Origination of Christianity from Sun worshiping Tradition

Of Indian and Persian-Mithraism:

By: Bipin R. Shah

Introduction:
Every major religion has their own passionate controversies and opinions regarding its origin
and associated mythology. The author want to emphasize the intent of this article is not to
offend any beliefs in the ultimate creator that created us and the cosmos. Any religion that
produces peaceful coexistence and message of universal brotherhood should enjoy equality
and respect of the mankind. The subject of this article is discussed by many scholars for
several decades and it may continue but from the historical point of view, the people should
know the evolution of primitive thoughts of worship to the current state of worlds religions.

Ancient Indo-European worship of Persian Mithra and Indian Mitra

The tradition of Mithra was observed during the early ages of civilization among all ancient
Indo European cultures in one form of another. The primary force of the cosmos who gave
the life to this planet and all the living being to survive, to facilitate growth and prosperity
was sun God Mitra to Vedic-Indians and Mithra to Persians in the known history.
The names of Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas were also attested in a Mitanni (Hittite)
treaty with ancient Egyptians. After their relationship with Hittite, the Egyptian rulers also
switched their worship to Sun god. The Mitannis were also Indo-European people of central
Asia and worshipped the Vedic Gods.
The Mithrass span of worship increases as represented by his presence in other IndoEuropean cultures and traditions, such as Mihir in Pashto language, Armenian-Mher and
Indian Mehr was the clan of Punjab and Sindh- sun worshiper. The dynasties of Maitraka of
Saurashtra in India were followers of sun god Mitra. Indians also used the word Saura or
Suraj in local language to refer to sun God Mitra. The names of the places and region such
as Saurashtra or city of Surat indirectly invokes the status of sun God Mitra that was
held in high esteem in Indo-Iranian Aryans culture.
We find Agni and Fire worshipping as common bond between Vedic-Avestan and Mitanni
branch of Indo-Europeans and becomes a primary root religion for ritual. The sun star is a
source of survival of our nearby universe and it is quite easy to understand why ancients

appreciated the suns regular appearance everyday that injects the energy and life on every
living beings in rather dark and frigid cold planet of the night and without his presence the
life comes to a screeching halt. The worship of appeasement to these natural forces begun
since pre-historic time and then became the regular rituals of worship for the early humans.
During the early Rig-Vedic time, when the ancestors of the Indo-Iranians were still united as a
group, they were already worshippers of the Sun-God Mitra (Mithra). The hymns of the
Vedas celebrated thy name, as did those of the Avestan, and despite their differences
between their theological systems, the Vedic Mitra and the Iranian Mithra have preserved so
many traits of resemblance that it establishes the certainty of its origin without any doubt.
The land of Indian landscape is still houses the number of Sun Temples dedicated to Mitra.
The Islam destroyed Mithras heritage in India and Persia but Zoroaster ruins in Iran and
central Asia still attest the presence of Mithras with their associated ritual and practice. The
Mithras appeared in different forms in many central Asian traditions and their archeological
evidence is still preserved. Helios for Greeks, Elagabalus for Syrians, were all sun God Mithra.
Sun-God Mithra occupied a prominent position in all forms of Paganism in Egypt and ancient
Rome.

Bas-Relief at Taq-e Bostan, Iran-Ardeshir-I with Mithras (left)

Indian Mithras

Varuna-Mithra combined-India

The etymologists have determined that the word Mithra actually derived from Proto-IndoEuropean word Mitra that is well preserved in Sanskrit. Elamite tablets of the time of

Darius, the offerings are recorded five times for Mica-Baga where Mica was Old Persian for
Mithras and Baga meant Bhagwan in Indian and God in English. Yazata, the divinity
of Zaruashtras represents collective good powers of Mithra and Ahar Mazda all rolled into
one. The word Yazata has common root with the Sanskrit word Yajati. This also meant
worship and ritual of Yojna, Yogna or Yoga in Indian languages. But, the Yazata for
Persian was not meant for Deva. The Vedic people took it as a reverse of that and Yojna or
Yogna for Indians meant for Devas that are considered as good Gods.
According to some recent discoveries in Mesopotamia, this Mitra god, with whom the
peoples of Europe were unacquainted with, were worshiper of other Pagan Pantheon from
neighboring people of Acadian or Khemit Empire and ancient Mesopotamia. Mitra-Varuna,
and the five other Aditya celebrated by the Vedas and Mithra-Ahura and the Amshaspands
celebrated by ancient Avestan (Persian) texts defines the Creator of the universe as the sun,
the moon, and the planets, and other celestial objects that are seen in our sky and governs all
life in this planet, collectively called cosmos. The worship of the cosmos was adopted by the
Indo-Europeans and others since primitive times and it continued until the peoples
conversion to reformist religion of the world like Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and modern
Christianity. Indian astrology still uses this concept in charting ones horoscope based on our
cosmos. In the Avesta, Mithras is the genius of the celestial light. He appears before sunrise
on the rocky summits of the mountains; during the day he traverses the wide firmament in
his chariot drawn by four white horses. The Vedic religion displays him as a god of light,
invoked together with the heaven, bearing in the one case the name of Indian Varuna and
in the other that of Ahura. Mithra was the protector of truth, the enemy of falsehood and
error. The sacred Veda of India has preserved him. A single fragment, and even that partially
effaced, is all that has been especially dedicated to him in Veda. He appears mainly in
incidental quotes or sentences, but remains the silent witnesses of his ancient grandeur
status by way of rituals, worships and practice. Over 1000 years ago, the day in India began
with the prayers to Mithra with folded hand when the royals, nobles and commoners faced
the rising sun in the east at Chittore Grah and Fort of Jalore called Sonar Killah.

Buddhist version of Mitra:

Bodhisattva Maitreya is regarded by Buddhists as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist
eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he
is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva. Most Buddhists regards Maitreya Buddha as a future
prophet to arrive for liberation. As a liberator, Bodhisattva will appear on the Earth, achieve
complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to the scriptures, Maitreya
will be a successor of the historic kyamuni Buddha of India. The prophecy of the arrival of

Maitreya refers to a time when the Dharma will have been forgotten by most on this world.
This sounds so similar to Jewish and Christian bible prophesies. One has to wonder about the
power of Mithras reach.

rd

Future Buddha-Maitreya 3 Century BC Mathura and Bactrian coins depicting Mithra below.

Bactrian Greek coins of Indo-Greeks showing Mitra (Mithra) in various forms

Egyptian Worship of Mithra:

Mitra and Vedic Gods in Central Asia

Mitanni Aryans were the first to introduce Mithra to Egyptian Pharaohs that allowed them to
incorporate into their earlier pagan worship of Osiris and Amun. The Ra or Re was the
designated ancient Egyptian solar deity. By the Fifth Dynasty, Mitra or Mithra had emerged as
a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday sun. The
meaning of the name Ra may be uncertain, but it is thought that it is a variant of or linked
to Persian words like Rau, a 'creative power' and 'creator' of the earth, that is sun, the star
of our planetary system. The major cult centre of Ra was located at ancient Heliopolis of
Egypt or land of Khemit where he was labeled as the local sun-god Atum or Atum-Ra. In
later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the god Horus, as Re-Horakhty and even
Osiris.

