by the sun. He set the length of the year to 365.25 days by adding an intercalary/leap day at the end of February every fourth year. To bring the calendar into alignment with the seasons, he decreed that three extra months be inserted into 46 BC (the ordinary intercalary month at the end of February, and two extra months after November). Thus, the Julian calendar opened on 1 January 45 BC. This calendar is almost identical to the current Western calendar.

Shortly before his assassination, he passed a few more reforms. He established a police force, appointed officials to carry out his land reforms, and ordered the rebuilding of Carthage and Corinth. He also extended Latin rights throughout the Roman world, and then abolished the tax system and reverted to the earlier version that allowed cities to collect tribute however they wanted, rather than needing Roman intermediaries. His assassination prevented further and larger schemes. He wanted to build an unprecedented temple to Mars, a huge theater, and a library on the scale of the Library of Alexandria. He also wanted to convert Ostia to a major port, and cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Militarily, he wanted to conquer the Dacians, Parthians, and avenge the loss at Carrhae. Thus, he instituted a massive mobilization. Shortly before his assassination, the senate named him censor for life and Father of the Fatherland, and the month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honor. He was granted further honors, which were later used to justify his assassination as a would-be divine monarch; coins were issued bearing his image and his statue was placed next to those of the kings. He was granted a golden chair in the senate house, allowed to wear triumphal dress whenever he chose, and was offered a form of semi-official or popular cult, with Mark Antony as his high priest.

Political reforms

The history of Caesar's political appointments is complex and uncertain. Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but alternated between the consulship and the Proconsulship. mostly because Caesar was frequently out of Italy. In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers, which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to veto the senate, To minimize the risk that another general might attempt to challenge him,

According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother. The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("''Ista quidem vis est!''"). At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in Latin, "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?" Casca, frightened, shouted, "Help, brother!" in Greek ("", "''adelphe, boethei!''"). Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. He was stabbed 23 times. According to Suetonius, a physician later established that only one wound, the second one to his chest, had been lethal. The dictator's last words are not known with certainty, and are a contested subject among scholars and historians alike. Suetonius reports that others have said Caesar's last words were the Greek phrase "" (transliterated as "''Kai su, teknon?''": "You too, child?" in English). However, Suetonius says Caesar said nothing. Plutarch also reports that Caesar said nothing, pulling his toga over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators. The version best known in the English-speaking world is the Latin phrase "''Et tu, Brute?''" ("And you, Brutus?", commonly rendered as "You too, Brutus?"); this derives from Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'', where it actually forms the first half of a macaronic line: "''Et tu, Brute?'' Then fall, Caesar." It has no basis in historical fact and Shakespeare's use of Latin here is not from any assertion that Caesar would have been using the language, rather than the Greek reported by Suetonius, but because the phrase was already popular when the play was written. According to Plutarch, after the assassination, Brutus stepped forward as if to say something to his fellow senators; they, however, fled the building. Brutus and his companions then marched to the Capitol while crying out to their beloved city: "People of Rome, we are once again free!" They were met with silence, as the citizens of Rome had locked themselves inside their houses as soon as the rumour of what had taken place had begun to spread. Caesar's dead body lay where it fell on the Senate floor for nearly three hours before other officials arrived to remove it.

A lifesize wax statue of Caesar was later erected in the forum displaying the 23 stab wounds. A crowd who had gathered there started a fire, which badly damaged the forum and neighbouring buildings. In the ensuing chaos Mark Antony, Octavian (later Augustus Caesar), and others fought a series of five civil wars, which would end in the formation of the Roman Empire.

Aftermath of the assassination

The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. The Roman middle and lower classes, with whom Caesar was immensely popular and had been since before Gaul, became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had killed their champion. Antony, who had been drifting apart from Caesar, capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates, perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself. However, to his surprise and chagrin, Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavian his sole heir, bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name and making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic. The crowd at the funeral boiled over, throwing dry branches, furniture and even clothing on to Caesar's funeral pyre, causing the flames to spin out of control, seriously damaging the Forum. The mob then attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, where they were repelled only with considerable difficulty, ultimately providing the spark for the Liberators' civil war, fulfilling at least in part Antony's threat against the aristocrats. However, Antony did not foresee the ultimate outcome of the next series of civil wars, particularly with regard to Caesar's adopted heir. Octavian, aged only 18 when Caesar died, proved to have considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous position. To combat Brutus and Cassius, who were massing an enormous army in Greece, Antony needed soldiers, the cash from Caesar's war chests, and the legitimacy that Caesar's name would provide for any action he took against them. With the passage of the ''lex Titia'' on 27 November 43 BC, the Second Triumvirate was officially formed, composed of Antony, Octavian, and Caesar's loyal cavalry commander Lepidus. It formally deified Caesar as Divus Iulius in 42 BC, and Caesar Octavian henceforth became ''Divi filius'' ("Son of a god"). Because Caesar's clemency had resulted in his murder, the Second Triumvirate brought back the practice of proscription, abandoned since Sulla. It engaged in the legally sanctioned murder of a large number of its opponents to secure funding for its forty-five legions in the second civil war against Brutus and Cassius. Antony and Octavius defeated them at Philippi. Afterward, Mark Antony married Caesar's lover, Cleopatra, intending to use the fabulously wealthy Egypt as a base to dominate Rome. A third civil war broke out between Octavian on one hand and Antony and Cleopatra on the other. This final civil war, culminating in the latter's defeat at Actium, resulted in the permanent ascendancy of Octavian, who became the first Roman emperor, under the name Caesar Augustus, a name that raised him to the status of a deity.

Julius Caesar had been preparing to invade Parthia, the Caucasus and Scythia, and then march back to Germania through Eastern Europe. These plans were thwarted by his assassination. His successors did attempt the conquests of Parthia and Germania, but without lasting results.

Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He was posthumously granted the title ''Divus Iulius'' or ''Divus Julius'' (the divine Julius or the deified Julius) by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC. Though his temple was not dedicated until after his death, he may have received divine honours during his lifetime: and shortly before his assassination, Mark Antony had been appointed as his ''flamen'' (priest). Both Octavian and Mark Antony promoted the cult of Divus Iulius. After the death of Antony, Octavian, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of ''Divi Filius'' (son of a god).

Personal life

Health and physical appearance

Based on remarks by Plutarch, Caesar is sometimes thought to have suffered from epilepsy. Modern scholarship is "sharply divided" on the subject, and some scholars believe that he was plagued by malaria, particularly during the Sullan proscriptions of the 80s. Despite the commonly held belief that Caesar suffered from epilepsy, several specialists in headache medicine believe that a more accurate diagnosis would be migraine headache.

Caesar had four documented episodes of what may have been complex partial seizures. He may additionally have had absence seizures in his youth. The earliest accounts of these seizures were made by the biographer Suetonius, who was born after Caesar died. The claim of epilepsy is countered among some medical historians by a claim of hypoglycemia, which can cause epileptoid seizures.

In 2003, psychiatrist Harbour F. Hodder published what he termed as the "Caesar Complex" theory, arguing that Caesar was a sufferer of temporal lobe epilepsy and the debilitating symptoms of the condition were a factor in Caesar's conscious decision to forgo personal safety in the days leading up to his assassination.

A line from Shakespeare has sometimes been taken to mean that he was deaf in one ear: ''Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf''. No classical source mentions hearing impairment in connection with Caesar. The playwright may have been making metaphorical use of a passage in Plutarch that does not refer to deafness at all, but rather to a gesture Alexander of Macedon customarily made. By covering his ear, Alexander indicated that he had turned his attention from an accusation in order to hear the defense.

The Roman historian Suetonius describes Caesar as "tall of stature with a fair complexion, shapely limbs, a somewhat full face, and keen black eyes."

Name and family

Using the Latin alphabet as it existed in the day of Caesar (i.e., without lower case letters, "J", or "U"), Caesar's name would be rendered "GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR"; the form "CAIVS" is also attested, using the old Roman representation of G by C; it is an antique form of the more common "GAIVS". The standard abbreviation was, and this is not archaic, "C. IVLIVS CAESAR". (The letterform "Æ" is a ligature, which is often encountered in Latin inscriptions where it was used to save space, and is nothing more than the letters "ae".) In Classical Latin, it was pronounced . In the days of the late Roman Republic, many historical writings were done in Greek, a language most educated Romans studied. Young wealthy Roman boys were often taught by Greek slaves and sometimes sent to Athens for advanced training, as was Caesar's principal assassin, Brutus. In Greek, during Caesar's time, his family name was written ''Καίσαρ'', reflecting its contemporary pronunciation. Thus, his name is pronounced in a similar way to the pronunciation of the German Kaiser. In Vulgar Latin, the plosive /k/ before front vowels began, due to palatalization, to be pronounced as an affricate – hence renderings like in Italian and in German regional pronunciations of Latin, as well as the title of Tsar. With the evolution of the Romance languages, the affricate [ts] became a fricative [s] (thus, ) in many regional pronunciations, including the French one, from which the modern English pronunciation is derived. The original /k/ is preserved in Norse mythology, where he is manifested as the legendary king Kjárr.

Caesar's cognomen would itself become a title; it was greatly promulgated by the Bible, by the famous verse "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's". The title became the German Kaiser and Slavic Tsar/Czar. The last tsar in nominal power was Simeon II of Bulgaria whose reign ended in 1946; for two thousand years after Julius Caesar's assassination, there was at least one head of state bearing his name.

Parents

Father Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder

Mother Aurelia (related to the Aurelii Cottae)

Sisters

Julia Caesaris "Maior" (the elder)

Julia Caesaris "Minor" (the younger)

Wives

First marriage to Cornelia Cinnilla, from 83 BC until her death in childbirth in 69 or 68 BC

Second marriage to Pompeia, from 67 BC until he divorced her around 61 BC

Third marriage to Calpurnia Pisonis, from 59 BC until Caesar's death

Children

Julia with Cornelia Cinnilla, born in 83 or 82 BC

Caesarion, with Cleopatra VII, born 47 BC. He was killed at age 17 by Caesar's adopted son Octavianus.

''adopted'': Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, his great-nephew by blood, who later became Emperor Augustus.

Marcus Junius Brutus: The historian Plutarch notes that Caesar believed Brutus to have been his illegitimate son, as his mother Servilia had been Caesar's lover during their youth.

Grandchildren

Grandson from Julia and Pompey, dead at several days, unnamed.

Lovers

Cleopatra VII mother of Caesarion

Servilia Caepionis mother of Brutus

Eunoë, queen of Mauretania and wife of Bogudes

Notable relatives

Gaius Marius (married to his Aunt Julia)

Mark Antony

Lucius Julius Caesar

Julius Sabinus, a Gaul of the Lingones at the time of the Batavian rebellion of AD 69, claimed to be the great-grandson of Caesar on the grounds that his great-grandmother had been Caesar's lover during the Gallic war.

