Yosef ben Matityahu (37 AD-100 AD), later known as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a Romano-Jewish scholar and historian who was best known for his works The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews, recounting the history of the Jews.
Biography[]
Yosef ben Matityahu was born in Jerusalem, Judaea, Roman Empire in 37 AD, and he came from one of the city's elite families. His father came from a priestly family, while his mother came from the aristocracy. At the outbreak of the First Jewish-Roman War in 66 AD, he was appointed military governor of Galilee, but he was captured by the Roman general Vespasian after the Siege of Yodfat. He went on to undergo a miraculous conversion into a scholar and historian, accompanying Vespasian and writing about the Jewish war. In 70 AD, he negotiated with the defenders of Jerusalem during the siege of the city, during which his parents and first wife died. In 71 AD, he became a Roman citizen, and he wrote his historical works The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews under imperial patronage. Parts of the latter described Jesus and John the Baptist, among other early Christian leaders, but he did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He died in 100 AD.