Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was a
career military officer whom Augustus
put in charge of a string of troubled provinces. His victories over
pirates as governor of Crete & Cyrene (14
BCE) earned him
appointment as consul of Rome (12 BCE).
Then as governor of Galatia
(6-2 BCE),
he led a successful campaign against rebellious
mountaineers, for which he was given a triumphal
procession in Rome
(2 BCE).
His trip to Syria
(2 CE) as tutor of the emperor's
grandson, Gaius [Caligula], led to his
appointment as imperial legate for that region when Archelaus
was deposed (6 CE).
The gospel of Luke (2:1) mentions this
assignment as the circumstance of Jesus' birth. As the first Roman
governor to have direct responsibility for the administration of the
provinces of Judea
& Samaria,
Quirinius conducted a census for purposes of taxation &
conscription. This provoked a Jewish independence movement, led by
Judah "the Galilean," which Josephus
viewed as the source of Judea's revolt 60 years later. After 6 years
in Syria, Quirinius returned to Rome (12 CE)
where he became a close
of associate of Tiberius,
who---a decade later---honored him with a state funeral.
References: Tacitus,
Annals
3.48.
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