The identity &
status of Pontius Pilate's successor as
commandant of Roman forces in Judea & Samaria
is uncertain. Josephus
says only that Vitellius, the governor of Syria, dispatched his friend
Marcellus "to take care of the affairs of Judea." This may mean
either that Marcellus assumed Pilate's position as military prefect for
that province or that he was in charge of a limited police action to
preserve public order after Pilate had been recalled to Rome. Later in
recounting Caligula's
appointment of Agrippa
as king of his uncle Philip's tetrarchy (37 CE),
he states in passing that the emperor himself sent a certain Marullus
as "cavalry commander" [= prefect] of the Jews. It is generally
assumed that the latter's tenure lasted until Claudius
transferred control of Judea & Samaria to Agrippa I
(41 CE). However, since
Josephus fails to ascribe any specific action to Marcellus or Marullus or
to refer to the departure of either before a successor assumed control,
whether these were actually distinct individuals & how long each
served in Judea can never
be more than educated guesses.
Reference: Josephus,
Antiquities 18.89,237.
Other resources
on line:
-
Procurators
- Gotthard Deutsch & Samuel Krauss cite lack of reference to
Marcellus' official acts as evidence that he did not serve as governor
of Judea [Jewish
Encyclopedia].
-
Marcellus
- brief article by Jona Lendering [Livius: Articles on Ancient
History].