Quirinius

• ANCIENT SOURCES: see Quirinius (sources)
• SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Quirinius (subject)

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was the Roman governor of Syria, from 6 to 9 CE, under Emperor Augustus.

Overview

Quirinius was a Roman official and politician.

After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus in 6 CE, the province of Judea came under direct Roman administration with Coponius as prefect; at the same time Quirinius was appointed legate of Syria, with instructions to assess the province of Judea for taxation purposes.

The census Quirinius carried in 6-7 CE was a necessary step in order to lay the foundations of the new province of Judea. The census however generated a lot of discontent among the Jewish peasants, who were now required to pay in money and not in kind. According to Josephus, the census triggered the revolt of Judas the Galilean and the formation of the party of the Zealots. Only the intervention of the High Priest Eleazar ben Boethus convinced the majority of the population to cooperate with the Roman authorities. The census of Quirinius remained so impressed in people's memory that two generations later the Gospel of Luke made it the setting of Jesus' birth, although erroneously dating it at the time of Herod the Great.

Quirinius also appointed Annas the first High Priest nominated directly by the Romans.

External links

• Wikipedia (Quirinius) / Wikipedia (Census of Quirinius)
• Livius.org