Political rumors

Roman society viewed the passive role during sexual activity, regardless of gender, to be a sign of submission or inferiority. Indeed, Suetonius says that in Caesar's Gallic triumph, his soldiers sang that, "Caesar may have conquered the Gauls, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar." According to Cicero, Bibulus, Gaius Memmius, and others (mainly Caesar's enemies), he had an affair with Nicomedes IV of Bithynia early in his career. The tales were repeated, referring to Caesar as the Queen of Bithynia, by some Roman politicians as a way to humiliate him. It is very likely that the rumours were spread only as a form of character assassination; Caesar himself denied the accusations repeatedly throughout his lifetime, and according to Cassius Dio, even under oath on one occasion. This form of slander was popular during this time in the Roman Republic to demean and discredit political opponents. A favorite tactic used by the opposition was to accuse a popular political rival as living a Hellenistic lifestyle based on Greek and Eastern culture, where homosexuality and a lavish lifestyle were more acceptable than in Roman tradition.

Catullus wrote two poems suggesting that Caesar and his engineer Mamurra were lovers, but later apologised.

Mark Antony charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favours. Suetonius described Antony's accusation of an affair with Octavian as political slander. Octavian eventually became the first Roman Emperor.

Literary works

Caesar was considered during his lifetime to be one of the best orators and authors of prose in Rome—even Cicero spoke highly of Caesar's rhetoric and style. Among his most famous works were his funeral oration for his paternal aunt Julia and his ''Anticato'', a document written to blacken Cato's reputation and respond to Cicero's ''Cato'' memorial. Poems by Caesar are also mentioned in ancient sources. His works other than his war commentaries have been lost, although a few sentences are quoted by other authors.

Memoirs

The ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (''Commentaries on the Gallic War''), campaigns in Gallia and Britannia during his term as proconsul; and

The ''Commentarii de Bello Civili'' (''Commentaries on the Civil War''), events of the Civil War until immediately after Pompey's death in Egypt.

Other works historically attributed to Caesar, but whose authorship is doubted, are:

''De Bello Alexandrino'' (''On the Alexandrine War''), campaign in Alexandria;

''De Bello Africo'' (''On the African War''), campaigns in North Africa; and

''De Bello Hispaniensi'' (''On the Hispanic War''), campaigns in the Iberian peninsula.

These narratives were written and published on a yearly basis during or just after the actual campaigns, as a sort of "dispatches from the front". Apparently simple and direct in style—to the point that Caesar's ''Commentarii'' are commonly studied by first and second year Latin students—they are in fact highly sophisticated tracts, aimed most particularly at the middle-brow readership of minor aristocrats in Rome, Italy, and the provinces.

Legend and legacy

In the Middle Ages Caesar was created a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry.

Chronology of his life

Depictions

''For the marble bust from Arles discovered in 2007–8 alleged to be Caesar's likeness, and the ensuing controversy, see Arles portrait bust.''

See also

Comet Caesar

''Emperor: Young Caesar'' (film)

References

Primary sources

Own writings

Forum Romanum Index to Caesar's works online in Latin and translation

omnia munda mundis Hypertext of Caesar's De Bello Gallico

Ancient historians' writings

Appian, Book 13 (English translation)

Cassius Dio, Books 37–44 (English translation)

Plutarch on Antony (English translation, Dryden edition)

Plutarch: The Life of Julius Caesar (English translation)

Plutarch: The Life of Mark Antony (English translation)

Suetonius: The Life of Julius Caesar. (Latin and English, cross-linked: the English translation by J. C. Rolfe)

Suetonius: The Life of Julius Caesar (J. C. Rolfe English translation, modified)

Secondary sources

External links

C. Julius Caesar Jona Lendering's in‑depth history of Caesar (Livius. Org)

Guide to online resources

History of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar at BBC History

Grey, D. The Assassination of Caesar, Clio History Journal, 2009.

Succession table

Caesar was acclaimed ''Imperator'' in 60 and 45 BC. In the Roman Republic, this was an honorary title assumed by certain military commanders. After an especially great victory, an army's troops in the field would proclaim their commander ''imperator'', an acclamation necessary for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph. After being acclaimed ''imperator'', the victorious general had a right to use the title after his name until the time of his triumph, where he would relinquish the title as well as his imperium.

Category:100 BC births Category:44 BC deaths Category:Ancient Roman generals Category:Ancient Roman politicians Category:Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Category:Correspondents of Cicero Category:Deaths by stabbing Category:Golden Age Latin writers Category:Iulii Category:Latin-language writers Category:Ancient Roman writers Category:People from Rome (city) Category:Republican holders of the role of pontifex maximus Category:Roman military writers Category:Roman Republican consuls Category:Roman governors of Hispania Category:Assassinated military personnel Category:1st-century BC Romans Category:1st-century BC clergy Category:1st-century BC writers Category:1st-century BC historians Category:1st-century BC rulers Category:Assassinated Roman politicians Category:Assassinated heads of state Category:Ancient Roman dictators Category:Deified people

rue:Юлій Цезар

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Coordinates	25°47′14″N80°11′24″N
Name	Jesus
Birth date	7-2 BC/BCE
Language	Aramaic, Koine Greek, (perhaps some Hebrew)
Birth place	Bethlehem, Judaea, Roman Empire (traditional);Nazareth, Galilee (modern critical scholarship)
Death place	Calvary, Judaea, Roman Empire (according to the New Testament, he rose on the third day after his death.)
Death date	30–36 AD/CE
Death cause	Crucifixion
Resting place	Traditionally and temporarily, a garden tomb in Jerusalem
Ethnicity	Jewish
Nationality	Israelite
Religion	Judaism
Home town	Nazareth, Galilee, Roman Empire
Parents	Father: God (Christian view)virginal conception (Islamic view)Mother: Saint MaryAdoptive father: Saint Joseph }}

Jesus of Nazareth, (7–2 BC/BCE – 30–36 AD/CE), commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified. The principal sources of information regarding Jesus are the four canonical gospels, and most biblical scholars find them useful for reconstructing Jesus' life and teachings. Some scholars believe apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews are also relevant.

Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire. Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating a future apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.

Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, and "the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity". A few Christian groups, however, reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural. Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

Judaism rejects assertions that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh. In Islam, Jesus ( or , commonly transliterated as or , respectively) is considered one of God's important prophets, a bringer of scripture, and the product of a virgin birth; but did not experience a crucifixion. Islam and the Bahá'í Faith use the title "Messiah" for Jesus, but do not teach that he was God incarnate.

Etymology of name

“Jesus” () is a transliteration, occurring in a number of languages and based on the Latin ''Iesus'', of the Greek (''''), itself a Hellenisation of the Hebrew (''Yĕhōšuă‘'', Joshua) or Hebrew-Aramaic (''Yēšûă‘'').meaning "Yahweh delivers (or rescues)".

The etymology of the name Jesus is generally explained by Christians as "God's salvation" usually expressed as "Yahweh saves", "Yahweh is salvation" and at times as "Jehovah is salvation". The name Jesus appears to have been in use in Judaea at the time of the birth of Jesus. And Philo's reference (''Mutatione Nominum'' item 121) indicates that the etymology of Joshua was known outside Judaea at the time.

In the New Testament, in Luke 1:26-33 the angel Gabriel tells Mary to name her child Jesus, and in Matthew 1:21 an angel tells Joseph to name the child Jesus. The statement in Matthew 1:21 "you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" associates salvific attributes to the name Jesus in Christian theology.

"Christ" () is derived from the Greek (''Khristós'') meaning "the anointed one", a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (''''), usually transliterated into English as ''Messiah''. In the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible (written well over a century before the time of Jesus), the word Christ was used to translate into Greek the Hebrew word . In Matthew 16:16, Apostle Peter's profession: "You are the Christ" identifies Jesus as the Messiah. In post-biblical usage Christ became a name, one part of the name "Jesus Christ", but originally it was a title (the Messiah) and not a name.

Chronology

Although a few scholars have questioned the existence of Jesus as an actual historical figure, most scholars involved with historical Jesus research believe his existence can be established using documentary and other evidence. As discussed in the sections immediately below, the estimation of the year of death of Jesus places his lifespan around the beginning of the first century AD/CE, in the geographic region of Roman Judaea. The New Testament also refers to the Sea of Galilee which is about 75 miles north of Jerusalem.

Roman involvement in Judaea began around 63 BC/BCE and by 6 AD/CE Judaea had become a Roman province. From 26-37 AD/CE Pontius Pilate was the governor of Roman Judaea. In this time period, although Roman Judaea was strategically positioned between Asia and Africa, it was not viewed as a critically important province by the Romans. The Romans were highly tolerant of other religions and allowed the local populations such as the Jews to practice their own faiths.

Possible year of birth

Two independent approaches have been used to estimate the year of the birth of Jesus, one by analyzing the Nativity accounts in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew along with other historical data, the other by working backwards from the estimation of the start of the ministry of Jesus, as also discussed in the section below.

In their Nativity accounts, both the Gospels of Luke and Matthew associate the birth of Jesus with the reign of Herod the Great, who is generally believed to have died around 4 BC/BCE. Matthew 2:1 states that: "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king" and Luke 1:5 mentions the reign of Herod shortly before the birth of Jesus. Matthew also suggests that Jesus may have been as much as two years old at the time of the visit of the Magi and hence even older at the time of Herod's death. But the author of Luke also describes the birth as taking place during the first census of the Roman provinces of Syria and Iudaea, which is generally believed to have occurred in 6 AD/CE. Most scholars generally assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC/BCE. Other scholars assume that Jesus was born sometime between 7–2 BC/BCE.

The year of birth of Jesus has also been estimated in a manner that is independent of the Nativity accounts, by using information in the Gospel of John to work backwards from the statement in Luke 3:23 that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. As discussed in the section below, by combining information from John 2:13 and John 2:20 with the writings of Josephus, it has been estimated that around 27-29 AD/CE, Jesus was "about thirty years of age". Some scholars thus estimate the year 28 AD/CE to be roughly the 32nd birthday of Jesus and the birth year of Jesus to be around 6-4 BC/BCE.

However, the common Gregorian calendar method for numbering years, in which the current year is , is based on the decision of a monk Dionysius in the six century, to count the years from a point of reference (namely, Jesus’ birth) which he placed sometime between 2 BC/BCE and 1 AD/CE. Although Christian feasts related to the Nativity have had specific dates (e.g. December 25 for Christmas) there is no historical evidence for the exact day or month of the birth of Jesus.

