Ancient literary text
Suetonius, Vespasian 4
C. Suetonius Tranquillus
The life covers Vespasian. This chapter includes the Judean command of the AD 60s.
- Citation
- Suetonius, Twelve Caesars, Vespasian 4, as cited by Ralph Ellis.
- Locator
- Life of Vespasian, chapter 4
What the source says
The Perseus text of this chapter is Suetonius’s life, not Ellis’ paragraph. Ellis prints one English passage and attaches both this chapter and Tacitus, Histories 5.13. He calls that paragraph a conflation. It should not be treated as a critical translation of Suetonius alone.
Why it is here
He cites Vespasian 4 in Jesus, King of Edessa for the report that rulers from Judea would gain empire.
Ralph’s interpretation
He uses the report in his argument that the war and the kingship belong in the AD 60s, and that Saul is Josephus. Suetonius does not say that.
Alternative readings
Suetonius is writing the life of Vespasian. The ordinary use of this chapter is as evidence for how Romans told the story of Vespasian’s rise, not as a life of a king of Edessa.