Imperial biographer's record of Emperor Claudius expelling the Jews from Rome due to riots instigated by 'Chrestus'
Roman biographer Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, secretary to Emperor Hadrian, recording in his *Life of Claudius* that Claudius expelled the Jewish community from Rome because of continuous disturbances instigating by 'Chrestus'.
Rigorous 4-part empirical analysis separating ancient text from bias and consensus
Claudius 25.4 reads: 'Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes Roma expulit' (Since the Jews were continually making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome).
Directly corroborates Acts 18:2 ('And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome').
Scholars universally agree 'Chresto' represents the common Roman spelling for Christus (iotacism, where Greek 'ei' was pronounced 'e'); reflects civil unrest in the Roman synagogues when Christian believers proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah.
Suetonius writes as an imperial archivist focusing on the biographical eccentricities and administrative measures of the Caesars with typical Roman disdain for provincial unrest.