Possible dates of ministry

There have been different approaches to estimating the date of the start of the ministry of Jesus. One approach, based on combining information from the Gospel of Luke with historical data about Emperor Tiberius yields a date around 28-29 AD/CE, while a second independent approach based on statements in the Gospel of John along with historical information from Josephus about the Temple in Jerusalem leads to a date around 27-29 AD/CE.

The estimation of the date based on the Gospel of Luke relies on the statement in Luke 3:1-2 that the ministry of John the Baptist which preceded that of Jesus began "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar". Given that Tiberius began his reign in 14 AD/CE, this yields a date about 28-29 AD/CE.

The estimation of the date based on the Gospel of John uses the statements in John 2:13 that Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem around the start of his ministry and in John 2:20 that "Forty and six years was this temple in building" at that time. According to Josephus (Ant 15.380) the temple reconstruction was started by Herod the Great in the 15th-18th year of his reign at about the time that Augustus arrived in Syria (Ant 15.354). Temple expansion and reconstruction was ongoing, and it was in constant reconstruction until it was destroyed in 70 AD/CE by the Romans. Given that it took 46 years of construction, the Temple visit in the Gospel of John has been estimated at around 27-29 AD/CE.

Luke 3:23 states that at the start of his ministry Jesus was "about 30 years of age", but the other Gospels do not mention a specific age. However, in John 8:57 the Jews exclaimed to Jesus: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" suggesting that he was much less than 50 years old during his ministry. The length of the ministry is subject to debate, based on the fact that the Synoptic Gospels mention only one passover during Jesus' ministry, often interpreted as implying that the ministry lasted approximately one year, whereas the Gospel of John records multiple passovers, implying that his ministry may have lasted at least three years.

Possible year and place of death

A number of approaches have been used to estimate the year of the death of Jesus, including information from the Canonical Gospels, the chronology of the life of Paul the Apostle in the New Testament correlated with historical events, as well as different astronomical models, as discussed below.

All four canonical Gospels report that Jesus was crucified in Calvary during the prefecture of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who governed Judaea from 26 to 36 AD/CE. The late 1st century Jewish historian Josephus, writing in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (''c.'' 93 AD/CE), and the early 2nd century Roman historian Tacitus, writing in ''The Annals'' (''c.'' 116 AD/CE), also state that Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus, though each writer gives him the title of "procurator" instead of prefect.

The estimation of the date of the conversion of Paul places the death of Jesus before this conversion, which is estimated at around 33-36 AD/CE. (Also see the estimation of the start of Jesus' ministry as a few years before this date above). The estimation of the year of Paul's conversion relies on a series of calculations working backwards from the well established date of his trial before Gallio in Achaea Greece (Acts 18:12-17) around 51-52 AD/CE, the meeting of Priscilla and Aquila which were expelled from Rome about 49 AD/CE and the 14-year period before returning to Jerusalem in Galatians 2:1. The remaining period is generally accounted for by Paul's missions (at times with Barnabas) such as those in Acts 11:25-26 and 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, resulting in the 33-36 AD/CE estimate.

For centuries, astronomers and scientists have used diverse computational methods to estimate the date of crucifixion, Isaac Newton being one of the first cases. Newton's method relied on the relative visibility of the crescent of the new moon and he suggested the date as Friday, April 23, 34 AD/CE. In 1990 astronomer Bradley E. Schaefer computed the date as Friday, April 3, 33 AD/CE. In 1991, John Pratt stated that Newton's method was sound, but included a minor error at the end. Pratt suggested the year 33 AD/CE as the answer. Using the completely different approach of a lunar eclipse model, Humphreys and Waddington arrived at the conclusion that Friday, April 3, 33 AD/CE was the date of the crucifixion.

Life and teachings in the New Testament

Although the four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are the main sources for the biography of Jesus’ life, other parts of the New Testament, such as the Pauline Epistles which were likely written decades before them, also include references to key episodes in his life such as the Last Supper, as in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. The Acts of the Apostles (10:37-38 and 19:4) refers to the early ministry of Jesus and its anticipation by John the Baptist. And Acts 1:1-11 says more about the Ascension episode (also mentioned in 1 Timothy 3:16) than the canonical gospels.

The four gospel accounts

Three of the four canonical gospels, namely Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are known as the ''Synoptic Gospels'', from the Greek σύν (syn "together") and ὄψις (opsis "view"). These three gospels display a high degree of similarity in content, narrative arrangement, language and paragraph structures. The presentation in the fourth canonical Gospel, i.e. the John, differs from these three in that it has more of a thematic nature rather than a narrative format. And scholars generally agree that it is impossible to find any direct literary relationship between the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John.

However, in general, the authors of the New Testament showed little interest in an absolute chronology of Jesus or in synchronizing the episodes of his life with the secular history of the age. The gospels were primarily written as theological documents in the context of early Christianity with the chronological timelines as a secondary consideration. One manifestation of the gospels being theological documents rather than historical chronicles is that they devote about one third of their text to just seven days, namely the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem.

Although the gospels do not provide enough details to satisfy the demands of modern historians regarding exact dates, it is possible to draw from them a general picture of the life story of Jesus. However, as stated in John 21:25 the gospels do not claim to provide an exhaustive list of the events in the life of Jesus.

Gospel sources, similarities and differences

Scholars have debated the sources for the gospels for millenia, and have proposed various hypotheses of how the synoptic gospels were written and how they influenced each other, going back to the Augustinian hypothesis in the 5th century. In the 20th and 21st centuries hypotheses such as the two-source, four-source, Farrer or the Markan priority hypothesis have been debated. Each hypothesis assumes a specific order in which the gospels were written, or that other as yet unknown and hypothetical documents such as the Q source or the M source influenced various gospels in various ways. Each hypotheses has had support among some scholars, while problems with and weaknesses in it have been pointed out by opponents.

Since the 2nd century attempts have been made to ''harmonize'' the gospel accounts into a single narrative; Tatian's Diatesseron perhaps being the first harmony and other works such as Augustine' book ''Harmony of the Gospels'' followed. A number of different approaches to gospel harmony have been proposed in the 20th century, but no single and unique harmony can be constructed. While some scholars argue that combining the four gospel stories into one story is tantamount to creating a fifth story different from each original, others see the gospels as blending together to give an overall and comprehensive picture of Jesus' teaching and ministry. Although there are differences in specific temporal sequences, and in the parables and miracles listed in each gospel, the flow of the key events such as Baptism, Transfiguration and Crucifixion and interactions with people such as the Apostles are shared among the gospel narratives.

Key elements and the five major milestones

The five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. These are usually bracketed by two other episodes: his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end. The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his "works and words", e.g. his ministry, parables and miracles.

The gospels include a number discourses by Jesus on specific occasions, e.g. the Sermon on the Mount or the Farewell Discourse, and also include over 30 parables, spread throughout the narrative, often with themes that relate to the sermons. Parables represent a major component of the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, forming approximately one third of his recorded teachings, and John 14:10 positions them as the revelations of God the Father. The gospel episodes that include descriptions of the miracle of Jesus also often include teachings, providing an intertwining of his "words and works" in the gospels.

Genealogy and Nativity

The accounts of the genealogy and Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament appear only in the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew. While there are documents outside of the New Testament which are more or less contemporary with Jesus and the gospels, many shed no light on the more biographical aspects of his life and these two gospel accounts remain the main sources of information on the genealogy and Nativity.

Genealogy

Matthew begins his gospel in 1:1 with the genealogy of Jesus, and presents it before the account of the birth of Jesus, while Luke discusses the genealogy in chapter 3, after the Baptism of Jesus in Luke 3:22 when the voice from Heaven addresses Jesus and identifies him as the Son of God. At that point Luke traces Jesus' ancestry through Adam to God.

While Luke traces the genealogy upwards towards Adam and God, Matthew traces it downwards towards Jesus. Both gospels state that Jesus was begotten not by Joseph, but by God. Both accounts trace Joseph back to King David and from there to Abraham. These lists are identical between Abraham and David (except for one), but they differ almost completely between David and Joseph. Matthew gives Jacob as Joseph’s father and Luke says Joseph was the son of Heli. Attempts at explaining the differences between the genealogies have varied in nature, e.g. that Luke traces the genealogy through Mary while Matthew traces it through Joseph; or that Jacob and Heli were both fathers of Joseph, one being the legal father, after the death of Joseph's actual father — but there is no scholarly agreement on a resolution for the differences.

Nativity

The Nativity is a prominent element in the Gospel of Luke, comprises over 10% of Luke's text, and is three times the length of the Nativity text in Matthew. Luke's Nativity account takes place mostly before the birth of Jesus and centers on Mary, while Matthew's story takes place mostly after the birth of Jesus and centers on Joseph. According to Luke and Matthew, Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, in Bethlehem. Both support the doctrine of the Virgin Birth in which Jesus was miraculously conceived in his mother's womb by the Holy Spirit, when his mother was still a virgin.

Luke is the only Gospel to provide an account of the birth of John the Baptist, and he uses it to draw parallels between the births of John and Jesus. Luke relates the two births in the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. He further connects the two births by noting that Mary and Elizabeth are cousins. In Luke 1:31-38 Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus through the action of the Holy Spirit. When Mary is due to give birth, she and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census of Quirinius. In Luke 2:1-7. Mary gives birth to Jesus and, having found no place in the inn, places the newborn in a manger. An angel visits the shepherds and sends them to adore the child in Luke 2:22. After presenting Jesus at the Temple, Joseph and Mary return home to Nazareth.

The Nativity appears in chapters 1 and 2 of the Gospel of Matthew, where, following the bethrothal of Joseph and Mary, Joseph is troubled in Matthew 1:19-20 because Mary is pregnant, but in the first of Joseph's three dreams an angel assures him not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because her child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 1:1-12, the Wise Men or Magi bring gifts to the young Jesus after following a star which they believe was a sign that the King of the Jews had been born. King Herod hears of Jesus' birth from the Wise Men and tries to kill him by massacring all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (the Massacre of the Innocents). Before the massacre, Joseph is warned by an angel in his dream and the family flees to Egypt and remains there until Herod's death, after which they leave Egypt and settle in Nazareth to avoid living under the authority of Herod's son and successor Archelaus.

Early life and profession

In the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, Jesus’ childhood home is identified as the town of Nazareth in Galilee. Joseph, husband of Mary, appears in descriptions of Jesus’ childhood and no mention is made of him thereafter. The New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and Galatians mention Jesus’ brothers and sisters, but the Greek word ''adelphos'' in these verses, has also be translated as brother or kinsman.

Luke 2:41–52 includes an incident in the childhood of Jesus, where he was found teaching in the temple by his parents after being lost. The Finding in the Temple is the sole event between Jesus’ infancy and baptism mentioned in any of the canonical Gospels.