Ra and Amun, from the tomb of Ramses IV

(1298-1235 BC) Imentet and Ra from the tomb of Nefertiti

Introduction of Central Asian cult of Mithra to Roman Europe:

The Persians Expansion To Greece and later on followed up by Alexanders conquest allowed
Mithra to meet and merge in union with Hellenist pantheons along with Egyptian GodGoddess. This cross cultural continuum existed in all these territories when Roman arrived.
When Persian ruled Central Asia all the way to Anatolia, they brought with them the worship
of Mithra that was peaceful in nature but initially involved the animal sacrifice. The local
habitants were Phrygians, Ionian Greeks and other Asian Semite tribes. The Romans
attributed their association to Mithraic Mysteries to the Persians. The territories of Judah

and Anatolia that Romans had conquered from Greeks where already practitioner of Judaism,
Mithraism or Zoroasters religion (similar to Mithra). The Romans had their own pagan
worships that included the worship of Roman emperors, so were early Greeks. The Roman
learned that Anatolians were worshippers of Mithra along with other cults of Greece and
Egypt. The cross cultural exchange introduced Indian-Iranian Mithra to the Ionian, the Lydian,
the Phrygian, the Thracian, and the Celtic-Gaul of Anatolia who incorporated them with their
chosen pagan gods.
Although Christianity only took hold as an official religion under Emperor Constantine,
Constantine himself was a follower of Mithraism and remains so and by some account
through his life until he was baptized as Christian at his death bed. The Yazata of Persian was
interpreted as angels in Christianity. According to Martin Haug, the Amesha Spentas of
Zaruashtras became the arch-angel Gabriel of Christianity. The Mithraic Mystery thus
became the deviant form of religion practiced in Central Asian states due to previous
dominance of the Achemenians Persians and then followed by Indo-Greeks Seleucid rulers of
Bactria.
The Mithraism was introduced to European Roman world through Roman soldiers who had
intermarried with locals Anatolians and Asian Semite and Jews. This was further facilitated by
prolonged absence of soldiers from home so they took local mistress. Simultaneously, they
sent slaves and trader-visitors from conquered territories of Asia to Rome. The trade link with
Persia and India also helped introduce the tradition and rituals of Mithra. The expansion of
Roman Empire all the way to Anatolia, Greece and Egypt brought these new cultural
dimensions to ancient Rome.

Mythology of Mithra in Roman world and its similarities with Jesuss story:
The name of the Persian god Mithra (proto-Indo-Iranian Mitra), adapted by the Greek as
Helios and Attis, assumed a new and distinctive imagery on Greek model in the Roman world.
The Writers of the Roman Empire world referred to this as a mystery religion by phrases
which can be anglicized as Mysteries of Mithras or Mysteries of the Persians or
Mysteries of Magi, The high priest of Persian Mithra introduced the magic of healing
through ancient knowledge known from India, Persia and east. The name of this commingled
religion in an altered form was dubbed as Roman Mithraism due to its practice, rituals and
presence in Rome proper. We see various depiction of Buddha in Caucasian form as well as
Mongolian form.

Ostia Antica Mithraum near Rome (largest Trading Port of Rome)

It is a natural conclusion that these mysteries were popular in the Roman military as they
spent considerable time in Asian territories. The Mithra (Avestan), the Mitra (Vedic) and
Zoroastrian (yazata) divinity was born from virgin according to the legend of Mithra.
Mahabharata, similarly attest that one man superior to the hero Arjuna was invincible
Karna conceived by the Sun God Mitra to virgin Kunti, the mother of Pandavas. Kuntis
personal pleading to Karna may have saved Arjunas life according to Mahabharata. Jesus
Christ was born of Virgin Mary and he was regarded as the son of God. The virgin birth belief
of Mithras comes along with many other virgin births of Indo-European Gods. The Roman
version of Mithras introduces some additional features from Syria. These features were
picked up through incorporating various central Asian local cults and religious traditions from
the days of Mesopotamia.

Roman Mithraism and Modern Christianity:

When Roman version of Mithraism compared against the modern Christianity, they appear
to be identical twins and no significant diversion can be observed. This can be explained
easily as they both originated in central Asia. We do not know for sure, if the original teaching

of Christianity was ever altered when formulating canonical texts that came into existence
several centuries later after Jesus death, but we should not be surprised, if it did. Although
some atheists argue about the historicity of Jesus but this is not a new phenomenon. Every
God like figures like Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna and Shiva and others were and are similarly
questioned by atheists. Jesus teachings as recorded in New Testament were good moral
judgments for humanity to follow. The messages from the other teachers are very similar.
The following of these paths laid down by those early teachers makes us more human. So, it
makes little difference as to how early Christianity may have been evolved. The historians
always like to explore the historicity of these great teachers and prophets regardless of what
teachings they introduced through various canonical texts and those schisms have continued
in all the religions of the world, and the Christianity is no exception.

Some Similarities of Mithra and Jesus:

1. Mithra and Jesus both were born of a virgin on December 25th in a cave. They both
attended by the shepherds. Eastern Mithraism confirms the virgin birth by Sun-God
but does not furnish any further details. Jesus was visited by Magi of the east.
2. Both of them were considered the great traveling teacher and master.
3. Both had 12 (twelve) companions or disciples, so did Buddha and Mahavira.(Probably
tied to sacred Numerology.
4. Both promised their followers immortality like Buddha and Mahaviras Nirvana.
5. Both had the power to perform the miracles, like healing sick, walking on the water etc.
6. Both ultimately sacrificed themselves for world peace and brotherhoods.
7. They were buried in a tomb and after three days they were resurrected.
8. Jesus is celebrated each year at the time of His resurrection (later to become Easter).
9. Both were called the Good Shepherd leading their flocks.
10. They were identified with both the Lamb and the Lion. So, was Mahaviras lion and
Shivas Nandi.
11. Both were considered to be the Way, the Truth and the Light, and the Logos,
Redeemer, Savior and Messiah. (Similar to Tirthankara and Bodhisattva).

12. Both were Celebrated on Sunday as His sacred day (also known as the Lords Day or
Suns day).
13. Both were celebrated as Eucharist or Lords Supper. (Buddha had a last supper)
It appears from the above that the Jesus life story is nearly the same as Mithra and may have
similarities, either divinely duplicated by God during Jesus birth or copied by a scribe while
recording the new testaments and various gospels from earlier stories. We will let the readers
decide.
Roman Mithraism became a popular religion in the Roman Empire after the end of JulioClaudian dynasty coincidental with the rise of Flavius and Severus dynasty. Both of these new
dynasties became patron of Mithraism that Julio-Claudian dynasty will not permit. JulioClaudian dynasty ended with the death of last emperor Nero. It is worth mentioning what
Tacitus wrote about Julio-Claudian Emperors and their history:
But the successes and reverses of the old Roman people have been recorded by famous
historians; and fine intellects did not want to describe the times of Augustus, till growing
sycophancy scared them away. The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, and Nero, while they
were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the
irritation of a recent hatred.
Early Jesus and Christianitys history therefore may have been twisted, doctored or changed.
This is not the first instance in the world history, this type of tempering have occurred before.
We find these alterations in all the worlds religions and they all have some mythical
component added in later ages during their spread and expansion.
Although, the early form of Western and eastern Mithraism is now nearly extinct and not
practiced widely in its early form; it is worth reviewing from historical stand point, the
influence and evolution of this popular religion and how it may still exist in its rebranded
form practiced by Parsee of India and Christians of the world.
There are a number of atheists of western world who are now assembling in London to argue
that Christianity is simply a resurgent model of previously existing faith of Mithraism of
Roman World and it was a modified form of Proto-Indo-Iranian Mithraism. Their main
argument is that Jesus story was probably copied from the mythology of Mithra. They argue
that no one knows who the real Jesus was; perhaps the fictional creator of Jesus was
Josephus Flavius who was being used by Flavius emperors to counter the rebellious
provinces. Josephus was an authoritarian figure connected with early rebellious movements
fueled by religious bigotry to fight the Imperial Rome. Josephus may have known a rebel

