Ancient manuscripts detailing the events during the Roman Empire are believed to contain 'first hand' evidence about the life and death of Jesus Christ.Aside from some pedantic details, this article gives a pretty good account of Tacitus's comments on "Christus" and the early Christians.The Annals, written by the Roman historian Tacitus only 91 years after Jesus's death, begins with the death of Emperor Augustus in 14AD and finishes with Nero's suicide 54 years later.
In Book 15, the historian discusses the Great Fire of Rome in 54AD, shortly before Nero's death, which the emperor blamed on a class 'called Christians.'
The second sentence reads: 'Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.'
'Christus,' the Latin version of 'Christ,' means 'the Anointed One' or 'the Messiah,' and comes from the Hebrew word Mashiach (Messiah).
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Tacitus's history is indeed ancient, from the early second century CE. But, alas, the earliest surviving manuscripts of his work date to the early Middle Ages. Roger Pearse has comprehesive details here.
I'm not sure why the Mail has noticed Tacitus's comments. The article says:
While the manuscripts have long been known, the details in them recently surfaced online and have been welcomed by those of Christian faith.No link, so I don't know where they surfaced. But it's nice to see the Mail drawing the attention of a wider audience to the passage. For more on the works of Cornelius Tacitus, see here.
The article also briefly covers the "Testimonium Flavianum" (the comments about Jesus in the surviving manuscripts of the Antiquities of Flavius Josephus. More on that here and links.
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