In Mark 6:3 Jesus is called a ''tekton'' (τέκτων in Greek), usually understood to mean carpenter. Matthew 13:55 says he was the son of a ''tekton''. ''Tekton'' has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but it is a rather general word (from the same root that leads to "technical" and "technology") that could cover makers of objects in various materials, even builders.

Beyond the New Testament accounts, the specific association of the profession of Jesus with woodworking is a constant in the traditions of the 1st and 2nd centuries and Justin Martyr (d. ca. 165) wrote that Jesus made yokes and ploughs.

Baptism and temptation

In the gospels, the accounts of the Baptism of Jesus are always preceded by information about John the Baptist and his ministry. In these accounts, John was preaching for penance and repentance for the remission of sins and encouraged the giving of alms to the poor (as in Luke 3:11) as he baptized people in the area of the River Jordan around Perea about the time of the commencement of the ministry of Jesus. The Gospel of John (1:28) specifies "Bethany beyond the Jordan", i.e. Bethabara in Perea, when it initially refers to it and later John 3:23 refers to further baptisms in Ænon "because there was much water there".

The four gospels are not the only references to John's ministry around the River Jordan. In Acts 10:37-38, Apostle Peter refers to how the ministry of Jesus followed "the baptism which John preached". In the Antiquities of the Jews (18.5.2) first century historian Flavius Josephus also wrote about John the Baptist and his eventual death in Perea.

In the gospels, John had been foretelling (as in Luke 3:16) of the arrival of a someone "mightier than I". Apostle Paul also refers to this anticipation by John in Acts 19:4. In Matthew 3:14, upon meeting Jesus, the Baptist states: "I need to be baptized by you." However, Jesus persuades John to baptize him nonetheless. In the baptismal scene, after Jesus emerges from the water, the sky opens and a voice from Heaven states: "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased". The Holy Spirit then descends upon Jesus as a dove in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode. This is one of two cases in the gospels where a voice from Heaven calls Jesus "Son", the other being in the Transfiguration of Jesus episode.

After the baptism, the Synoptic gospels proceed to describe the Temptation of Jesus, but John 1:35-37 narrates the first encounter between Jesus and two of his future disciples, who were then disciples of John the Baptist. In this narrative, the next day the Baptist sees Jesus again and calls him the Lamb of God and the "two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus". One of the disciples is named Andrew, but the other remains unnamed, and Raymond E. Brown raises the question of his being the author of the Gospel of John himself. In the Gospel of John, the disciples follow Jesus thereafter, and bring other disciples to him, and Acts 18:24-19:6 portrays the disciples of John as eventually merging with the followers of Jesus.

The Temptation of Jesus is narrated in the three Synoptic gospels after his baptism. In these accounts, as in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13, Jesus goes to the desert for forty days to fast. While there, Satan appears to him and tempts him in various ways, e.g. asking Jesus to show signs that he is the Son of God by turning stone to bread, or offering Jesus worldly rewards in exchange for worship. Jesus rejects every temptation and when Satan leaves, angels appear and minister to Jesus.

Ministry

Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. The date of the start of his ministry has been estimated at around 27-29 AD/CE, based on independent approaches which combine separate gospel accounts with other historical data. The end of his ministry is estimated to be in the range 30-36 AD/CE.

The three Synoptic gospels refer to just one passover during his ministry, while the Gospel of John refers to three passovers, suggesting a period of about three years. However, the Synoptic gospels do not require a ministry that lasted only one year, and scholars such as Köstenberger state that the Gospel of John simply provides a more detailed account.

The gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the countryside of Judaea, near the River Jordan. Jesus' ministry begins with his Baptism by John the Baptist (Matthew 3, Luke 3), and ends with the Last Supper with his disciples (Matthew 26, Luke 22) in Jerusalem. The gospels present John the Baptist's ministry as the pre-cursor to that of Jesus and the Baptism as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry, after which Jesus travels, preaches and performs miracles.

The ''Early Galilean ministry'' begins when Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judaean desert after rebuffing the temptation of Satan. In this early period Jesus preaches around Galilee and in Matthew 4:18-20 his first disciples encounter him, begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church. This period includes the Sermon on the Mount, one of the major discourses of Jesus.

The ''Major Galilean ministry'' which begins in Matthew 8 refers to activities up to the death of John the Baptist. It includes the Calming the storm and a number of other miracles and parables, as well as the Mission Discourse in which Jesus instructs the twelve apostles who are named in Matthew 10:2-3 to carry no belongings as they travel from city to city and preach.

The ''Final Galilean ministry'' includes the Feeding the 5000 and Walking on water episodes, both in Matthew 14. The end of this period (as Matthew 16 and Mark 8 end) marks a turning point is the ministry of Jesus with the dual episodes of Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration - which begins his ''Later Judaean ministry'' as he starts his final journey to Jerusalem through Judaea.

As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the ''Later Perean ministry'', about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan, he returns to the area where he was baptized, and in John 10:40-42 "many people believed in him beyond the Jordan", saying "all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true". This period of ministry includes the Discourse on the Church in which Jesus anticipates a future community of followers, and explains the role of his apostles in leading it. At the end of this period, the Gospel of John includes the Raising of Lazarus episode.

The ''Final ministry in Jerusalem'' is sometimes called the ''Passion Week'' and begins with the Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In that week Jesus drives the money changers from the Temple, and Judas bargains to betray him. This period includes the Olivet Discourse and the Second Coming Prophecy and culminates in the Last Supper, at the end of which Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure in the Farewell discourse. The accounts of the ministry of Jesus generally end with the Last Supper. However, some authors also consider the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension part of the ministry of Jesus.

Teachings and preachings

In the New Testament the teachings of Jesus are presented in terms of his "words and works". The words of Jesus include a number of sermons, as well as parables that appear throughout the narrative of the Synoptic Gospels (the gospel of John includes no parables). The works include the miracles and other acts performed during his ministry. Although the Canonical Gospels are the major source of the teachings of Jesus, the Pauline Epistles, which were likely written decades before the gospels, provide some of the earliest written accounts of the teachings of Jesus.

The New Testament does not present the teachings of Jesus as merely his own preachings, but equates the words of Jesus with divine revelation, with John the Baptist stating in John 3:34: "he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God" and Jesus stating in John 7:16: "My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me" and again re-asserting that in John 14:10: "the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works." In Matthew 11:27 Jesus claims divine knowledge, stating: "No one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son", asserting the mutual knowledge he has with the Father.

The gospels include a number discourses by Jesus on specific occasions, such as the Farewell discourse delivered after the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion. Although some of the teachings of Jesus are reported as taking place within the formal atmosphere of a synagogue (e.g. in Matthew 4:23) many of the discourses are more like conversations than formal lectures.

The Gospel of Matthew has a structured set of sermons, often grouped as the Five Discourses of Matthew which present many of the key teachings of Jesus. Each of the five discourses has some parallel passages in the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of Luke. The five discourses in Matthew begin with the Sermon on the Mount, which encapsulates many of the moral teaching of Jesus and which is one of the best known and most quoted elements of the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount includes the ''Beatitudes'' which describe the character of the people of the Kingdom of God, expressed as "blessings". The Beatitudes focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction and echo the key ideals of Jesus' teachings on spirituality and compassion. The other discourses in Matthew include the ''Missionary Discourse'' in Matthew 10 and the ''Discourse on the Church'' in Matthew 18, providing instructions to the disciples and laying the foundation of the codes of conduct for the anticipated community of followers.

Parables represent a major component of the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, the approximately thirty parables forming about one third of his recorded teachings. The parables may appear within longer sermons, as well as other places within the narrative. Jesus' parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, and each conveys a teaching which usually relates the physical world to the spiritual world.

The gospel episodes that include descriptions of the miracle of Jesus also often include teachings, providing an intertwining of his "words and works" in the gospels. Many of the miracles in the gospels teach the importance of faith, for instance in Cleansing ten lepers and Daughter of Jairus the beneficiaries are told that they were healed due to their faith.

Proclamation as Christ and Transfiguration

At about the middle of each of the three Synoptic Gospels, two related episodes mark a turning point in the narrative: the Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration of Jesus. These episodes begin in Caesarea Philippi just north of the Sea of Galilee at the beginning of the final journey to Jerusalem which ends in the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. These episodes mark the beginnings of the gradual disclosure of the identity of Jesus to his disciples; and his prediction of his own suffering and death.

Peter's Confession begins as a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples in Matthew 16:13, Mark 8:27 and Luke 9:18. Jesus asks his disciples: ''But who do you say that I am?'' Simon Peter answers him: ''You are the Christ, the Son of the living God''. In Matthew 16:17 Jesus blesses Peter for his answer, and states: "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." In blessing Peter, Jesus not only accepts the titles ''Christ'' and ''Son of God'' which Peter attributes to him, but declares the proclamation a divine revelation by stating that his Father in Heaven had revealed it to Peter. In this assertion, by endorsing both titles as divine revelation, Jesus unequivocally declares himself to be both Christ and the Son of God.

The account of the Transfiguration of Jesus appears in Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36. Jesus takes Peter and two other apostles with him and goes up to a mountain, which is not named. Once on the mountain, Matthew (17:2) states that Jesus "was transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." At that point the prophets Elijah and Moses appear and Jesus begins to talk to them. Luke is specific in describing Jesus in a state of glory, with Luke 9:32 referring to "they saw his glory". A bright cloud appears around them, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him".

The Transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God (as in his Baptism), but the statement "listen to him", identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God. The significance is enhanced by the presence of Elijah and Moses, for it indicates to the apostles that Jesus is the voice of God, and instead of Elijah or Moses, he should be listened to, by virtue of his filial relationship with God. 2 Peter 1:16-18, echoes the same message: at the Transfiguration God assigns to Jesus a special "honor and glory" and it is the turning point at which God exalts Jesus above all other powers in creation.

At the end of both episodes, as in some other pericopes in the New Testament such as miracles, Jesus tells his disciples not to repeat to others, what they had seen - the command at times interpreted in the context of the theory of the Messianic Secret. At the end of the Transfiguration episode, Jesus commands the disciples to silence about it "until the Son of man be risen from the dead", relating the Transfiguration to the Resurrection episode.

Betrayal, arrest, trial, and death

In Jerusalem

In the four Canonical Gospels, Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place a few days before the last Last Supper, marking the beginning of the Passion narrative. While at Bethany Jesus sent two disciples to retrieve a donkey that had been tied up but never ridden and rode it into Jerusalem, with Mark and John stating Sunday, Matthew Monday, and Luke not specifying the day. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees and sang part of Psalms 118: 25-26.