name Jesus who threw the coins at the coin changers in anger. Josephus may have
constructed his life imitating Mithra to neutralize the Jewish rebellion under the Flavius
Project designed to subdue the rebellious subjects of the empire. Josephus argued that the
rebellion was primarily driven by religious beliefs than Roman rule. The Jewish people were
also tired of Herods reign as well. The Jews have long believed that they are promised by
God who would send Messiah to liberate the Jews from the oppression. Josephus advised
Titus and Vespasian that this was the mainstay of belief that is keeping the rebellion alive. In
a way, we can draw the same parallels between moderate Islam and Wahhabi brand that
fuels the violence.
The scholarly efforts to connect the eastern Mithra to western Mithra have found some
similarities but not all. Other deviant features were picked up along the way at different time
during the centuries of the history incorporating local cults of central Asia. Much of what is
known about Roman Mithras comes from pictures and murals that have NO TITLES, so the
vast majority of scholarly work on this character is a bit speculative interpretation from the
original displays in murals, archeology and numismatic as no textual references are available
except given by Vedic-Avesta-Mitanni texts and Egyptian references of Mitra.
For this article, we will forget the Indo-Persian aspect but rather focus primarily on Roman
world and try to understand what cult of Mithraism as practiced in Roman world meant
and how it could have influenced the Christianity without getting directly involved in the
authenticity and historicity of Jesus that many believe in. We will leave that in the hands of
Biblical and Catholic scholars who have studied this subject through their entire adult life.

Bible Museum- Mithra sheiligtum

Josephus Flavius, his biography and his possible Role in unintentional

formation of Early Form of the Christianity:
A. Tribes of Jews under Roman Occupation:
It is important to understand the Jewish nationality and their belief system that existed
during Roman period (1st century AD). During the first century AD, Judah (Jewish nation) was
divided into many sects and schools of religious thoughts. The priestly and scholarly classes of
importance were Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. The Essenes were considered more
heretics by traditional believers and they were excluded from religious center of power.
The Essenes abandoned the city of Jerusalem in protest against the way the Temple was
being run by priestly aristocratic class. This group went out in the desert to prepare for the
way of the Lord, following his commands, as they saw it, as prophesized by the prophet
Isaiah. The Essenes went to the desert to get away from what they see to be the worldliness
of Jerusalem and the corruption of the Jewish Temple. The temple priests controlled the
religious affairs of the Jews and the priestly class was not following the laws of Abraham. The
Essenes were best known as apocalyptic sect and the creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some
speculate that Jesus may either belong to Essenes sect due to its wondering and
unaccountable years of his life.
The most conspicuous of the sect of the Jews were the Pharisees who were not elite class but
firmly believed that they had the support of common people and they correctly followed the
interpretation of Jewish Messianic laws. The Pharisees were officiating priest class of the
order organized by prophet Ezra in earlier time, however they must have lost their coveted
position during the Babylonian captivity. As the Pharisees hold got weaker, the Sadducees
took over the role of priestly duties and control of Temples wealth during Herodian period.
Josephus and Apostle Paul both belong to Pharisees group of Jews and the Pharisee group
had years of experience in running and regulating Jewish religious ethics and laws that were
laid down by Prophet Ezra (Azaryadu in Persian). Ezra was freed by Persian Xerexes and sent
to Palestine to preach his religion in Jerusalem then under the control of Pharisees.
Josephus' statement regarding 'common people' in New testament strongly indicates that
most Jews were just followers of Jewish religion and Josephus wanted to make them
independent of the main liturgical groups of priestly class that were Sadducees during
Harolds time. This was Josephuss way to reestablish the Ezras order in a similar way the
Prophet Ezra had established six hundred years earlier during Persian era of Jewish history.
Josephus devised a strategy of resurrecting and rebranding his religious program in the

Roman environment. If the Sadducees can be eliminated by the Romans that will help
remove one major obstacle in accomplishing his main objective. This is considered a possible
motive why Josephus wanted to cooperate with Romans and recruited the help of fellow
Pharisee Paul (Saul of Tarsa).
Through the contact with Persian during their ancestors captivity in Babylon, The Pharisees
got acquainted with Mithra worship of Persians well as the cult version of Mithra in Anatolia.
The Pharisees are known to everybody from the New Testament in different light. Once we
get past this accusation or the anti-Pharisee polemic of the gospels. They seem to have been
a scholarly group or a group of Jews who were meticulous observers of the ancestral laws and
strategic in their mission against all kind of adversities. The Pharisees always claimed the
knowledge of the Torah of Moses and the observance of the laws. After the destruction of
the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs became the liturgical and ritualistic basis for
Rabbinic Judaism, which ultimately produced the current Judaism . The Pharisees earned
some notoriety by their references in the New Testament to the conflicts between
themselves and John the Baptist. Some Gentiles holds them responsible for John and Jesus
death. The Pharisee thought that in order to accomplish their objective, they had to
collaborate with Romans rather than fight, a slight change in their strategy that Josephus
sieged up on at the right time and it seems like it worked.
The book 2 of Maccabees was likely written by a Pharisee. This work includes several
theological innovations that are found in Christian tradition as a propitiatory prayer for the
dead, judgment day, intercession of saints, and merits of the martyrs. Pharisee believed in
the resurrection of dead. Paul claimed himself to be of Pharisee origin. The first evidence
emerging from the canonical text is that Josephus knew Paul and he was probably his friend
or acquaintance. The writer of the new testaments has identified Saul or Paul of Tarsus as a
Herodian with access to the imperial court. This is a strange statement because he was a
Pharisee by Josephuss account.
According to Philippians 4:22, the reference regarding Saul of Tarsus:
All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.
In a way this is a remarkable statement as to who made it or who they referred to?. Is this
statement is referring to Paul or Josephus? Paul is said to be executed by Nero along with his
supporters. Josephus statement implies that he saved him in the Rome. Did Josephus
introduced this statement or someone else did? Did Paul acquire the influence with Roman
Caesar?

