Everything about Quirinius totally explained
Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (
Greek Κυρήνιος -
Kyrenios or
Cyrenius, c.
51 BC -
AD 21) was a
Roman aristocrat. His governorship of
Syria is one of the
chronological anchors for the birth of
Jesus.
Born in the neighborhood of
Lanuvium, a Latin town near Rome, his family was rich but lacked political influence. Quirinius followed the normal pathway of service for an ambitious young man of his social class, serving in the
Roman army and possibly participating in
Octavian's campaign that culminated in the
Battle of Actium in
31 BC. For the following decade he served in
Spain, and upon assuming his first governorship, Quirinius defeated the Marmarici, a tribe of desert raiders, before becoming governor of
Crete and
Cyrene in
14 BC. In
12 BC he was named
consul, a sign that he enjoyed the favour of Augustus. Six years afterward he was dispatched to govern
Pamphylia-Galatia (in modern Turkey), where another successful military campaign earned him honors in Rome.
By
AD 1, Quirinius had become chief advisor to Augustus' grandson
Gaius Caesar, until the latter died from wounds suffered on campaign. When Augustus' support shifted to his stepson
Tiberius, Quirinius entered the latter's camp of followers.
After the banishment of
Herod Archelaus in
6,
Iudaea Province (the conglomeration of
Samaria,
Judea and
Idumea) came under direct Roman administration. One of Quirinius' first duties was to
carry out a census to assess the new province for tax purposes. At the same time
Coponius was sent as
prefect of Iudaea; but Quirinius went there also, as
Legate of Syria, since the levying of the tax on the entire province was his special duty. The assessment was greatly resented by the Jews, and open
revolt was prevented only by the efforts of the
high priest Joazar. As it was, the census did trigger the revolt of
Judas the Galilean and the formation of the party of the
Zealots, according to Josephus.
Quirinius served as governor of Syria with nominal authority over Iudaea until
12, when he returned to Rome as a close associate of
Tiberius. Nine years later he died and was given a public funeral.
The
Gospel of Luke links the
birth of
Jesus to the census taken by Quirinius when he was governor of Syria, as part of a census of the "whole world". However Luke and the
Gospel of Matthew date the birth to the reign of
Herod the Great, who died in
4 BC, nearly ten years before Quirinius became governor. Most historians argue that Luke is in error.
Further Information
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