Early Roman Procurators of Judea and Samaria
6-15 A.D.
Coponius, 6-9 A.D.
Because Archelaus continually failed to bring order to Judea, Caesar Augustus eventually gave up on him. He sent Coponius, a cavalry officer, under Quirinius, the Roman Governor of Syria, to Jerusalem to replace him. Under Coponius’s administration, several things occurred.
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First of all, he brought civil obedience to the land. He confiscated the estates of Herod Archelaus for the empire and instituted a tax plan. Josephus credits this taxation as the eventual source of the Jewish rebellion of 67-70 A.D. Though sedition was quieted in Judea and Samaria, it continued to fester in Galilee, where Herod Antipas ruled. One of its early leaders, named Judas, was the founder of the Zealots—the political party of one of the Apostles, Simon the Zealot. Luke records a reference to the death of Judas as a part of Gamaliel’s speech in Acts 5:37.
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Coponius also replaced the current high priest with Annas and controlled the functions of that office. The vestments of the High Priest were placed under lock and only removed for functions with the procurator’s approval.
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Last, he was given the authority to execute capital punishment on behalf of Rome. We are not given the reason he was replaced. Most likely, it was a normal rotation since Quirinius continued as governor in Syria until 12 A.D.
Marcus Ambivulus
Again, as a subordinate realm to the Roman Governor of Syria, the administration of Marcus Ambivulus was apparently without incident since Josephus gives us no details. Annas served as high priest under his tenure.
Annius Rufus, 12-15 A.D.
Again, we have no record of any event of importance during this time. His replacement was a normal event with the changes of a new regime as Tiberius became emperor. Annas continued as high priest under his tenure.
Valerius Gratus, 15-26 A.D.
Josephus portrays Valerius Gratus as involved in temple political intrigue. He deposed Annas (Hanan I), replacing him with Ishmael ben Phiabi. Politics quickly shifted, however, and a son of Annas, Eleazar, was soon back in power as the high priest. He was shortly replaced, but the house of Annas recovered quickly with the appointment of Caiaphas. Caiaphas would work with Valerius Gratus from his appointment in 16 A.D. through the term of Pontius Pilate in 36 A.D.
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