In the three Synoptic Gospels, entry into Jerusalem is followed by the Cleansing of the Temple episode, in which Jesus expels the money changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple to a den of thieves through their commercial activities. This is the only account of Jesus using physical force in any of the Gospels. John 2:13-16 includes a similar narrative much earlier, and scholars debate if these refer to the same episode. The synoptics include a number of well known parables and sermons such as the Widow's mite and the Second Coming Prophecy during the week that follows.

In that week, the synoptics also narrate conflicts between Jesus and the elders of the Jews, in episodes such as the Authority of Jesus Questioned and the Woes of the Pharisees in which Jesus criticizes their hypocrisy. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles approaches the Jewish elders and performs the "Bargain of Judas" in which he accepts to betray Jesus and hand him over to the elders. Matthew specifies the price as thirty silver coins.

Last Supper

In the New Testament, the Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus shares with his twelve apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels, and Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (11:23-26), which was likely written before the Gospels, also refers to it.

In all four gospels, during the meal, Jesus predicts that one of his Apostles will betray him. Jesus is described as reiterating, despite each Apostle's assertion that he would not betray Jesus, that the betrayer would be one of those who were present. In Matthew 26:23-25 and John 13:26-27 Judas is specifically singled out as the traitor.

In Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20 Jesus takes bread, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying: "This is my body which is given for you". In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Apostle Paul provides the theological underpinnings for the use of the Eucharist, stating: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." Although the Gospel of John does not include a description of the bread and wine ritual during the Last Supper, most scholars agree that John 6:58-59 (the Bread of Life Discourse) has a Eucharistic nature and resonates with the "words of institution" used in the Synoptic Gospels and the Pauline writings on the Last Supper.

In all four Gospels Jesus predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of him, stating that Peter will disown him three times before the rooster crows the next morning. The synoptics mention that after the arrest of Jesus Peter denied knowing him three times, but after the third denial, heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly.

The Gospel of John provides the only account of Jesus washing his disciples' feet before the meal. John's Gospel also includes a long sermon by Jesus, preparing his disciples (now without Judas) for his departure. Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the ''Farewell discourse'' given by Jesus, and are a rich source of Christological content.

Agony in the Garden, betrayal and arrest

In Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46 and John 18:1, immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus takes a walk to pray, Matthew and Mark identifying this place of prayer as Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus is accompanied by Peter, John and James the Greater, whom he asks to "remain here and keep watch with me." He moves "a stone's throw away" from them, where he feels overwhelming sadness and says "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it." Only the Gospel of Luke mentions the details of the sweat of blood of Jesus and the visitation of the angel who comforts Jesus as he accepts the will of the Father. Returning to the disciples after prayer, he finds them asleep and in Matthew 26:40 he asks Peter: "So, could you men not keep watch with me for an hour?"

While in the Garden, Judas appears, accompanied by a crowd that includes the Jewish priests and elders and people with weapons. Judas gives Jesus a kiss to identify him to the crowd who then arrests Jesus. One of Jesus' disciples tries to stop them and uses a sword to cut off the ear of one of the men in the crowd. Luke states that Jesus miraculously healed the wound and John and Matthew state that Jesus criticized the violent act, insisting that his disciples should not resist his arrest. In Matthew 26:52 Jesus makes the well known statement: ''all who live by the sword, shall die by the sword''.

Prior to the arrest, in Matthew 26:31 Jesus tells the disciples: "All ye shall be offended in me this night" and in 32 that: "But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee." After his arrest, Jesus' disciples go into hiding. In Matthew 27:3-5 Judas, distraught by his betrayal of Jesus, attempts to return the thirty pieces of silver he had received for betraying Jesus, then hangs himself.

Trials by the Sanhedrin, Herod and Pilate

In the narrative of the four Canonical Gospels after the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, he is taken to the Sanhedrin, a Jewish judicial body. Jesus is tried by the Sanhedrin, mocked and beaten and is condemned for making claims of being the Son of God. He is then taken to Pontius Pilate and the Jewish elders ask Pilate to judge and condemn Jesus — accusing him of claiming to be the King of the Jews. After questioning, with few replies provided by Jesus, Pilate publicly declares that he finds Jesus innocent, but the crowd insists on punishment. Pilate then orders Jesus' crucifixion. Although the Gospel accounts vary with respect to various details, they agree on the general character and overall structure of the trials of Jesus.

In, Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53 and Luke 22:54 Jesus was taken to the high priest's house where he was mocked and beaten that night. The next day, early in the morning, the chief priests and scribes gathered together and lead Jesus away into their council. In John 18:12-14, however, Jesus is first taken to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, and then to Caiaphas. In all four Gospel accounts the trial of Jesus is interleaved with the ''Denial of Peter'' narrative, where Apostle Peter who has followed Jesus denies knowing him three times, at which point the rooster crows as predicted by Jesus during the Last Supper.

In the Gospel accounts Jesus speaks very little, mounts no defense and gives very infrequent and indirect answers to the questions of the priests, prompting an officer to slap him. In Matthew 26:62 the lack of response from Jesus prompts the high priest to ask him: "Answerest thou nothing?" Mark 14:55-59 states that the chief priests had arranged false witness against Jesus, but the witnesses did not agree together. In Mark 14:61 the high priest then asked Jesus: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am" at which point the high priest tore his own robe in anger and accused Jesus of blasphemy. In 22:70 when asked: "Are you then the Son of God?" Jesus answers: "You say that I am" affirming the title Son of God. At that point the priests say: "What further need have we of witness? for we ourselves have heard from his own mouth" and decide to condemn Jesus.

Taking Jesus to Pilate's Court, the Jewish elders ask Pontius Pilate to judge and condemn Jesus — accusing him of claiming to be the King of the Jews. In Luke 23:7-15 (the only Gospel account of this episode), Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean, and is thus under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to be tried. However, Jesus says almost nothing in response to Herod's questions, or the continuing accusations of the chief priests and the scribes. Herod and his soldiers mock Jesus, put a gorgeous robe on him, as the King of the Jews, and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate then calls together the Jewish elders, and says that he has "found no fault in this man."

The use of the term king is central in the discussion between Jesus and Pilate. In John 18:36 Jesus states: "My kingdom is not of this world", but does not directly deny being the King of the Jews. And when in John 19:12 Pilate seeks to release Jesus, the priests object and say: "Every one that makes himself a king speaks against Caesar... We have no king but Caesar." Pilate then writes "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" as a sign (abbreviated as INRI in depictions) to be affixed to the cross of Jesus.

In Matthew 27:19 Pilate's wife, tormented by a dream, urges Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus, and Pilate publicly washes his hands of responsibility, yet orders the crucifixion in response to the demands of the crowd. The trial by Pilate is followed by the flagellation episode, the soldiers mock Jesus as the King of Jews by putting a purple robe (that signifies royal status) on him, place a Crown of Thorns on his head, and beat and mistreat him in Matthew 27:29-30, Mark 15:17-19 and John 19:2-3. Jesus is then sent to Calvary for crucifixion.

Crucifixion and burial

Jesus' crucifixion is described in all four Canonical gospels, and is attested to by other sources of that age (e.g. Josephus and Tacitus), and is regarded as an historical event.

After the trials, Jesus made his way to Calvary (the path is traditionally called via Dolorosa) and the three Synoptic Gospels indicate that he was assisted by Simon of Cyrene, the Romans compelling him to do so. In Luke 23:27-28 Jesus tells the women in multitude of people following him not to cry for him but for themselves and their children. Once at Calvary (Golgotha), Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall to drink — usually offered as a form of painkiller. Matthew's and Mark's Gospels state that he refused this.

The soldiers then crucified Jesus and cast lots for his clothes. Above Jesus' head on the cross was the inscription King of the Jews, and the soldiers and those passing by mocked him about the title. Jesus was crucified between two convicted thieves, one of whom rebuked Jesus, while the other defended him. Each gospel has its own account of Jesus' last words, comprising the seven last sayings on the cross. In John 19:26-27 Jesus entrusts his mother to the disciple he loved and in Luke 23:34 he states: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do", usually interpreted as his forgiveness of the Roman soldiers and the others involved.

In the three Synoptic Gospels, various supernatural events accompany the crucifixion, including darkness of the sky, an earthquake, and (in Matthew) the resurrection of saints. The tearing of the temple veil, upon the death of Jesus, is referenced in the synoptic. The Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs, as they did to the other two men crucified (breaking the legs hastened the crucifixion process), as Jesus was dead already. One of the soldiers pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and water flowed out. In Mark 13:59, impressed by the events the Roman centurion calls Jesus the Son of God.

Following Jesus' death, Joseph of Arimathea asked the permission of Pilate to remove the body. The body was removed from the cross, was wrapped in a clean cloth and buried in a new rock-hewn tomb, with the assistance of Nicodemus. In Matthew 27:62-66 the Jews go to Pilate the day after the crucifixion and ask for guards for the tomb and also seal the tomb with a stone as well as the guard, to be sure the body remains there.

Resurrection and ascension

thumb|upright|left|[[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection by Noel Coypel, 1700, using a hovering depiction of Jesus.]]The New Testament accounts of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, state that the first day of the week after the crucifixion (typically interpreted as a Sunday), his followers encounter him risen from the dead, after his tomb is discovered to be empty. The resurrected Jesus appears to them that day and a number of times thereafter, delivers sermons and commissions them, before ascending to Heaven. Two of the Canonical gospels (Luke and Mark) include a brief mention of the Ascension, but the main references to it are elsewhere in the New Testament.

In the four Canonical Gospels, when the tomb of Jesus is discovered empty, in Matthew 28:5, Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4 and John 20:12 his resurrection is announced and explained to the followers who arrive there early in the morning by either one or two beings (either men or angels) dressed in bright robes who appear in or near the tomb. The gospel accounts vary as to who arrived at the tomb first, but they are women and are instructed by the risen Jesus to inform the other disciples. All four accounts include Mary Magdalene and three include Mary the mother of Jesus. The accounts of Mark 16:9, John 20:15 indicate that Jesus appeared to the Magdalene first, and Luke 16:9 states that she was among the Myrrhbearers who informed the disciples about the resurrection. In Matthew 28:11-15, to explain the empty tomb, the Jewish elders bribe the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to spread the rumor that Jesus' disciples took his body.

After the discovery of the empty tomb, the Gospels indicate that Jesus made a series of appearances to the disciples. These include the well known Doubting Thomas episode, where Thomas did not believe the resurrection until he was invited to put his finger into the holes made by the wounds in Jesus' hands and side; and the Road to Emmaus appearance where Jesus meets two disciples. The catch of 153 fish appearance includes a miracle at the Sea of Galilee, and thereafter Jesus encourages Apostle Peter to serve his followers.

