The final days of Jesus, the thrill of defeat, the agony of victory : a classical historian explores Jesus's arrest, trial, and execution

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In The Final Days of Jesus, Mark Smith brings his experience as a classical historian to bear on the life of the historical Jesus, piecing together the volatile political context of first-century Judaea, as well as the lives of Pontius Pilate, Annas, and Joseph Caiaphas. The claim that 'the Jews crucified Jesus' has spawned a long and tragic history of Christian anti-Semitism. Smith challenges this claim through detailed exploration of Roman, Jewish, and Christian written sources and a broad range of archaeological evidence, such as the ossuary of Caiaphas, the 'Hidden Gate', and the rich vein of research devoted to the archaeology of ritual purity. The result is an earthy and nuanced portrait of Jewish life under Roman rule. From his discussion of the multiplicity and brutality of Roman executions to the intricate personal relationships among elites that provided the means of collaboration and redress, Smith details the complex push-pull of forces between Rome and the Temple as they collided in one history-changing week. Front cover Half title Title page Copyright Contents List of Illustrations and Tables In Principio: Preface I. Historia: Evidence and Classical Theory II. Ad Fontes: Sources, Analysis and What Classical Historians Do What Classical Historians Do III. Praefectus Iudaeae: Pontius Pilatus and his World Evidence for the Life of Pilate What's in a Name? Pontius Pilatus and Roman Imperial Government Rome and Judaea Roman Violence against Jews Roman and Jewish Taxation Roman and Jewish Elitism 'Zealot' Political Theology Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judaea The Affair of the Standards The Aqueduct Riot The Affair of the Shields IV. Pontifices Maximi: Annas, Caiaphas, and the High Priesthood of Jerusalem The High Priesthood of Israel The House of Annas The Archaeology of Priestly Purity Jesus and the House of Annas V. Quaestio: The High Priests' Inquest The Nature of the Evidence for the High Priestly Inquest of Jesus The Participants Detailed Analysis: The Role and Compositionof the Sanhedrin The High Priests’ Inquest Evidence from the Gospels about the High Priests’ Inquest VI. Cognitio Extra Ordinem: The Trial of the Millennium The Nature of the Evidence for the Trial of Jesus The Trial of the Millennium Gospel Accounts of the Trial of Jesus VII. Summum Supplicium: The Death and Burial of Jesus The Process of Crucifixion Crucifixion and Burial in the Roman Empire Roman Burial Practices What Did Jesus’s Tomb Look Like? Gospel Accounts of the Execution of Jesus VIII. Ad Consummationem: Conclusion Honoris Causa: Acknowledgments Appendix I: The Chronology of Historical Jesus The Date of Jesus’s Birth Did Quirinius Serve Two Termsas Legate of Syria? Was Luke Wrong about Quirinius? Another Herod? The Date of Jesus’s Execution Appendix II: New Testament References to Synedrion Auctoritates: Secondary Sources for Further Reading Back cover