Who Was Pontius Pilate?

If it weren't for the part he played in one of the most famous stories of all time, few people would still remember Pontius Pilate. As it is, Christians will never forget him.

From AD 26 to 36, Pontius Pilate oversaw Judea as prefect, or military governor. The land had come under Roman control about 60 years earlier.

There are no contemporary records of Pilate's early life, but we can safely make some assumptions. Since his name was "Pontius," he probably came from the Pontii clan of central Italy. (His other name would have been pronounced "pi-lah-tee," similar to those popular Pilates exercises.) And he almost surely had experience as a Roman army officer, since that's how would-be prefects earned their stripes.

Some time after he turned 30--the minimum age for a prefect--the Emperor Tiberius appointed Pilate prefect of Judea. After making the month-long journey from Rome, Pilate settled into the prefect's palace on the Mediterranean, not far from the modern city of Haifa. That's where he spent most of his time for the next 10 years--though he and his troops likely went to Jerusalem each Passover, when hundreds of thousands of Jews gathered in that city.

As prefect of a far-off province, Pilate had two important jobs. First, he was the top local military commander, in charge of a few thousand troops. Second, he was the region's chief magistrate, responsible for presiding over legal disputes. Wielding both military and civil authority, he was expected to collect taxes, encourage trade with Rome, and keep the peace.

Keeping the peace wasn't easy in Judea, where local Jews and imported Romans didn't mix well. Even when they weren't trying to, the Romans offended the Jews. Roman coins, for example, usually featured a portrait of the emperor, but many Jews considered such portraits "graven images" and refused to use the money.

For their part, the Romans, who worshiped scores of deities, found the Jews' insistence on praying to just one God both stingy and odd. And, since the Romans also thought of themselves as "the chosen people," they didn't like it when the Jews claimed that distinction.

As the occupying force in Judea, the Romans could have cracked down on the Jews even harder than they did. But they didn't want a lot of trouble in the region, which lay between two more valuable Roman possessions, Egypt and Syria. That's one reason they allowed the Jews to handle most of their own legal disputes in Jewish religious courts. In the Bible, Jesus is taken to such a court after he's been betrayed and arrested.

All four Gospels describe the legal proceedings leading up to Jesus's execution. Basically, Jewish high priests interrogate Jesus and pronounce him guilty of blasphemy, a capital crime. But they aren't empowered to execute prisoners--they need the approval of the Roman prefect. So they bring Jesus before Pilate, who's currently in Jerusalem (it's Passover). Pilate consults with the Jewish high priests about the charges, asks Jesus some questions, and ultimately "deliver[s] him to be crucified."

Scholars of ancient Rome say the Gospels describe a fairly typical hearing for someone like Jesus, who would not have had all the rights of a Roman citizen. But Matthew's Gospel adds an element that would not have been part of a normal Roman hearing. Pilate calls for a basin of water and literally washes his hands of the decision to execute Jesus--though he goes on to order the crucifixion anyway.

According to Josephus, a Jewish historian of the time, Pilate lost his job a few years later--after dealing harshly with a village of Samaritans who complained to the Roman powers-that-were. After that, it's hard to tell what happened to Pilate, though there's no shortage of stories about him. In some, Pilate commits suicide. In others, he converts to Christianity along with his wife--who, in Matthew's Gospel, tries to stop him from taking part in Jesus's trial. (Orthodox Christians canonize her as St. Procula.)

We know that, as prefect, Pilate issued several small bronze coins, some of which survive today. In 1961, archaeologists unearthed an inscribed stone that says Pilate erected a public building--we're not sure what kind--during his term. Ancient sources say he also built a viaduct. But the contemporary records of actions Pilate took while in office are gone. Today, he is remembered almost exclusively for the order he gave to crucify Jesus of Nazareth--and for immediately trying to wash his hands of it.

--Colleen Kelly