Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

return to Rome. However, Pilate returned to Rome  in obedience to the orders of Vitellius, which he durst not 

contradict . 

878

 So Pilate may well have begun his journey to Rome in December or January. 

    The ancient historians Josephus, Dio, and Suetonius disagree about the exact length of Tiberius' reign, but 

they all give the length of his reign as greater than 22 years and less than 23 years.

879

 However, in this revised 

chronology, Tiberius' death is placed in March of 

A.D.

 22, after a reign of somewhat less than 22 years from 

his adoption as heir to the throne in June of 1 

B.C.

 The ancient historians mistakenly thought that Tiberius' 

reign began with the death of Augustus, when it actually was counted from Tiberius'  adoption as heir to 

Augustus. I think that this point of confusion led them to err also in stating the length of Tiberius' reign. The 

date of Tiberius' death in this revised chronology could not be placed a year later, because of the start date and 

length of Pilate's reign, and because of the dates and lengths of the reigns of subsequent emperors (see below). 

    Josephus states that Tiberius appointed only two procurators over Judea during his reign as emperor.

880

 He 

tells us in one and the same sentence that Tiberius became emperor and that he sent the first of these two 

procurators, Gratus, to Judea.

881

 Thus the reign of Gratus over Judea began about the time that the reign of 

Tiberius began. Gratus ruled Judea for 11 years; then Tiberius sent Pontius Pilate  to replace Gratus as ruler 

over Judea.

882

 Pilate ruled Judea for about 10 years, until the time that he was recalled to Rome to answer to 

an accusation of murder. But before Pilate arrived in Rome, Tiberius had died.

883

 There were then about 21 

years from the  start of Gratus' reign to the end of Pilate's reign over Judea. Tiberius' reign began about the 

time Gratus' reign began and ended about the time Pilate's reign ended. Therefore, Tiberius' reign lasted about 

21 years. 

    Now, one might lengthen those 21 years by supposing that Gratus' reign was a little longer than 11 years or 

that Pilate's reign was a little longer than 10 years or by other suppositions. But in the usual chronology, the 

length of Tiberius' reign is 22 years and about 7 months; quite a few suppositions are needed to reach to this 

length of time. On the other hand, in this revised chronology, the length of Tiberius' reign is only 21 years and 

just under 9 months, if one counts from Tiberius' adoption in June of 1 

B.C.

, or only 21 years and less than 

three months, if one counts from the first full year (

A.D.

 1) after Tiberius' adoption by Augustus. This revised 

chronology is a better fit for the statements by Josephus about the lengths of the reigns of Tiberius, Gratus, and 

Pilate. 

    Tiberius died just after the end of Pilate's 10 year reign over Judea. Pilate's reign began during the 2nd year 

after the death of Augustus. Since Augustus died in 

A.D.

 10, the death of Tiberius occurred only about 11  

years later, in March of 

A.D.

 22. Pilate's rule over Judea must then have occurred from late 

A.D.

 11 or early 

A.D.

 12 to late 

A.D.

 21 or early 

A.D.

 22, about 15 years earlier than the usual time frame of 

A.D.

 26 to 36. 

(Notice here that the revised dates of events from the death of Tiberius onward are now off by 15 years from 

the usual dates, because of this difference in the length of Tiberius' reign.) 

    Josephus clearly states that Pilate's reign lasted ten years.

884

 Yet the generally accepted chronology has 

Pilate's reign from 

A.D.

 26 to 36, a total of eleven years. The first year of Pilate's reign is usually given as 

A.D.

26, and Pilate's arrival in Rome placed sometime after mid March of 

A.D.

 37. The usual chronology 

contradicts Josephus in lengthening Pilate's reign by one year. In this revised  chronology, Pilate's reign is 

accepted as 10 years, not eleven, and Tiberius' reign is one year shorter at just over 21 years. 

    The ministry of John the Baptist began in the 15th year of Tiberius' reign (Lk 3:1), which was also the 4th 

year of Pilate's reign over Judea. According to Eusebius, Christ was crucified less than 4 years later.

885

 This 

calculation places the Crucifixion in the 19th year of Tiberius and the 8th year of Pilate's rule over Judea. 

    Tiberius was adopted as heir to Augustus on June 26,

886

 of 1 

B.C.

 (revised). The first full calendar year after 

this rise to power would then be counted as the first year of his antedated reign, 

A.D.

 1. This conclusion places 

the start of John the Baptist's ministry in 

A.D.

 15, the 15th year of Tiberius' reign, and the Crucifixion in 

A.D.

19, the 19th year of Tiberius' reign and the 8th year of Pilate's reign. 

13.  Josephus refers to Jesus 

    Josephus tells us about the death of Germanicus shortly before his description of the Ministry of Jesus 

Christ.

887

 The only account intervening between the death of Germanicus and this mention of Jesus is a 

196