The Pharisees opponents, of course, were the Sadducees, who were no less pious than the
Pharisees, but the Sadducees did not believe in the authoritative nature of the ancestral laws
(Ezra Law). However, the Sadducees apparently had a great deal of following among the wellto-do aristocrats and wealthy priestly class, and seem to have been characterized primarily by
two things. One, they opposed the Pharisees and two; they denied belief in the resurrection
of the dead. They are the most likely to be dubbed as Herodian by Romans and they did
control the temple during Herods time.
This made the Sadducees famous as we see very clearly in the New Testament passages
where Sadducees vehemently denies the belief in the resurrection. So, it appears to us that
why the Essenes rejected both of these other groups who were competing for power and
influence to control the richest Temple of Asia. During Herod reign, the Pharisees were Jewish
intellectuals and scribes involved in prophesy while Sadducees controlled the Temple wealth
and enjoyed the support of Herod, the Great and were elevated to the priestly class. On the
other hand, the other factions Sircarii and Zealots took their religious understanding as they
understood it and allowed themselves to be manipulated by other sects.
The objective of Pharisee is to serve their own political agenda of controlling the treasure
while destroying Roman power and eliminating their sympathizer and collaborators. The
obvious beneficiaries will be the Pharisee who Josephus and Paul belonged to. Under Roman
oppression the slogan of the rebels was we will kill all collaborators, we will have no King
but only God". Since Sadducees were responsible for upkeep, maintenance and collection of
tribute for the temple and they and their friends formed the aristocratic class of Jewish
society but were judged by rebels and other common Jews as corrupt and collaborator with
Romans. The Sadducees never joined the Jewish rebels.
The Pharisees finally changed themselves to rabbinic form of (modern) Judaism. This brief
history of Jewish history of first century AD is necessary to get comprehensive understanding
of early Christianity and the power politics among various Jewish tribes and how the Judaism
influenced the early history of Christianity.

B. Pauls change of attitudes and dramatic conversion to Christianity:

Saul of Tarsus (Paul) was a native of Tarsus. Tarsus was the capital city in the Roman province
of Cilicia north of Antioch in southern Turkey. Paul describes himself as a Hebrew born of
Hebrews and a member of Pharisee sect and one who advanced the Judaism beyond many of
his peers. He zealously persecuted the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth and violently tried
to destroy the newly formed Christian church, according to canonical texts. Paul's dramatic

conversion on the road to Damascus radically changed the course of his life when he became
Christians. This is echoed in Josephuss account and also recorded in Christian canonical texts.

Paul of Tarsus of Anatolia and their visiting Places.

C. Short biography of Ben Matityahu or Josephus Flavius of Romans

He came from Pharisees class of Jewish family, a scholarly type and an excellent scribe and a
writer. He was born as Ben Matityahu and became famous as Romano-Jewish historian of the
first century AD. He is the only contemporary source of history that can verify the existence
of Jesus and his life. He was romanized and then he acquired the Roman name and
citizenship. He is famously known as Josephus Flavius, the name he assumed after his master
became an emperor. He wrote the antiquity of the Jews around 94 AD and described Jesus in
two short paragraphs. Those references are contained in his book of antiquity of chapter 18
and 20.

Some Indian historians so easily blame colonial historians that they may have distorted
Indias history. Josephus earned the same distinctive honor by other Jewish historians of
distorting Jewish history. However, it must be said that primary responsibility of keeping the
history of the people lies with the native people themselves.

Jewish Prophet Isaiah (8thcentury BC)

Saul of Tarsus (early religion- Jewish) became Apostle.

He was a Roman Citizen.

According to some Jewish historians, they will never kill their own brothers and they do not
take gentiles claim that Jews were responsible for Jesus Crucifixion. The detractor of
Josephus claims that after all he was writing the history of Jews under the sponsorship of
Romans. The question and origination of Christianity gives some credence to the Jewish
arguments and question the authenticity of both Josephus and Pauls account.
Josephus joined the rebellion with Sircalli against Romans and fought alongside with the
rebels during the First JewishRoman War. As as a head of Jewish forces in Galilee he was
captured, when his forces were defeated by Roman General Vespasian and his Tribune son
Titus. The Roman forces captured him and took him to Vespasian. He had learned to
prophesized as a scholar coming from long line of scholarly class. Josephus predicted that
Vespasian will be chosen as the next Roman emperor. At that time, we do not know if
Vespasian took this as a flattery or believed in his power of his prophesy but decided to save
his life and used him as an interpreter and a negotiator. Josephus provided crucial
intelligence that guaranteed the failure of Jewish insurgency against Roman that he admitted
in his own biography.

During the earlier stage of the rebellion, Josephus himself may have proclaimed the Jewish
Messianic prophecies that probably ignited the First Roman-Jewish War. He does not make a
claim in his biography but some of his statements lead us to that conclusion. Josephus kept
promising rebellious Jewish followers that their God had communicated through him that the
next Messiah would come and free the Jewish people from Roman bondage like he did during
first exodus out of Egypt and freedom from Babylonian captivity. This kind of rhetoric may
have contributed to the high morals of Jewish fighters but they had no chance to win
militarily against the Roman. During the Roman seize of Masada, they were forced to commit
the mass suicide when they ran out of food and water. They did not want to bear the
consequences of surrender to Romans for slavery or crucifixion. Those who survived the
revolt ended up in bondage, slavery and subjugation with deep psychological scars that
lingered on for many centuries. This traumatic history of Jewish nation started with the
captivity and exodus from Egypt, followed by Assyrian captivity in Babylon and the first
Roman-Jewish war with Roman occupation of Judah, seventh century AD Muslim aggression
against Jerusalem and rejection in Europe with 20th century of Nazi persecution. This type of
singular experience of persecution is unparalleled in the entire human history. India was the
only country in the world that protected and sheltered the early Jewish immigrants. Their
synagogue and street named after the famous Jewish personality like Prophet Ezra serves as
testimonial to Indias tolerance, love and hospitable nature of Hindu people. To this date,
India can claim that distinction in spite of the Chinese and Islamic hostilities. India remains
the home of venerable holy Dalai Lama of Tibet.

End Of Julio-Claudian Dynasty Of Rome:

Up on Neros death, the power struggle ensued in imperial Rome and three emperors came
and gone in short intervals. In 60 AD, Vespasian emerged and was installed as a Roman
emperor. This ended Julian-Claudian dynasty and also the Patrician dominance of Roman
power in the senate. The rise of Military driven emperorships or equestrian order changed
the power structure of Roman Empire and subsequent rise of the early Christianity in the
form of sol-Invictus to present form of Christianity. This also brought the ethnic diversity in
Romans power structure and military order.
Vespasian never forgot Josephuss prophesy and in gratitude Vespasian granted Josephus his
full freedom and allowed him to use the emperor's family name of Flavius by granting him
the Roman citizenship. All of Josephuss descendants thereafter used the name Flavius.
Josephus then fully defected to the Roman side. He also became an advisor and friend of
Vespasian's son Titus, serving as his translator. He accompanied him in his military

assignments in Judah and Anatolia. When Titus led the Siege of Jerusalem, Josephus was
there and became an eye witness. Titus led assault on Jerusalem led to the city's total
destruction and the looting of Second Temple. Josephus recorded this important phase of
Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century AD that describes the War with
Roman and the fall of Masada. Due to the imperial sponsorship of his work, it is characterized
as pro-Roman propaganda by some historians.
The Flavian dynasty responded to the threat of Aristocratic Judaism of Sadducees by
promoting more peaceful versions advocated by Josephus that was the combination of:
1. New Rabbinic Judaism within Palestine headed by Pharisee group of priests related to him.
2. The resurgence of the Proto-Christianity of Philo of Alexandria and Anatolia that was the
Sol Invictus (invisible Sun) of revised form of Persian Mithras.

