Historical Proof
Documentary evidence outside of the New Testament is limited.
The most detailed record of the life and death of Jesus comes from the four Gospels and other New Testament writings. “These are all Christian and are obviously and understandably biased in what they report, and have to be evaluated very critically indeed to establish any historically reliable information,” says University of North Carolina religious studies professor Bart D. Ehrman “But their central claims about Jesus as a historical figure—a Jew, with followers, executed on orders of the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius—are borne out by later sources with a completely different set of biases.”
Within a few decades of his lifetime, Jesus was mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians in passages that corroborate portions of the New Testament that describe the life and death of Jesus. Ehrman says this collection of snippets from non-Christian sources may not impart much information about the life of Jesus, “but it is useful for realizing that Jesus was known by historians who had reason to look into the matter. No one thought he was made up.” https://www.history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence
Pliny the younger
Pliny the Younger was a Roman official and writer, famous for his letters which are an important source for Roman history.
The {Pliny's} tenth book consists of letters to and from the emperor Trajan, mostly written during Pliny's governorship.
In these letters, he seeks rulings from Trajan on matters arising in his province. (c.61 AD - c.112 AD)
Trajan: The Emperor
Trajan was the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy. He was also one of the first emperors to be chosen, rather than toin herit power as part of a ruling family. Trajan ruled strictly, but fairly, and struck an effective balance between making conquests and maintaining a high quality of life for his people.
Pliny executed Christians who were brought before him and who refused to worship the emperor and Roman gods but then sought the emperor’s advice on how to treat Christians in his province.
Trajan responded that Christians legitimately brought before Pliny should be punished but that the governor should not seek out Christians for persecution. The Christians should be left alone as long as they did not stir up trouble. (c.53 AD - c.117 AD)
Tacitus;
Tacitus was a Roman historian, active throughout the reign of Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) and the early years of Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). Although best known for his historical writings, he also had a long public career, serving as a quaestor in 81 CE, praetor in 88 CE, a tribune of the plebs, a consul in 97 CE, and proconsul of Asia from 112-113 CE.
In his Annals 15.44; he records the death of Christ, as well as the torture and executions of many of his followers.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus
(c.56 - c. 118 CE)
Suetonius;
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Suetonius was a Roman writer. Suetonius' most famous work is his collection of biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 Roman emperors, known simply as The Twelve Caesars (Caesares or De vita Caesarum). With a position close to the imperial court he was able to access otherwise private sources for his work, and he certainly did not hold back on revealing the sometimes sordid details of Rome’s most famously debauched emperors.
(c.69 CE - c.122 CE)
JOSEPHUS;
Titus Flavius Josephus
was born Yosef ben Matityahu and became a 1st-century CE Jewish historian. He was a member of a priestly household in Jerusalem through his father’s side (the house and order of Jehoiarib), and his mother was of royal descent (Hasmonean).
The Antiquities of the Jews; perhaps his greatest work in 20 volumes, Josephus provided a history of Jews and
Judaism from creation to the outbreak of the war.
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(36-100 CE)
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