Historical figure
Herod the Great
c. 74 – 4 BC
Client king of Judea. Rebuilt the Temple, killed his own sons, and died shortly after a lunar eclipse in 4 BC. His death anchors the birth of Jesus to before 4 BC.
Josephus, Ant. 17.8–9
Roman governor
Pontius Pilate
Prefect of Judea, 26–36 AD
Roman prefect of Judea. His tenure is confirmed by Josephus and by the Pilate Stone found at Caesarea Maritima in 1961.
Josephus, Ant. 18.89; Pilate inscription, Israel Museum
Place
Capernaum
Fishing village on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Population around 1,500. Jesus made his home here during the Galilean ministry.
Matthew 4:13; Luke 4:31
Archaeology
The Capernaum Synagogue
A 4th-century white limestone synagogue built over 1st-century black basalt foundations — almost certainly the synagogue where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21).
Corbo, Cafarnao I–IV (1975)
Archaeology
The House of Peter
A 1st-century house venerated by Christians from the mid-1st century onwards, over which a Byzantine octagonal church was built. Excavated under the modern church at Capernaum.
Corbo, Cafarnao I (1975)
Place
Bethany beyond the Jordan
The traditional baptism site, identified by Origen in the 3rd century and confirmed by archaeological excavations in the 1990s. On the eastern bank of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
John 1:28; Origen, Comm. John 6.24
Place
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The traditional site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, identified by Helena in 326 AD and venerated ever since. The site was a Roman temple to Venus until Constantine cleared it.
Eusebius, Life of Constantine 3.26–28
Place
The Via Dolorosa
The traditional path from the Antonia Fortress to Golgotha. Fixed in its current form by the Crusaders and later tradition. The actual route is debated.
See Murphy-O’Connor, The Holy Land (2008)
Place
The Antonia Fortress
Roman military barracks built by Herod the Great at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. The traditional site of Pilate’s judgment seat.
Josephus, War 5.238–246
Place
Damascus
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Capital of the Decapolis. Paul was converted on the road to Damascus around AD 35.
Acts 9:1–25; Galatians 1:17
Place
Antioch
Third-largest city of the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. It was here that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26), and here that Ignatius was bishop.
Acts 11:19–26; Ignatius, Ephesians
Place
Rome
Capital of the empire, population around one million in the first century. Peter and Paul died here under Nero, and it became the seat of the western church.
Tacitus, Ann. 15.44; 1 Clement 5
Roman emperor
Nero
Reigned 54–68 AD
After the fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero blamed the Christians. Tacitus records that they were torn by dogs, crucified, and burned as torches in the imperial gardens.
Tacitus, Ann. 15.44
Archaeology
The Second Temple
Rebuilt by Herod the Great starting around 20 BC. The Western Wall is the only substantial surviving structure of the Temple platform. The Temple itself was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD.
Josephus, Ant. 15.380–425; War 6.220–270
Archaeology
Yehohanan ben Hagkol
A man crucified in first-century Jerusalem. His heel bone, pierced by a nail, was found at Givat HaMivtar in 1968. The only direct physical evidence of Roman crucifixion ever recovered.
Hass, IEJ 20 (1970)
Historical problem
The Census of Quirinius
Luke 2:2 dates the birth to a census under Quirinius. Josephus dates that census to 6 AD, ten years after Herod died. The tension is real and is discussed honestly on the Debates page.
Luke 2:2; Josephus, Ant. 18.1–10
Text criticism
The Testimonium Flavianum
Josephus, Antiquities 18.63–64. A short paragraph about Jesus. The core is accepted by most scholars as authentic; a few phrases are widely considered Christian interpolations.
Meier, A Marginal Jew, vol. 1
Method
Historical reliability
The method used in this section: prefer the earliest sources, weigh independent attestation, distinguish public from private claims, and name the uncertainties. The same method used for every other figure of antiquity.
See the Historical Reliability page
