Longest tenured Roman governor
of Syria in the 1st c. CE.
Though not a member of the senatorial class by birth Gaius Ummidius
Durmius Quadratus became a trusted official under emperors from
Augustus to
Nero. Appointed quaestor
& aide for Augustus shortly before the latter's death (14
CE),
he advanced quickly through the ranks of the imperial civil
administration under Tiberius.
As
governor of greater Syria under
Claudius, in 52 CE
Quadratus had to intervene to suppress a feud between Galilean Jews &
Samaritans that the Roman military prefect of Palestine (Cumanus)
only aggravated.
After crucifying both Jewish & Samaritan
insurgents, Quadatus sent the leaders of all parties, including the
Roman prefect & the Jewish high priest, to Rome for trial before the
emperor. There
Herod's great-grandson,
Agrippa II persuaded
Claudius to remove Cumanus, put eastern Galilee under his control &
appoint one of the emperor's own retinue (Antonius Felix)
governor of Judea & Samaria. Quadratus, having restored civil order, was
rewarded by retaining his command until his death.
References: Josephus,
Antiquities
20.125-138;
_____, War
2.240-246;
Tacitus, Annals 12.45, 54;
14.26.
Other resources
on line:
Perspective on the
World of Jesus 