Bust of Titus Flavius

Titus Flavius blessed this strategy and probably sponsored it under the leadership of
Josephus. His brother Domitian continued it as it was becoming more successful and popular
among Romans as well. The Romanized groups of high priest of Pharisees were recruited by

Josephus and were reoriented towards Josephuss strategy. We do not have any definite
evidence of their social gathering or activities. We do have some clues from Josephuss
writing:
It was God's will, Josephus claims. While exonerating his role in the destruction of the
temple, he calls the second temple a material temple that was destroyed by Titus. He exalts
the Jews to build a Spiritual Temple, instead of the material one.
These words certainly can be construed to aim at Roman Jewish Christian ears, not the Jews
of Jerusalem.

Younger Bust of Josephus-Roman At an older age in Jewish Robe

Antiquity of Jews-His early work-75 AD

There are two additional manuscripts by Josephus wrote that are preserved; Against Apian
way that he finished in 97 AD and his own autobiography- Josephus life, completed two
years later and he died sometime around 102 AD.
The Roman historian Suetonius (69 122 AD) makes reference to those early Christians of first
century AD in his work on Divus Claudius -25 and describes the agitation and revolt by
Roman Jewish community that resulted in expulsion of Jews by Claudius in 49 AD. The
Maniac and Nutty Emperor Nero issued series of edicts and one of that involved the
punishment of Christians around 65 AD. Suetonius describes the Christianity as a heretic and
superstitious. Tacitus and Pliny repeat the same in their history narratives.

Historians debate whether or not the Roman government correctly distinguished between
Christians Jew and Rebellious Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the Fiscus Judaicus in 96
AD. From this point forward, those Roman Jews practicing Judaism paid the tax, while the
Roman Christian Jews did not. This shows a clear distinction between who were pro Romans
Vs. those who were against it. This in turn can be understood as those who worshipped solInvictus vs. Pure Messianic Judaism.
But out of these religious and political conflicts of first century AD, the most important thing
for Roman was the treasure trove of the second temple that can be used to build the Roman
monuments in Rome and that always increased the Roman Emperors power and prestige.

The Siege of Jerusalem and Treasure of Temple:

The Jewish rebellion had many phases and the final phase was the city of Jerusalem and may
have involved the dispute in collection and proper remittance of taxes to Romans. Josephus
tried to negotiate a surrender of Jerusalem on behalf of Titus to spare the inhabitants but he
failed. The Romans resumed the hostilities and quickly breached the first and second walls of
the Jerusalem. Titus, the Son of Vespasian crucified around the wall the Jewish deserters to
intimidate the residents. The Half starved and sieged population of Jerusalem exhausted by
scarcity of food and water finally engaged into the bitter street fighting that they cannot
possibly win and they were crushed by Romans.
According to Josephus, up on his urging, Titus had ordered that the second Temple of Jew
should be spared but as the fighting around the gates continued, a Roman soldier hurled a
torch inside one of the windows, which quickly set the entire building ablaze. The later
Christian chronicler Sulpicius Severus, possibly drawing on the lost portion of Tacitus'
Histories, claims that Titus favored destruction of the Jewish Temple so he can strip the
treasure of the temple to build the new monument in Rome. The Roman coliseum and the
Arch built by Titus displays his victory over Jews and his use of the looted treasures of sacred
temple of Jews. This serves as testimonial to Tacituss claim. Josephus is again making
statements to minimize his role in this entire ugly episode.
Jerusalem was sacked and much of the population killed, dispersed or taken as slaves.
Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were
Jewish. Over 97,000 were captured and enslaved including major leaders of rebels and
priestly aristocrats. Many fled to areas around the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Titus
soldier claimed him to be a victor but under Josephuss advise he reportedly refused to
accept a wreath of victory and he claimed that he had not won the victory on his own, but

had been the vehicle through which Jewish God had manifested his wrath against his own
chosen people for their deviations of old rules of Abrahams. This also avoids the guessing
game of his potential competitors in Rome who may have ambition to succeed his father
some day.

Construction of Roman Coliseum and Arch Of Titus:

In spite of his humble claim of victory over Jews, Rome rewarded Tituss triumph with an arch
called The Arch of Titus constructed at Roman Forum celebrating his accomplishments.
Later on, he built the Roman Coliseum. A decade of civil war among patrician family had
given rise to this new class of Military Generals who attained the rank of nobility. One such
family was the Gens Flavia, which rose from relative obscurity to prominence in just four
generations, acquiring wealth and status after the patrician Emperors of the Julio-Claudian
dynasty ended.

Arch of Titus shows Jewish slaves

Transporting the loots-exhibit on arch of Titus

Second Temple constructed by Herod, the Great

Destroyed by Romans

Construction of coliseum and arc of Titus that were funded from the treasures looted from Jewish Temple.

Coliseum Plaque by Titus

Reconstructed view of Coliseum and Rome

TITUS AS PONTIFEX MAXIMUS:

After Vespian death, the Titus became the emperor and he assumed the title of Pontifex
Maximus. The importance of this should not be minimized as this title finally becomes the
title of Pope. The Pontifex Maximus (Latin, meaning of it "greatest pontiff" was the high
priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegiums Pontificum) in ancient Rome. This was the most
important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC. Titus
was the first non-patrician plebeian to occupy this important post as it gave him the total
control of the temples treasury and rule making authority over all temples in the empire.
This religious office was first politicized by Augustus when he took control of that function
because of collection of taxes.
The equestrian order of sol Invictus was thus born and later on perhaps during
Constantines time, the word "Pontifex" became a term used for Christian bishops, including
the Bishop of Rome and the title of "Pontifex Maximus" was applied within the Roman
Catholic Church to the Pope once the religious title was divested from emperorship. Since the
time of Renaissance to this date, the title appears on Vatican buildings, monuments and coins
of popes.
Titus put an end to The Law of Majesta (Treason) that was used repeatedly against any
nobles or commoners with the system of informers (Delators) by previous Claudio-Julian
emperors. This practice, against himself or anyone else was made illegal by declaring:
"It is impossible for me to be insulted or abused in any way. For I do naught that deserves
censure, and I care not for what is reported falsely. As for the emperors who are dead and
gone, they will avenge themselves in case anyone does them a wrong, if in very truth they are
demigods and possess any power.
As Emperor he became known for his generosity, and Suetonius states that upon realizing he
had brought no benefit to anyone during a whole day he remarked, "Friends, I have lost a
day. He refused to banish his own brother Domitian when he learned he was plotting
against him.

