Pontius Pilate

• Name  : Pilate
• Born  :  ?
• Died  : d.AD 36
• Category  : Infamous Scots
• Finest Moment : Conversion to Christianity

Very little is known about this man; there is a story that he was born in Scotland. What is known is that he was the Roman prefect, or governor of Judaea from AD 26-36, under the emperor Tiberius. He presided at the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion.

As to his character, we must make guesses based on later writings; both Jewish and Christian. If we go with Josephus, he was a strong-willed but rational and practical Roman leader, who knew how far to go in his dealings with the Jews. If we go with the New Testament, he was weak and indecisive. He was probably more of the former.

Again, as to the end of his life there are two accounts. In Christian tradition, Pilate and his wife became converts, with his wife a saint in the Eastern Church. If we take the route of an uncertain 4th-century story, he killed himself on orders from the emperor Caligula, in AD 39.

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