The final post-resurrection appearance in the Gospel accounts is when Jesus ascends to Heaven where he remains with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Canonical Gospels include only brief mentions of the Ascension of Jesus, Luke 24:51 states that Jesus "was carried up into heaven". The ascension account is further elaborated in Acts 1:1-11 and mentioned 1 Timothy 3:16. In Acts 1:1-9, forty days after the resurrection, as the disciples look on, "he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." 1 Peter 3:22 describes Jesus as being on "the right hand of God, having gone into heaven".

The Acts of the Apostles also contain "post-ascension" appearances by Jesus. These include the vision by Stephen just before his death in Acts 7:55, and the road to Damascus episode in which Apostle Paul is converted to Christianity. The instruction given to Ananias in Damascus in Acts 9:10-18 to heal Paul is the last reported conversation with Jesus in the Bible until the Book of Revelation was written.

Title attributions

The New Testament attributes a wide range of titles to Jesus by the authors of the Gospels, by Jesus himself, a voice from Heaven (often assumed to be God) during the Baptism and Transfiguration, as well as various groups of people such as the disciples, and even demons throughout the narrative. The emphasis on the titles used in each of the four canonical Gospels gives a different emphasis to the portrayal of Jesus in that Gospel.

Two of the key titles used for Jesus in the New Testament are Christ and Son of God. The opening words in Mark 1:1 attribute both Christ and Son of God as titles, reaffirming the second title again in Mark 1:11. The Gospel of Matthew also begins in 1:1 with the Christ title and reaffirms it in Matthew 1:16. Beyond the declarations by the Gospel writers, titles are attributed in the narrative. The statement by Apostle Peter in Matthew 16:16 ("you are the Christ, the Son of the living God") is a key turning point in the Gospel narrative, where Jesus is proclaimed as both Christ and Son of God by his followers and he accepts both titles. The immediate declaration by Jesus that the titles were revealed to Peter by "my Father who is in Heaven" not only endorses both titles as divine revelation but includes a separate assertion of sonship by Jesus within the same statement.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God far more frequently than in the Synoptic Gospels. In a number of other episodes Jesus claims sonship by referring to the Father, e.g. in Luke 2:49 when he is found in the temple a young Jesus calls the temple "my Father's house", just as he does later in John 2:16 in the Cleansing of the Temple episode. However, scholars still debate if Jesus specifically accepted divinity in these statements. In John 11:27 Martha tells Jesus "you are the Christ, the Son of God", signifying that both titles were later used (yet considered distinct) in the narrative. While the Gospel of John frequently uses the Son of God title, the Gospel of Luke emphasizes Jesus as a prophet.

One of the most frequent titles for Jesus in the New Testament is the Greek word ''Kyrios'' (κύριος) which may mean God, Lord or master and is used to refers to him over 700 times. In everyday Aramaic, ''Mari'' was a very respectful form of polite address, well above "Teacher" and similar to Rabbi. In Greek this has at times been translated as Kyrios. The Rabbi title is used in several New Testament episodes to refer to Jesus, but more often in the Gospel of John than elsewhere and does not appear in the Gospel of Luke at all. Although Jesus accepts this title in the narrative, in Matthew 23:1-8 he rejected the title of Rabbi for his disciples, saying: "But be not ye called Rabbi".

Many New Testament scholars state that Jesus claimed to be God through his frequent use of "I am" (''Ego eimi'' in Greek and ''Qui est'' in Latin). This term is used by Jesus in the Gospel of John on several occasions to refer to himself, seven times with specific titles. It is used in the Gospel of John both with or without a predicate. The seven uses with a predicate that have resulted in titles for Jesus are: ''Bread of Life'', ''Light of the World'', ''the Door'', ''the Good Shepherd'', ''the Resurrection of Life'', ''the Way, the Truth and the Life'', ''the Vine''. It is also used without a predicate, which is very unusual in Greek and Christologists usually interpret it as God's own self-declaration. In John 8:24 Jesus states: "unless you believe that I am you will die in your sins" and in John 8:59 the crowd attempts to stone Jesus in response to his statement that "Before Abraham was, I am". However, some scholars state that Jesus never made a direct claim to divinity.

The Gospel of John opens by identifying Jesus as the divine Logos in John 1:1-18. The Greek term Logos () is often translated as "the Word" in English. The identification of Jesus as the Logos which became Incarnate appears only at the beginning of the Gospel of John and the term Logos is used only in two other Johannine passages: 1 John 1:1 and Revelation 19:13. John's Logos statements build on each other: the statement that the Logos existed "at the beginning" asserts that as Logos Jesus was an eternal being like God; that the Logos was "with God" asserts the distinction of Jesus from God; and Logos "was God" states the unity of Jesus with God.

Some authors have suggested that other titles applied to Jesus in the New Testament had meanings in the 1st century quite different from those meanings ascribed today, e.g. “Son of David” is found elsewhere in Jewish tradition to refer to the heir to the throne.

Historical views

Existence of Jesus

The Christian gospels were written primarily as theological documents rather than historical chronicles. However, the question of the existence of Jesus as a historical figure should be distinguished from discussions about the historicity of specific episodes in the gospels, the chronology they present, or theological issues regarding his divinity. A number of historical non-Christian documents, such as Jewish and Greco-Roman sources, have been used in historical analyses of the existence of Jesus. Most critical historians agree that Jesus existed and regard events such as his baptism and his crucifixion as historical.

Robert E. Van Voorst states that the non-historicity of the existence of Jesus has always been controversial, and has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines, and that classical historians, as well as biblical scholars now regard it as effectively refuted. Walter P. Weaver, among others, states that the denial of Jesus’ existence has never convinced any large number of people, in or out of technical circles.

Separate non-Christian sources used to establish the historical existence of Jesus include the works of first century Roman historians Flavius Josephus and Tacitus. Josephus scholar Louis H. Feldman has stated that few have doubted the genuineness of Josephus' reference. Bart D. Ehrman states that the existence of Jesus and his crucifixion by the Romans is attested to by a wide range of sources, including Josephus and Tacitus.

A very small number of modern scholars argue that Jesus never existed, but that view is a distinct minority, and a somewhat recent argument. Karl Rahner has observed that "in antiquity, even the most bitter enemies of Christianity never expressed doubts about the existence of Jesus." The ''Cambridge companion to Jesus'' states that the "farfetched theories that Jesus' existence was a Christian invention are highly implausible."

Constructing a historical view

Historians of Christianity analyze the gospels to try to discern the historical man on whom these stories are based. They compare what the gospels say to historical events relevant to the times and places where the gospels were written. They try to answer historical questions about Jesus, such as why he was crucified.

Biblical scholars have used the historical method to develop plausible reconstructions of Jesus' life. Since the 19th century, these scholars have constructed a Jesus different in ways from the image found in the gospels. Scholars of the “historical Jesus” distinguish their concept from the “Jesus Christ” of Christianity.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus’ life and teachings are the three Synoptic Gospels. Scholars conclude the authors of the gospels wrote a few decades after Jesus’ crucifixion (between 65 – 100 AD/CE), in some cases using sources (the author of Luke-Acts references this explicitly). Historians of Christianity generally describe Jesus as a healer who preached the restoration of God's kingdom.

The English title of Albert Schweitzer’s 1906 book, ''The Quest of the Historical Jesus,'' is a label for the post-Enlightenment effort to describe Jesus using critical historical methods. Since the end of the 18th century, scholars have examined the gospels and tried to formulate historical biographies of Jesus. Contemporary efforts benefit from a better understanding of 1st-century Judaism, renewed Roman Catholic biblical scholarship, broad acceptance of critical historical methods, sociological insights, and literary analysis of Jesus' sayings. The historical outlook on Jesus relies on critical analysis of the Bible, especially the gospels. Many Biblical scholars have sought to reconstruct Jesus’ life in terms of the political, cultural, and religious crises and movements in late 2nd Temple Judaism and in Roman-occupied Palestine, including differences between Galilee and Judaea, and between different sects such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots, and in terms of conflicts among Jews in the context of Roman occupation.

Languages and background

Jesus grew up in Galilee and much of his ministry took place there. The languages spoken in Galilee and Judea during the first century AD/CE include Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek, with Aramaic being the predominant language. Most scholars agree that during the early part of first century AD/CE Aramaic was the mother tongue of virtually all women in Galilee and Judae. Most scholars support the theory that Jesus spoke Aramaic and that he may have also spoken Hebrew and Greek.

Major milestones and activities

Baptism by John the Baptist

John the Baptist led a large apocalyptic movement. He demanded repentance and baptism. Jesus was baptized and later began his ministry. After John was executed, some of his followers apparently took Jesus as their new leader. Historians are nearly unanimous in accepting Jesus' baptism as a historical event.

Teaching

Jewish focus – Jesus taught among fellow Jews. Geza Vermes concludes that Jesus' message was exclusively for the Jews, while Gerd Theissen asserts that Jesus' message included themes related to the Gentiles being welcomed into the coming Kingdom.

Arrival of the Kingdom – Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God. He said that the age of the Kingdom had in some sense arrived, starting with the activity of John the Baptist.

Apocalyptic vision – Most scholars hold that the movement Jesus led was apocalyptic, expecting God to intervene imminently to restore Israel. John the Baptist's movement was apocalyptic, and Jesus began his public career as one of his students. Scholars commonly surmise that Jesus' eschatology was apocalyptic, like John's.

Parables – Jesus taught in pithy parables and with striking images. His teaching was marked by hyperbole and unusual twists of phrase. Jesus likened the Kingdom of Heaven to small and lowly things, such as yeast or a mustard seed, that have great effects. Significantly, he never described the Kingdom in military terms. He used his sayings to elicit responses from the audience, engaging them in discussion.

The family of God – Jesus repeatedly set himself at odds with traditional family duties in order to emphasize that the true family of a believer was God's family, forming a community of believers as children of God.

God as a loving father – Jesus placed a special emphasis on God as one's heavenly father. This teaching contrasts with the more common practice of depicting God as a king or lord.

Virtue of being childlike – Jesus was remarkable in stating that one must become like a child to enter the Kingdom of God.

Importance of faith and prayer – Jesus identified faith or trust in God as a primary spiritual virtue. Associated with this main theme, Jesus taught that one should rely on prayer and expect prayer to be effective.

Healing and exorcism – Jesus taught that his healings and exorcisms indicated that a new eschatological age had arrived or was arriving.

Crucifixion

Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem were wary of Galilean patriots, many of whom advocated or launched violent resistance to Roman rule. The gospels demonstrate that Jesus, a charismatic leader regarded as a potential troublemaker, was executed on political charges. Jesus' criticism of the Temple, the disturbance he caused there, and his refusal to renounce claims of kingship convinced the Jewish high priest to allow Jesus to be transferred into Roman custody.

The Gospels report that Jesus foretold his own Passion, but, according to Geza Vermes, the confused and fearful actions of the disciples suggest that it came as a surprise to them.