Titus as Pontifex Maximus (250-260AD) Lucinius- sol Invictus (308-325 AD)

Probus- sol Invictus (276-282 AD)

Suetonius Account of Fire in Rome and Neros attempt to blame on Christianity:

Suetonius who was the contemporary historian of that time in 69 AD makes a clear
distinction of this incident by blaming Neros agent for starting the fire and then blame
Chrestiani, usually taken to mean Christians. Suetonius makes no connection to the
Christians in great fire but calls Cresthus like a person.
During the rule of Claudius (41-51 AD), Suetonius says that Jews instigated by Cresthus
were expelled from the city for causing disturbances. Suetonius and Tacituss identification of
Cresthus and other scholars assertion to connect that Christianity should be questioned as
they did not enjoy the freedom of speech. There are no clear distinctions made who they
were referring to ? Does this mean Jewish dissidents who followed early form of Christianity
through Mithraism or the people following Jesus or just one person named Cresthus that
was not the Jesus name but rebellious Messianic Jewish slave preaching arrival of new
Messiah but not necessarily Jesus.
The Tacitus Annals passage (15.44), which has been subjected to much scholarly analysis,
follows a description of the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of Rome in July 64
AD. The key part of the passage reads as follows (translation from Latin by A. J. Church and
W. J. Brodribb, 1876):

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most
exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Chrestiani (Some say
Christianity). Chrestus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty
during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a
most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in
Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful
from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest
was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude
was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind".
Here the key words are their centers and hideout probably refers to Mithraism and
Chrestus probably a personal name of rebel who is following this movement. Tacitus must be
in terror of writing any truth that will go against Nero. Tacitus then adds that the most
Romans suspected that Emperor Nero had started the fire himself. To divert attention from
himself, Nero accused the Christians of starting the fire and persecuted them. Tacitus did
suggest that Nero used the Christians as scapegoats. Flavius Clemens got similarly accused as
Christian when Vitellius , Neros henchman learned that his brother Vespasian was
marching towards Rome from Asia to face Vitellius, a Neros agent who was responsible for
setting fire to the Rome. The murdered Clemens was the uncle of future emperor of Titus and
Domitian and brother of Vespasian and follower of Mithra. How this event may have played a
role in advancing sol Invictus as a stepping stone for introduction of the modern Christianity
now becomes obvious. Tituss repel of the Law of Majesta up on assumption of the power
was driven by his uncles killing that was used by Neros henchman.
No original copies of the Tacitus Annals exist and the surviving copies of Tacitus' works derive
from two principal manuscripts, known as the Medicean manuscripts, written in Latin, which
are held in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. It is the second Medicean manuscript
dated to 11th century AD.
The oldest references of Jesus that are found in Josephuss work are called Testimonium
Flavianum.

# 1 reference (Book-18):
At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one should call him a man. For he
was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people who received the truth with pleasure. And
he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. He was the
Messiah. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us,

condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cease to do so. For
he appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of
these and countless other wondrous things about him. And up until this very day the tribe of
Christians, named after him, has not died out. (Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews,
18:63-64).
# 2 references (Book-20):
In book 20, which is the last book, in the form of a subordinate clause concerning the
execution of the brother of Jesus called Christ, whose name was James. So, who was
executed? Jesus or his brother James and Jesus indeed survived ?. This remains the mystery.
The black text in the above looks like the insertion by Christian scribes at a later time working
for Eusebius. The highlighted text in Red appears to be more original text of Josephus as per
some scholars. The argument for and against lies as follows:
A. Did the Josephus himself wrote this in Aramaic Text or it was changed during translation
into Greek and Syrian text when the text was rewritten in the 3rd through 4th century AD ?
B. In addition to that, we have various gospels that are written later and modified several
centuries later by many unknown authors that create the historical sketch of Jesus and his 12
apostles and the birth of Christianity in New Testament. Christianity, as we know it, by
universal recognition is a the creation of St Paul, the Pharisee Jew who was sent to Rome
around 61 AD, where he founded the first Christian community at Rome. The Pauls church is
still there in Rome, Italy. The religion imposed by Paul in Rome was quite different from that
was preached by Jesus in Palestine and put into practice by James the Just, who was
subsequently the leader of the Christian community of Jerusalem by some account. Some say
that was James who was crucified and Jesus escaped. The earlier Christian preaching was in
line with the way of living and thinking of the sect known as the Essenes as described above.
The doctrinal contents of Christianity as shaped at the end of the 1st century AD was
extraordinarily close to those of the sect of the Pharisees, to which Paul and Josephus both
belonged. This suggests the close collaboration between Josephus and Paul. Josephus
realized that only way to spread his version of his version of religion in Rome was to involve
another Pagan cult that was permissible to serve as subterfuge to attach to the principles of
early Christianity. The cult of Mithraism became that vehicle and also was known as solInvictus.
According to the official version, Paul was executed probably in 67 AD by Nero, together with
most of his followers. Josephuss account suggests a different version. Initially, Paul was sent

to Jerusalem so he can be judged by the temple priests. At that time, Josephus was in
Jerusalem trying to free Paul from the temple priests. The head priest Sanhedrin while
judging Pauls preaching accusing him of seditious in nature and against the law. Paul said:
"Brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I
am called in question". This created a dissension among the judges and at that time,
Josephus or someone working for Josephus who was a high ranking priest and trusted by
Romans rose and said:
"We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight
against God.
He ordered the Roman soldiers to set him free and take him away. The apostle Paul was then
handed over to the Roman governor, Felix in Jerusalem, who kept him under arrest for some
time, until he was sent to Rome, together with some other prisoners (Acts 27:1), to be judged
by the emperor Nero, to whom, as a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed. In Rome, he spent
two years in prison (Acts 28:39) before being set free in AD 63 or 64 AD.
Another record of Josephus suggests that after saving him in Jerusalem, he was also able to
save Paul, but not all the followers that included many friends and relatives of his Pharisee
group. In his autobiography (Life, 3.13), Josephus says:
"Between the age of twenty-six and twenty-seven I embarked on a journey to Rome, for the
following reason. During the period when Felix was a governor of Judaea, Felix had sent some
priests to Rome to justify themselves before the emperor (Nero); I knew them to be excellent
people, who had been arrested on insignificant charges. As I desired to devise a plan to save
them, I journeyed to Rome." Somehow, Josephus succeeded in reaching Rome in time, where
he made friends with Aliturus, a Jewish mime that was well appreciated by Nero. Thanks to
Aliturus, he was introduced to Poppaea, the wife of the emperor, and through her influence,
he succeeded in freeing the priests (Life, 3.16). The saved priest was probably Paul. It is
therefore easy to conclude that Josephus went to Rome, at his own personal risk and
expense, specifically to free Paul and his companions, and that it was due to his intervention
that the apostle was released.
Paul and Josephus considered a joint priority to save the Jews from the narrowness of
Judaism of Essence that was advocated by Jesus. Josephus thought by amending that will
make revised version appeal to many and will allow it to make it as a universal religion. This
will link all nations across the entire Roman Empire. They were also in agreement on other
significant points; Their belief in the doctrines of the Pharisees, which were those that were
wholly received by the Roman church, in the Acts of the Apostles, (Acts 22.30).
D. J. Love a Christian Minister, TSN, SBC has this to say on connection between Christianity
and Mithraism:

"The Roman Empire began their official recognition of sun worshipping during the time of
Marcus Aurelian when he instituted the cult of "Sol Invictus". There is virtually no difference
between the cult of Sol Invictus and that of Mithraism or for that matter Catholicism. In the
year 307 AD, Emperor Diocletian, a Sun Worshipper, was involved in the dedication of a
temple to Mithra, and was responsible for the burning of Holy Scripture (which made it
possible for later emperors to formulate Christianity, and thus began the Roman version of
the "Universal Christo-pagan Mystery Religion.". After the rein of Diocletian, the Roman
Emperor Constantine, who was an early Christo-pagan emperor maintained the title
"Pontifus Maximus" the high priest of paganism, and remained a worshipper of Mithra. His
coins were inscribed: "SOL INVICTO COMITI", which is interpreted as "Committed to the
Invincible Sun". During his reign, pagan Sun worship was blended with the worship of the
True Creator (syncretism), and officially titled "Christianity" by the (less than holy) Roman
Empire and its' official church the (less than holy) catholic (universal) church.

