About this Book

AD 33 was the year when an obscure religious teacher died a criminal's death in an outpost of the Roman empire, an event which had world changing consequences in the form of the beginnings of Christianity. But what was the world like in that momentous year? Colin Duriez's compelling and wide-ranging book brings to life events in the Roman empire and beyond.

In AD 33 the huge Roman empire encompassed the countries surrounding the Mediterranean and much of north-western Europe. Cities had water and sewage systems, theatres and public baths. Roads cut across the countryside, facilitating both travel and governmental control. Beyond the empire other cultures and civilisations thrived. In Britannia, which had a well-developed Celtic oral tradition, Boudicca was a young girl and King Cunobelinus-immortalised by Shakespeare as Cymbeline-ruled much of south-east and central England. The vast Han dynasty of China was one of the major empires of the time, while, outside the known world, the Nazca culture, famous for its enormous geoglyphs, had been established in South America for centuries.

Back in Jerusalem, Colin Duriez draws on contemporary descriptions and Jewish scriptures of the early Church to portray the city during the year of Christ's death. He explores characters such as Pilate, King Herod, Tiberius, Peter, and Mary and Martha, and discusses the method of crucifixion and the likely cause of the darkness which descended on Jerusalem when Jesus was dying.

There is a widespread curiosity about the history that lies behind the Gospel tests. This richly detailed book reveals, for the first time, what the year that saw the inauguration of Christianity as a world religion was actually like.