Jewish religious movements in Jesus' day

Scholars refer to the religious background of the early 1st century to better reconstruct Jesus' life. Some scholars identify him with one or another group.

Pharisees were a powerful force in 1st-century Judaea. Early Christians shared several beliefs of the Pharisees, such as resurrection, retribution in the next world, angels, human freedom, and Divine Providence. After the fall of the Temple, the Pharisee outlook was established in Rabbinic Judaism. Some scholars speculate that Jesus was himself a Pharisee. In Jesus' day, the two main schools of thought among the Pharisees were the House of Hillel, which had been founded by the eminent Tanna, Hillel the Elder, and the House of Shammai. Jesus' assertion of hypocrisy may have been directed against the stricter members of the House of Shammai, although he also agreed with their teachings on divorce. Jesus also commented on the House of Hillel's teachings (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a) concerning the greatest commandment and the Golden Rule. Historians do not know whether there were Pharisees in Galilee during Jesus' life, or what they would have been like.

Sadducees were particularly powerful in Jerusalem. They accepted the written Law only, rejecting the traditional interpretations accepted by the Pharisees, such as belief in retribution in an afterlife, resurrection of the body, angels, and spirits. After Jesus caused a disturbance at the Temple, it was to have been the Sadducees who had him arrested and turned over to the Romans for execution. After the fall of Jerusalem, they disappeared from history.

Essenes were apocalyptic ascetics, one of the three (or four) major Jewish schools of the time, though they were not mentioned in the New Testament. Some scholars theorize that Jesus was an Essene, or close to them. Among these scholars is Pope Benedict XVI, who supposes in his book on Jesus that "it appears that not only John the Baptist, but possibly Jesus and his family as well, were close to the Qumran community."

Zealots were a revolutionary party opposed to Roman rule, one of those parties that, according to Josephus inspired the fanatical stand in Jerusalem that led to its destruction in the year 70 AD/CE. Luke identifies Simon, a disciple, as a "zealot", which might mean a member of the Zealot party (which would therefore have been already in existence in the lifetime of Jesus) or a zealous person. The notion that Jesus himself was a Zealot does not do justice to the earliest Synoptic material describing him.

Higher criticism and Christian scripture

Contemporary historians of Christianity use the historical-critical method (or higher criticism) to examine scripture for clues about the historical Jesus. They sort out sayings and events that are more likely to be genuine and use those to construct their portraits of Jesus. They use standard historical methods to discern who wrote each book, where and when they were written, what sources the authors used, what the authors' agendas were.

Biblical scholars hold that the works describing Jesus were initially communicated by oral tradition, and were not committed to writing until several decades after Jesus' crucifixion. After the original oral stories were written down in Greek, they were transcribed, and later translated into other languages. The books of the New Testament had mostly been written by 100 AD/CE, making them, at least the Synoptic Gospels, historically relevant. The Gospel tradition certainly preserves several fragments of Jesus' teaching. The Gospel of Mark is believed to have been written ''c.'' 70 AD/CE. Matthew is placed at being sometime after this date and Luke is thought to have been written between 70 and 100 AD/CE. According to the majority viewpoint, the gospels were written not by the evangelists identified by tradition but by non-eyewitnesses who worked with second-hand sources and who modified their accounts to suit their religious agendas.

Critical scholars consider scriptural accounts more likely when they are attested in multiple texts, plausible in Jesus' historical environment, and potentially embarrassing to the author's Christian community. The "criterion of embarrassment" holds that stories about events with aspects embarrassing to Christians (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter, or the fleeing of Jesus' followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if those accounts were fictional. Sayings attributed to Jesus are deemed more likely to reflect his character when they are distinctive, vivid, paradoxical, surprising, and contrary to social and religious expectations, such as "Blessed are the poor". Short, memorable parables and aphorisms capable of being transmitted orally are also thought more likely to be authentic.

The earliest extant texts which refer to Jesus are Paul's letters (mid-1st century), which affirm Jesus' crucifixion. Keulman and Gregory hold that the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus, predates the four orthodox gospels, and believe it may have been composed around mid-1st century.

A minority of prominent scholars, such as J. A. T. Robinson, have maintained that the writers of the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John were either apostles and eyewitness to Jesus' ministry and death, or were close to those who had been.

Classicist Michael Grant stated that standard historical criteria prevent one from rejecting the existence of a historical Jesus.

Professor of Divinity James Dunn describes the mythical Jesus theory as a ‘thoroughly dead thesis’.

Religious perspectives

By and large, the Jews of Jesus' day rejected his claim to be the Messiah, as do Jews today. For their part, Christian Church Fathers, Ecumenical Councils, Reformers, and others have written extensively about Jesus over the centuries. Christian sects and schisms have often been defined or characterized by competing descriptions of Jesus. Meanwhile, Gnostics, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, Muslims, Baha'is, and others have found prominent places for Jesus in their own religious accounts.

Christian views

Though Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to describe a general majority Christian view by examining the similarities between specific Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant doctrines found in their catechetical or confessional texts. Almost all Christian groups regard Jesus as the "Savior and Redeemer", as the Messiah (Greek: ''Christos''; English: Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament, who, through his life, death, and resurrection, restored humanity's communion with God in the blood of the New Covenant. His death on a cross is understood as the redemptive sacrifice: the source of humanity's salvation and the atonement for sin, which had entered human history through the sin of Adam. Christians profess that Jesus suffered death by crucifixion, and rose bodily from the dead in the definitive miracle that foreshadows the resurrection of humanity at the end of time, when Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, resulting in either entrance into heaven or damnation.

Christians profess Jesus to be the only Son of God, the Lord, and the eternal Word (which is a translation of the Greek ''Logos''), who became man in the incarnation, so that those who believe in him might have eternal life. They further hold that he was born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit in an event described as the miraculous virgin birth or incarnation. Christians believe that Christ is the true head of the one holy universal and apostolic church.

Orthodox Christians believe that the Godhead is triune, a "Trinity", and that Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, is fully God. As the 6th-century Athanasian Creed says, the Trinity is "one God" and "three persons... and yet they are not three Gods, but one God." Some unorthodox Christian groups do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Unitarianism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, Sabbatarian Churches of God and the Christadelphians. (See also Nontrinitarianism.)

Christians consider the Gospel and other New Testament accounts of Jesus to be divinely inspired. Christian writers, such as Benedict XVI, proclaim the Jesus of the Gospels, discounting the historical reconstruction of Jesus as entirely inadequate.

Jewish views

Judaism, including Orthodox Judaism, Hareidi Judaism, Reform Judaism, Karaite Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist Judaism, rejects the idea of Jesus being God, or a person of a Trinity, or a mediator to God. Judaism also holds that Jesus is not the Messiah, arguing that he had not fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh nor embodied the personal qualifications of the Messiah. According to Jewish tradition, there were no more prophets after Malachi, who lived centuries before Jesus and delivered his prophesies about 420 BC/BCE.

The Talmud includes stories which some consider accounts of Jesus in the Talmud, although there is a spectrum from scholars, such as Maier (1978), who considers that only the accounts with the name ''Yeshu'' refer to the Christian Jesus, and that these are late redactions, to scholars such as Klausner (1925), who suggested that accounts related to Jesus in the Talmud may contain traces of the historical Jesus. However the majority of contemporary historians disregard this material as providing information on the historical Jesus. Many contemporary Talmud scholars view these as comments on the relationship between Judaism and Christians or other sectarians, rather than comments on the historical Jesus.

The ''Mishneh Torah'', an authoritative work of Jewish law, provides the last established consensus view of the Jewish community, in ''Hilkhot Melakhim'' 11:10–12 that Jesus is a "stumbling block" who makes "the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God". Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than this one? So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God. However, the thoughts of the Creator of the world — there is no force in a human to attain them because our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts not God's thoughts. And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and of (Muhammad) the Ishmaelite who stood after him — there is no (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said, "Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder." Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and the things of the Torah, and the things of the commandments! And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcised of heart.}}

According to Conservative Judaism, Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah have "crossed the line out of the Jewish community". Reform Judaism, the modern progressive movement, states "For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate".

Islamic views

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى; `Īsā) is considered to be a Messenger of God and the Messiah who was sent to guide the Children of Israel with the Gospel. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter's coming. Jesus is mentioned more times in the Qur'an, by name, than Muhammad. According to the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be God's final revelation, Jesus was born to Mary as the result of virginal conception, and was given the ability to perform miracles. Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to earth near the day of judgement to restore justice and defeat the Antichrist.

Ahmadiyya views

The Ahmadiyya Movement considers Jesus a mortal man who died a natural death. According to the early 20th century writings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement), Jesus survived his ordeal on the cross, and after his apparent death and resurrection, he fled Palestine and migrated eastwards to further teach the gospels. Jesus eventually died a natural death of old age in India – Kashmir – and is believed to be buried at Roza Bal.

Although the view of Jesus having migrated to India has also been researched in the publications of independent historians with no affiliation to the movement, the Ahmadiyya Movement are the only religious organization to adopt these views as a characteristic of their faith. The general notion of Jesus in India is older than the foundation of the movement, and is discussed at length by Grönbold and Klatt.

The movement also interprets the second coming of Christ prophesied in various religious texts would be that of a person "similar to Jesus" (''mathīl-i ʿIsā''). Thus, Ahmadi's consider that the founder of the movement and his prophetical character and teachings were representative of Jesus and subsequently a fulfillment of this prophecy.

Bahá'í views

The Bahá'í Faith, founded in 19th-century Persia, considers Jesus, along with Muhammad, the Buddha, Krishna, and Zoroaster, and other messengers of the great religions of the world to be Manifestations of God (or prophets), with both human and divine stations.

God is one and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic Messengers. Bahá'ís refer to this concept as Progressive Revelation, which means that God's will is revealed to mankind progressively as mankind matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God in creating humanity. In this view, God's word is revealed through a series of messengers: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the Bahá'í Faith) among them. In the Book of Certitude, Bahá'u'lláh claims that these messengers have a two natures: divine and human. Examining their divine nature, they are more or less the same being. However, when examining their human nature, they are individual, with distinct personality. For example, when Jesus says "I and my Father are one", Bahá'ís take this quite literally, but specifically with respect to his nature as a Manifestation. When Jesus conversely stated "...And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me", Bahá'ís see this as a simple reference to the individuality of Jesus. This divine nature, according to Bahá'u'lláh, means that any Manifestation of God can be said to be the return of a previous Manifestation, though Bahá'ís also believe that some Manifestations with specific missions return with a "new name", and a different, or expanded purpose. Bahá'ís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is, in both respects, the return of Jesus.

Buddhist views

Buddhists' views of Jesus differ. Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama regard Jesus as a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. The 14th century Zen master Gasan Jōseki indicated that the sayings of Jesus in the Gospels were written by an enlightened man.