Atwill and Flavio Barbieros Interpretation of the events:

The scholarly opinions on the authenticity and accuracy of Josephuss text vary considerably.
Considering questionable background of Josephus and his own history with Romans, the
concerns are somewhat justified. Although, we find similar inaccuracy in dating or genealogy
issues with many historical texts of the other civilization. What this one makes an exceptional
case is that the author had lived during the life of Jesus and him being a Jew, it is expected
that we learn more from him on the account of Jesus in more accurate details. Jesus was the
Jewish Messiah and the founder of the early Christianity. Josephus was a scribe and a scholar.
He is either deliberately omitting details or there were no details to share. It is also possible
that someone other than him excised and edited his texts without Josephuss knowledge.
Some experts indeed think that Josephuss text is altered without his knowledge and
approval, considering what they did to Roman historian and poet Virgil. While another group
of experts believe that Titus commissioned Josephus to write the history for political purpose
to create a Jewish Messiah that the Jews were waiting for, so he can pivot the Jewish
rebellion in different direction and through missionaries pacify them to Roman way of life.
Josephus probably had his own agenda of reclaiming control of Jewish temple to the
Pharisees but do it in a way so it binds all the provinces of the Roman Empire in to a single
theology and then claim himself to be Pontifex Maximus with the help of emperor Titus. We
do not know for sure how much they succeeded as Christianity seems have their own wings
and legs to fly.
Only thing we can conclude that in later history of the Christianity, the Pope became all
powerful figures and king makers in the Roman Catholic world. All kings, dukes and Royalty
made a point to keep Pope as a central religious authority and to this day Vatican still enjoys

the city-state status and full control of Catholic Diocese like a corporation. The Powerful
popes in early history sanctioned the crusades against the Moslems invaders of holy places
and also made a trip to convince Attila, the Hun to spare Rome and return to his own
territory. This power equation can be compared in the same way with Islam, where it is hard
to separate political components of Islam from religious core.
It appears through various analyses and historical accounts that Josephus and Paul played a
significant role in formulating early phase of Christianity.
American bible scholar Joseph Atwill believes that Romans used Christ as propaganda to
pacify the rebellious subjects. He claims that many parallels exist between the story of Titus
Flavius and Jesus Christs missions, meaning both happen to be in same place at same time
probably with Josephus as an eye witness. He also claims that various gospel is the
combination of one continuous story of Jesus. He uses the parallel mythology of Jesus with
sun god Mithra as a borrowed from ancient stories. The common elements in that entire
story of Jesus are Josephus, Paul, Mithra, Jesus and Titus Flavius.
The Indians can compare this to the myth of embryo transfer theory of Jaina Mahavira and
dream theory of Buddha, or birth story of Karna or Krishna of Mahabharata. If Atwills theory
is right, the Christianity did not start out as a religion but more like a pagan cult of Mithra
that was practiced in Asian territories of Imperial Rome. It is hypothesized that when Mithra
cult moved to Rome, it came in Pagan form. The idol of Asian Mithra was replaced with
Apollo of the Greek that was converted to Modern Jesus on the Cross. However, the
Mithraum or temple of worship that was built became an early church where Paul and other
preachers spoke the Jesus life, spread the messages and discuss miracles. The church
activities were centrally controlled by Romans and propagated against rebellious opposition
in occupied territories. The probable sketch of the Flavius Project was based on high
acceptability of son of God- Mithra in Asia Minor and Judah. If the rebellion can be ended in
Asia, then the Northern Germanic Tribes revolts can be dealt with militarily.
The Ionian Geeks also had their own sun god named Attis or Hellos who was the consort
of Phrygian Goddess Cybil (equated as Goddess earth). Flavio Barbiero suggests that
Mithra and Jesus were two sides of the same coin. Flavio Barbiero is a retired admiral in the
Italian Navy and author of the three books. He believes that after the killing of priestly class
of all Sadducees and the sack of second Temple by Titus, the Pharisees got the upper hand
and seized the religious authority over Jews.

In his book Antiquities of Jew, Josephus creates an impression by conceding two basic

fundamental facts regarding Jesus:

1. Josephus believed in the resurrection of Jesus.
2. Josephus also acknowledged Jesus status as the Messiah of prophecies.
His positions were therefore quite consistent with the beliefs of Pharisee as well as
Romanized Jewish Christians. In the same text, he also made a special effort to display his
sympathy towards the Jewish Christians, where he speaks with great admiration of John the
Baptist as well as of James, the brother of Jesus.
Taking into account Flavio Barbiero analysis, it can be concluded that the Mithraism of Asia
with its Pagan deity of Mithra became a cover for a new religion that was the earliest form of
Christianity of Rome but was not recognized as an official religion of Roman Empire until the
proclamation by Constantine, the Great.
Mithraeum or the site of worship became a gathering place for the believers and became a
secret organization for mutual assistance to evade Roman watch but in their privacy they
were allowed to worship any Gods they liked or were mandated to worship imposed by their
masters.. This band of brothers and sisters can be compared to the Messianic Judaism, or the
Equestrian order of ancient Rome, or the order of Free-Masonry or the Knights of Templar of
the recent history.

The coins of Emperor constantine

The most significant proof of the existence of Mithraism is the coin of first Christian king
Emperor Constantine the Great. He was an affiliate of Sol Invictus Mithras and never
disowned it, not even when he openly embraced Christianity and declared himself to be
"God's servant" and a sort of "Universal Bishop" or Pontifex Maximus.
The biographer Eusebius equated him as the "New Moses", but Constantine was baptized
only on his death bed, and he never stopped minting coins with Mithraic symbols on one side

and Christian on the opposite side (see above). He even erected in Constantinople a colossal
statue of himself wrapped up in Mithraic symbols.

Emperor Constantine The Great in Mithraic Form

The emperor Constantine believed that Jesus Christ and Sol Invictus Mithras were both
aspects of the same Superior Divinity. He was certainly not the only one to have this
conviction. Tertullian writes that the pagans believe that the Christian God is the Sun,
because it is a well-known fact that we pray turning towards the rising Sun, and that on the
Sun's day we give ourselves to jubilation." (Tertullian, Ad Nationes 1, 13). Tertullian attempts
to justify this substantial commonality between Christianity and Mithraism in the eyes of the
faithful Christian.
If Atwills discovery and Barbieros analysis is correct then the Romans invented the whole
story with Josephuss assistance with commonality of mutual interest. It is always a
possibility that after Roman received the limited cooperation from Josephus and Paul, the
Roman scribes may have altered the Josephuss early text. Atwill, a biblical scholar is
expected to present his finding at the next conference in London in October 2013 but he is
going to do it in a way that does not hurt Christians belief and values. He likes to draw a
parallel that why the government does the things that alters the truth hoping that it will
result in common good but sometimes gets unintended outcomes.

