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The Date of the Census of Quirinius and the Chronology of The The Date of the Census of Quirinius and the Chronology of the Governors of the Province of Syria Author(s): Edward Dąbrowa Source: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 178 (2011), pp. 137-142 Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41616761 . Accessed: 08/01/2015 19:10 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 142.58.151.115 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 19:10:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 137 The Date of the Census of Quirinius and the Chronology of the Governors of the Province of Syria1 The mentionin the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:1-5) of the census conductedduring the reign of Augustusby Publius Sulpicius Quirinius2,during which Jesus Christ was born,meant that in Christiantradition both theseevents were inextricablylinked. Despite the chronologicalfeatures of this mention,its reliabilityis challengedby scholarsespecially because othersources put the census at an entirelydifferent time. Luke's report(as well as thoseof theother Evangelists writing about Jesus' childhood) states that this census took place duringthe life of Herod,but accordingto Josephus( AJ 17.355; 18.1-6) it was carriedout in Judaea onlyafter it joined theRoman Empire,which in turnwas theresult of Augustus'removing rule over Judaea fromArchelaus, the son of Herod. The emperorwas swayedin thisdecision by theineptitude of Archelaus and generaldissatisfaction with his rule,which the subjects expressed in numerouscomplaints sent to Rome (Josephus,BJ 2.111; AJ 17.342-344; Dio 55.27.6). Afterremoving the nativeruler, the emperorannexed Judaeato Syria,entrusting its administrationto an officerof the provincesubordinate to the governorand bearingthe titlepraefectus (Josephus, AJ 18.2).3The firstprefect of Judaea was Coponius (Josephus,AJ 17.355;18. 2).4 The administrativechanges were accompanied by a propertycensus beingconducted of the inhabitantsof theprovince of Syria and thepersonal affairs of Archelausbeing straightenedout. Emperor Augustusentrusted both tasks to thethen governor of theprovince of Syria,Quirinius (Josephus, AJ 17.355; 18.1-2).5Since Archelausvacated the throne in 6 AD, establishingthe date of thecensus may appear to be a simpleand obvioustask. However, the differences in the datingof theevent by Luke and Josephusmean thatscholars have been tryingfor almost 200 yearsnot only to explainthe reasons for these contradictions, butalso to ascertainwhether the two authorsare talkingabout the same census,or aboutdifferent ones. To date,these efforts have notproduced a satisfactoryresult.6 The difficultiesinvolved in determiningthe actual date of the Census of Quiriniuson thebasis of the chronologyof thefacts available to us resultedfairly early on in leading scholarsto look forother ways to solve theproblem. One of thesewas analysisof prosopographicaldata, that is informationon thelives and careersof the governors of the province of Syriawho heldthe post in thelast twenty years of Augustus' rule. Althoughthis method has provento be veryhelpful in manyissues, in thisparticular one itdid notbring the expectedresults, as the sources do not always containinformation on the whole careersof these officials, butonly on some of theirroles. Often there are no chronologicalfeatures to allow us to date thosefunctions whichare known.In addition,the bad stateof preservationand fragmentarynature of some sources,espe- 1 Abbreviations:AE - L'AnnéeÉpigraphique' CIL - CorpusInscriptionum Latinar um; ILS - H. Dessau,Inscriptiones LatinaeSelectae , Berlin 1892-1916; Insc. It. - InscriptionesItaliae' PIR2 - ProsopographiaImperii Romani , editio altera; RE - PaulysRealencyclopädie der classischenAltertumswissenschaft , Stuttgart 1894-1972; SEG - SupplementumEpi- graphicumGraecum . I thankProf. Werner Eck, who provided valuable comments toa preliminarydraft of this paper. I thank alsoProf. Henry I. MacAdamfor linguistic revision of this paper. 2 PIR2S 1018;Groag 1931: 822-843, no. 90; Dqbrowa1998: 27-30. 3 Thestatus of Judaea after its annexation tothe Roman state is thesource of many misunderstandings. Many scholars believethat after 6 AD itbecame a provinceadministered byprefects (some of them are mentioned by Ghiretti 1985: 751- 754),cf. Schürer 1985: 441-446; Sasse 2004: 191; Labbé 2008: 229-240. The arguments presented by e.g. M. Ghiretti(1985: 754-766),H. Cotton(1999: 76-79) and W. Eck (2007: 23-37; 2008: 219-220) do notleave any doubt, however, that after 6 AD Judaeadid not constitute anindependent provincial unit, but was incorporated inthe structure ofthe province of Syria. For the entitlementsofthe praefectus Iudaeae , seeGhiretti 1985: 758-761; Eck 2007: 39-43. 