Hindu views

In a letter to his daughter Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote, "All over Central Asia, in Kashmir and Ladakh and Tibet and even farther north, there is a strong belief that Jesus or Isa travelled about there."

During the "lost years" not mentioned in the New Testament, Jesus reportedly studied in Nalanda and further in Tibet.

Other views

Mandaeanism, a very small Mideastern, Gnostic sect that reveres John the Baptist as God's greatest prophet, regards Jesus as a false prophet of the false Jewish god of the Old Testament, Adonai, and likewise rejects Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad.

Manichaeism accepted Jesus as a prophet, along with Gautama Buddha and Zoroaster.

The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus. The creators of ''A Course In Miracles'' claim to trance-channel his spirit. However, the New Age movement generally teaches that Christhood is something that all may attain. Theosophists, from whom many New Age teachings originated (a Theosophist named Alice A. Bailey invented the term ''New Age''), refer to Jesus of Nazareth as the Master Jesus and believe he had previous incarnations.

Many writers emphasize Jesus' moral teachings. Garry Wills argues that Jesus' ethics are distinct from those usually taught by Christianity. The Jesus Seminar portrays Jesus as an itinerant preacher who taught peace and love, rights for women and respect for children, and who spoke out against the hypocrisy of religious leaders and the rich. Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a deist, created the Jefferson Bible entitled "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" that included only Jesus' ethical teachings because he did not believe in Jesus' divinity or any of the other supernatural aspects of the Bible.

See also

General topics

* Christian mythology

* INRI (stands for "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews")

Views on Jesus

* Jesusism

* Jews for Jesus

* Pauline Christianity

* Rejection of Jesus

* Historicity of Jesus

* Lost years of Jesus

New Testament Jesus

* King of Kings

* Life of Jesus in the New Testament

* Race of Jesus

Jesus and history

* Apostolic succession

* Christian apologetics

Related lists

* List of books about Jesus

* List of founders of religious traditions

* List of messiah claimants

* List of people claimed to be Jesus

* List of people who have been considered deities

Notes

References

The Bible

Allison, Dale. ''Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999. ISBN 0-8006-3144-7

Brown, Raymond E. ''An Introduction to the New Testament.'' New York: Doubleday, 1997. ISBN 0-385-24767-2

Cohen, Shaye J.D.. ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah''. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0-664-21911-6

Cohen, Shaye J.D. ''The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. ISBN 0-520-22693-3

Crossan, John Dominic.

* ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant.'' New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. ISBN 0-06-061629-6

* ''Who Killed Jesus?: exposing the roots of anti-semitism in the Gospel story of the death of Jesus''. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995. ISBN 978-0-06-061671-7

Davenport, Guy; and Urrutia, Benjamin (trans.) ''The Logia of Yeshua: The sayings of Jesus''. Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 1996. ISBN 978-1-887178-70-9

De La Potterie, Ignace. ''The hour of Jesus: The passion and the resurrection of Jesus according to John''. New York: Alba House, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8189-0575-9

Durant, Will. ''Caesar and Christ.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944. ISBN 0-671-11500-6

Ehrman, Bart. ''The Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-514183-0

Ehrman, Bart. ''The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515462-2

Fredriksen, Paula. ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity.'' New York: Vintage, 2000. ISBN 0-679-76746-0

Fredriksen, Paula. ''From Jesus to Christ: The origins of the New Testament images of Christ.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-300-08457-3

Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology'', revised ed. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998. ISBN 1-56563-143-9

Fuller, Reginald H., ''The Foundations of New Testament Christology''. New York: Scribners, 1965. ISBN 0-227-17075-X

Meier, John P., ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'', New York: Anchor Doubleday,

: V. 1, ''The Roots of the Problem and the Person'', 1991. ISBN 0-385-26425-9 : V. 2, ''Mentor, Message, and Miracles'', 1994. ISBN 0-385-46992-6 : V. 3, ''Companions and Competitors'', 2001. ISBN 0-385-46993-4

O'Collins, Gerald. ''Interpreting Jesus.'' "Introducing Catholic theology". London: G. Chapman; Ramsey, NJ: Paulist Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0-8091-2572-2

Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-300-07987-7

Robinson, John A. T. ''Redating the New Testament.'' Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001 (original 1977). ISBN 1-57910-527-0.

Sanders, E.P. ''The Historical Figure of Jesus.'' London: Allen Lane Penguin Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0-7139-9059-1

Sanders, E.P. ''Jesus and Judaism.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8006-2061-5

Vermes, Géza. ''Jesus in his Jewish Context.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003. ISBN 0-8006-3623-6

Vermes, Géza. ''Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1981. ISBN 0-8006-1443-7

Vermes, Géza. ''The Religion of Jesus the Jew.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1993. ISBN 0-8006-2797-0

Wilson, A.N. ''Jesus.'' London: Pimlico, 2003. ISBN 0-7126-0697-1

Wright, N.T. ''Jesus and the Victory of God.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997. ISBN 0-8006-2682-6

Wright, N.T. ''The Resurrection of the Son of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003. ISBN 0-8006-2679-6

External links

Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ In Parallel Latin & English

"Jesus Christ." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 12 Nov. 2009

''From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians'' — documentary about Jesus' life and the early Church.

The Jewish Roman World of Jesus

Category:0s BC births Category:1st-century deaths Category:1st-century executions Category:Apocalypticists Category:Carpenters Category:Christian mythology Category:Christian religious leaders Category:Creator gods Category:Deified people Category:Founders of religions Category:God in Christianity Category:Islamic mythology Category:Jewish Messiah claimants Category:Life-death-rebirth gods Category:Messianism Category:New Testament people Category:People executed by crucifixion Category:People executed by the Roman Empire Category:People from Bethlehem Category:People from Nazareth Category:Prophets in Christianity Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Roman era Jews Category:Savior gods Category:Self-declared messiahs Category:Rabbis of the Land of Israel

ace:Isa af:Jesus van Nasaret als:Jesus Christus am:ኢየሱስ ang:Iesus ab:Иесуа Қьырста ar:يسوع an:Chesús de Nazaret arc:ܝܫܘܥ ast:Xesús az:İsa bm:Yesu Krista bn:যিশু zh-min-nan:Iâ-so͘ ba:Ғайса be:Ісус Хрыстос be-x-old:Ісус Хрыстос bcl:Hesukristo bi:Jisas Kraes bo:ཡེ་ཤུ། bs:Isus br:Jezuz Nazaret bg:Исус Христос bxr:Иисус Христос ca:Jesús de Natzaret cv:Иисус Христос ceb:Jesus cs:Ježíš Kristus cbk-zam:Jesus ny:Yesu Kristu tum:Yesu Khristu co:Gesù Cristu cy:Iesu da:Jesus pdc:Yeesus Grischdus de:Jesus von Nazaret dv:އީސާގެފާނު nv:Doodaatsaahii (Jíísas) dsb:Jezus Kristus et:Jeesus el:Ιησούς Χριστός eml:Gesü es:Jesús de Nazaret eo:Jesuo Kristo ext:Jesucristu eu:Jesus Nazaretekoa ee:Yesu fa:عیسی hif:Jesus fo:Jesus fr:Jésus de Nazareth fy:Jezus Kristus fur:Jesus ga:Íosa Críost gd:Ìosa Chrìosd gl:Xesús de Nazareth gan:耶穌 got:𐌹𐌴𐍃𐌿𐍃 𐍇𐍂𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃/Iesus Xristus hak:Yâ-sû ko:예수 ha:Isa Almasihu hy:Հիսուս hi:ईसा मसीह hsb:Jězus hr:Isus ig:Jisọs Kraịst ilo:Jesus id:Yesus ia:Jesus Christo iu:ᐱᐅᓕᑦᓯᔨ/piulitsiji os:Йесо Чырысти xh:UYesu Kristu is:Jesús it:Gesù he:ישו jv:Yesus Kristus kl:Jiisusi-Kristus kn:ಯೇಸು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ ka:იესო ქრისტე kk:Иса Мәсіх kw:Yesu Krist rw:Yezu Kirisitu rn:Yezu Kirisitu sw:Yesu kv:Исус Кристос kg:Yesu ht:Jezi ku:Îsa lad:Yeshu lbe:Эса идавс lo:ພະເຍຊູ la:Iesus lv:Jēzus Kristus lb:Jesus vun Nazaret lt:Jėzus Kristus lij:Gesû Cristo li:Zjezus Christus jbo:iesus lg:Jesu Kristo lmo:Gesü de Nazaret hu:Jézus mk:Исус Христос mg:Jesoa ml:യേശു mt:Ġesù mi:Ihu Karaiti mr:येशू ख्रिस्त arz:يسوع ms:Yesus Kristus cdo:Ià-sŭ mwl:Jasus mn:Есүс Христ my:ခရစ်တော်၊ ယေရှု nah:Yeshua Christós na:Jesu Kristo fj:Jisu Karisito nl:Jezus (traditioneel-christelijk) nds-nl:Jezus Christus ja:イエス・キリスト nap:Gèsù pih:Jesus no:Jesus Kristus nn:Jesus nrm:Jésus-Chrît oc:Jèsus mhr:Исус Христос uz:Iso Masih pa:ਈਸਾ ਮਸੀਹ pnb:یسوع pap:Hesus ps:عیسی pms:Gesù ëd Nàsaret tpi:Jisas nds:Jesus Christus pl:Jezus Chrystus pt:Jesus ty:Iesu Mesia ksh:Jesus Christus ro:Isus din Nazaret rm:Jesus da Nazaret qu:Jesus rue:Ісус Хрістос ru:Иисус Христос sah:Исус sm:Iesu Keriso sc:Gesùs sco:Jesus Christ sq:Jezusi scn:Gesù Cristu si:ජේසුස් තුමා simple:Jesus ss:Bukhristu sk:Ježiš Kristus cu:Їисъ Хрїстъ sl:Jezus Kristus szl:Jezus Kristus so:Ciise srn:Jesus Christus sr:Исус sh:Isus fi:Jeesus sv:Jesus tl:Hesus ta:இயேசு கிறித்து kab:Ɛisa tt:Ğaysa te:యేసు th:พระเยซู tg:Исо to:Sīsū Kalaisi tr:İsa tk:Isa Pygamber tw:Yesu Kristo uk:Ісус Христос ur:عیسیٰ علیہ السلام ug:ئەيسا مەسىھ za:Yesu vec:Jesu vi:Giê-su fiu-vro:Jeesus vls:Jezus van Nazareth war:Hesus wo:Yéesu-kristaa wuu:耶稣 yi:יעזוס yo:Jésù zh-yue:耶穌 bat-smg:Jiezos Krėstos zh:耶稣