CHAIN INCLUDED. 16" with 2" extension.

JUDAEA, Procurators. Pontius Pilate

History: Died 39 AD. Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea (ad 26-36) under the emperor Tiberius; he presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion. According to the traditional account of his life, Pilate was a Roman equestrian (knight) of the Samnite clan of the Pontii (hence his name Pontius). He was appointed prefect of Judaea through the intervention of Sejanus, a favourite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. Protected by Sejanus, he incurred the enmity of the Jews by insulting their religious sensibilities, as when he hung worship images of the Emperor throughout Jerusalem and had coins bearing pagan religious symbols minted. According to an uncertain 4th-century tradition, Pilate killed himself on orders from Emperor Caligula in AD 39.