Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 51 BCE–21 CE) was a Roman aristocrat who was appointed legate of Syria after the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus in 6 CE. Judaea subsequently came under direct Roman rule as Provincia Iudaea. Coponius was appointed as prefect of the new province. According to Flavius Josephus, Quirinius, as legate of Syria, was instructed to carry out a census of the province of Iudaea, signaling the imposition of Roman taxes and the official subordination of that province (Jos. Ant. 17.342–344; 17.354–355). T…