Annas ben Seth (Hanan I)
High Priest, 6-15 A.D.
Annas was appointed High priest in 6 A.D. by Quirinius, the Roman Governor of Syria. Though Annas was deposed by Valerius Gratus at the beginning of Tiberius’s reign, he continued to be a powerful political figure in Judea. In less than two years, Ishmael, who replaced him was out and the High priest was Eleazar, Annas’s son. Eleazar was followed in the years to come by two other sons of Annas and a son-in-law, Joseph Caiaphas. Eventually, he would have five sons, a grandson, and a son-in-law serve as High priest.
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Apparently, he was appointed when Quirinius came to Judea to oversee the incorporation of Herod’s property into the imperial coffers. This taxation was in conjunction with the removal of Archelaus as Tetrarch of Judea. At the appointment of Annas, religious control lay with the Roman Procurator, Coponius. As a part of the subjugation of Judea and Samaria, Coponius kept the vestments of the High priest under lock and only issued them for approved occasions. Upon the rotation of Coponius, Annas continued as High priest under Ambivulus and Annius Rufus.
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With the official crowning of Tiberius, political appointments rippled down through Syria to Judea. Quirinius returned to Rome in 12 A.D. as an advisor to Tiberius and Ambivulus left Judea. Government administration from Syria seems to have been run by the bureaucracy when Annius Rufus was Procurator which covered the last years of Annas’ official tenure.
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In 16 A.D., Valerius Gratus was appointed the Roman Procurator of Judea and Samaria. With the new administration, a new high priest, Ishmael ben Phiabi, was installed. His tenure was just over a year. Apparently, the house of Annas regained favor with Valerius Gratus, who was known to be active in the temple politics, because Eleazar replaced Ishmael. Except for the year when Ishmael ben Phiabi served as high priest, and the equally short tenure of Simon bar Kamithos (17-18 A.D.), Annas, or a member of his household, held the office of high priest for forty years. Later, another son and grandson would hold the office. Talmudic references refer to his house as one that was wealthy and unscrupulous.
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