Tacitus, Josephus and early Christian worship
The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Christus, Latin for Christ, in Annals 15.44, recording his execution at the command of Pontius Pilate. The reference occurs in his account of Nero blaming Christians for Rome’s fire in AD 64. Where Tacitus obtained his information remains uncertain; access to Roman archives is a possible explanation, not an established origin for this detail. [1][2]
The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus while describing another person’s death. In Antiquities 20.200, he recounts the death of James at the instigation of the high priest Ananus and identifies James as the brother of Jesus “who was called Christ.” The reference identifies Jesus through a family relationship. [2]
A separate passage in Josephus, identified as Antiquities 18:3, is controversial. Its wording matters: one version declares Jesus to be the Christ and describes him appearing alive again; another says his disciples reported that appearance and calls him perhaps the Messiah. Those formulations differ between direct assertion and a report of followers’ beliefs. [3]
Around AD 112, Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan about Christian worship. He described Christians meeting before daylight and singing a hymn to Christ as to a god. His letter records how Christians worshipped Christ, rather than narrating an episode from Jesus’ life. [4]
Other ancient writers mentioned in discussions of Jesus’ historical existence include Suetonius, Thallus and Lucian. [5]