4 See PIR1С 1285;Stein 1900: 1214-1215, no. 2. 5 Pearson1999: 264-265; Kennedy 2006: 112-113,117. The conducting ofthe census by Quirinius is confirmedby an undatedinscription referring toApamea: CIL III 6687= ILS 2683;Kennedy 2006: 113-117, 122. Cf. Eck 2007: 37-38; 2008: 226. 6 Thebibliography onthe date of the Census of Quirinius is veryextensive. For a listof the most important publications anda presentationofthe main positions of scholars on this topic see Schürer1985, 1: 489-523; Boffo 1994: 182-203; Alföldy 1997:199-208; Pearson 1999: 269-282; Smith 2000: 278-293; Labbé 2008: 228-243. This content downloaded from 142.58.151.115 on Thu, 8 Jan 2015 19:10:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 138 E. Dqbrowa daily epigraphicalones, makes forsignificant difficulties in correctlyinterpreting their contents. An excel- lentexample of theseproblems is providedby theso-called TitulusTiburtinus. This is partof an inscription foundin 1764 nearTivoli (theclassical Tibur)containing a partiallypreserved cursus honorum , that is a list of positionsheld by an anonymoussenator from the timeof Augustus.Based on the preservedsection of the inscription,we can statethat this senator belonged to thehighest echelons of theRoman politicalelite. This is shownby thefunctions he occupied and honourshe was awardedafter leading a victoriousmartial campaign.He was proconsulof Asia as well as governorof Syria,probably around the end of the 1stcentury ВС.7 In the inscriptionthe titleassociated withthe latterposition is precededby the word iterumßSince the textis incompleteit can be interpretedin variousways.9 In the contextof debatesover the date of the Census of Quirinius,the Tivoli inscriptionis oftencited as proofof the reliabilityof Luke as a source,as accordingto a significantgroup of scholarsthis document contains the cursus honorumof Quiriniusand testifiesto his two staysin Syriaas itsgovernor: the first time during Herod's lifetime,and thesecond after Augustus'annexation of Judaea.The statein whichthe documentis preserved,however, does notpermit any certaintyas to the correctnessof the identificationof this senator(a sizable groupof scholarsargues thatthis inscription refers to othergovernors of Syria)or to thereconstruction of thecourse of his career.10 In spiteof all thedifficulties attached to theattempts to interpretthe TitulusTiburtinus , Leah Di Segni recentlypresented a set of argumentswhich she believes allows the Census of Quiriniusin Syria and Judaeato be dated to a periodearlier than 6 AD. This hypothesisis accompaniedby a seriesof otherfind- ings on variousaspects of the historyof Judaeaand Syria,11of whichmost interesting for us are her sug- gestedchanges in the chronologyof the governorsof the provinceof Syria occupyingthis position in the lastyears of the 1stcentury ВС.12 Acknowledgingthat all Di Segni's conclusionsand hypothesesare correct wouldrequire a revisionof previousviews on thecharacter of Herod's relationswith Rome and theform of theadministration of theRoman provinceof Syriaat theend of thefirst century ВС. Di Segni bases all her conclusionson an interpretationof the contentof the inscriptionson an ancientartefact published by her and probablyfound on the territoryof contemporaryIsrael.13 This find,rare and of greathistoric impor- tance,was identifiedby Di Segni as partof the classical weightstandard,14 and is in the formof a bronze ring,originally surrounded by the spoutof a measuringvessel. Two inscriptionsin Greekcan be foundon it: one on its cylindricalpart, directly on thevessel (a), and theother on thering which closes its neck (b): (a) Маркой Tmou ot>|ißA,r||ia:jioSíou xéxapTov15 (b) "Etodç ßa(aiAico<;) ïïk' jurivòçEgcvSikoo) vac. ôk' vac.16 7 CIL XIV 3613= ILS 918= Insc.It. IV, 1,130. The history of the discovery and later fate of this monument, as well as a fullbibliography ofits edition and interpretation, is given by Alföldy 1997: 199-200. 8 CIL XIV 3613= ILS 918= Insc.It. IV, 1,130: ... [leg(atus)pro pr(aetore)] /Divi Augusti iterum Syriam et Ph[oenicen optinuit] ... 9 Forthe various interpretations ofthe meaning of the word iterum in this inscription see Alföldy 1997: 200-202, 203. 10A reviewof the proposed identifications andarguments intheir
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