Atwill claims that he found many striking similarities between Titus Flavius military campaign
stops and Jesus Christs appearance at various places of his mission in gospels that led him to
the conclusion that this is no coincidence of occurrences. He made this discovery while
studying the ancient text of first century AD historian Josephuss work along with various
gospels
.

Attis at shrine of Ostia Antica near Rome

Phrygian Goddess Cybele at Getty Museum-50 AD

The Phrygian Goddess Cybele is described as Kubeleyan Mother and equated as the earth
Goddess. In India, Laxmi Kubera is also described as earth Goddess along with Ram-Sita and
Rama of Ramayana came from solar race and was an incarnation of Sun-God. These
similarities in belief system are still present among all Indo-European people in one form or
another.

Other Evidence of connection of solar worship and early Christianity:

As shown above, Clement of Alexandria describes Jesus driving the chariot of the sun across
the sky as shown in a mosaic form at St. Peters Basilica (shown above) dated to the fourth
century AD. It shows Jesus on the right of the chariot, while he ascends to the heaven,
represented by the sun.

On some coins of the fourth century AD, the Christian banner at the top reads "Sol Invictus."
A large part of the Roman population believed that Christianity and the worship of the sun
were closely connected, if not necessarily the same.
Jesus was often called by the name Sol Justitiae, (Sun of Justice) and was represented by
statues that were similar to the young Apollo. This way it became the bridge between
Mithraism and Christianity in their own iconic depiction.
Once Christianity was legitimized by Great Constantine in the Roman Empire, the Romans
(both Jews and Gentiles) kept on worshipping both the Sun and Christ. Pope Innocentius
authorized the resumption of ceremonies in honor of the Sun in 410 AD, hoping that it will
save Rome from the sacks from the Visigoths. Pope Leo the Great similarly wrote in 460 AD
that the most Christians, when entering St Peters church must first turn towards the sun and
bow in its honor. The bishop of Troy openly continued to profess his worship of the sun even
during his episcopate.
Atwill believes when Romans exhausted all their efforts to suppress the rebellious province
of Judah, they created Jesus through Josephuss work followed by various gospels by Paul, a
collaborator. Since Jews were led to believe that the savior or Messiah is about to arrive to
free them of the bondage from Roman. This judgmental advice was probably rendered to
Roman by the Josephus. Romans concluded that best way to counter this is through a reverse
program of sol Invictus. Their hope was to counter zealous missionary activities of rebels by
introducing peaceful missionary activities with Proto-Christianity. Atwill concludes as many
other scholars have observed in the past this missing link of Josephus and Apostle Paul to
Christianity. Atwill have now matched the dates and sequence of events surrounding Jesus
with Josephus and Titus.

Roman Mithra from Central Asia:

A clue comes from the Ephesians 5.14-The Gospel of Paul:
For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
This is like indirectly invoking Mithra, the Sun God.

Beth Alpha synagogue, with the sun in the centre, surrounded by the twelve zodiac constellations and
with the four seasons-located at Gilboa Mountains near Beit She'an, Israel.

Roman Imperial-3rd cent. Christian Emperor Constantine with Mitra Mosaic of Christ as Sol Invictus
rd
Under necropolis at St.peters Basilica
Sol Invictus Pessinus
3 century AD- Sol Invictus

Ethnic diversity of Ancient Rome and Its Emperors:

Roman Empire at its height became more ethnically diverse with its expansion and conquests
of other territories. On east, it touched the Persian border of Armenia and on the North it
went as far as south of River Rhine and west to Hadrian wall in Britain. In the south, it
controlled Laptis Magna of North Africa. They were the master of Mediterranean region. The
mighty Indo-Parthians, Huns of east, Cathegians, Alpine Gauls and Celts and Phrygians and
Ionians of Anatolians were and continue to remain a constant threat and tying up the best of
Roman legions in defending the conquered provinces of the empire that were at far away
distance. The Romans were getting prosperous as the obedient Egypt has become the bread
basket and Asia Minor and Anatolia was the major supplier of cotton, salt, olive oil ,wine
producing regions along with critical mineral commodities. They served as an important trade
route to silk roads from east for importation of rare luxurious items not available in the
Roman Empire.
During 2nd and 3rd century AD, Rome realized that spontaneous and persistent rebellions in
Palestine (Judah), Syria and Galatians provinces will require diplomacy combined with
military efforts. The diverse ethnicities were reaching the Roman aristocrats family through
intermarriage and system of polygamy. The military wings of aristocrats were getting more
powerful over Patricians hold of power in the senate, As emperorship was shifting to mixed
origin family of Plebeians. The example of ethnicity mix and religious importation was quite
evident from the following example of Septimius Severus.
Julius Bassianus (187 -217 AD) was a Syrian High Priest at Emesa. Bassianus was a high priest
for the Temple of the Sun (sol-Invictus). An Aramaean Syrian nomadic tribes Sun God was
called El-Gebal. Bassianus was a member of the Royal family of Emesa (Now city of Homs,
Syria). The Royal Family was a part of the local Syrian Aramaean aristocracy and was a client
kingdom of the Roman Empire. The beginning of his priesthood is unknown but by 187 AD, he
became a high priest of Emesa. Bassianus was a son of a Julius and his paternal uncle was
Julius Agrippa, who served as a Primipilaris who was a former leading Centurion of Praetorian
Guards.

Sol Invictus and Its Introduction to Rome:

Future emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (Africanus) had visited Emesa, based on a promising
horoscope that he would find his future wife in Syria. Lucius was from Laptis Magna of Berber
origin. Bassianus introduced Severus to his two daughters. His elder daughter Julia Maesa
was married to a Syrian noble Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus and they had two daughters Julia
Soaemias Bassiana and Julia Avita Mamaea.

Two important places of reference: Emesa (Syria) for Aurelian emperors. Edessa in Armenia-St. Thomas of India

His younger daughter Julia Domna was not married. Severus and Domna, married thereafter.
Domna bore Severus two sons. Lucius Septimius Bassianus (Caracalla- 188- 217AD) and
Publius Septimius Geta (189- 211 AD). Caracalla and Geta would become future Roman
Emperors and heirs to their father. These lines of emperors made Sol Invictus invisible sun
more visible and official by including them in their coinage. This was one of the official
introductions of sol Invictus or Mithra to the Roman that was practiced behind closed door.
The wives and Children of cross cultural marriage play an important role in this religious
introduction and diversification especially with the help of sympathetic emperors.
Caracalla was of mixed Berber and Syrian descent and was called Marcus Aurelius Severus.
Geta emerged as Publius Septimius but involved in assassinating his brother at Emesa.
Elagabalus who followed was also a Berber-Syrian and was known in Roman history as
Marcus Aurelius Antonius. This Marcus was the cousin of the first Marcus Aurelius who was
assassinated. After defeating the usurper Publius, he decreed and made Sol Invictus
(Elagabalus) of Emesa, the major Roman religion. He himself assumed the title of Pontifex
Maximus and presided over the ceremony. In spite of his effort, his downfall is attributed to
his eccentricity and sexual scandals.

Roman Denarius of Elagabalus

Septimius Severus and family

Elagabalus with his sexual deviation

Roman-Mithra killing Bull

Sol-Invictus plaque of Mithra

http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julia/julia_maesa.html

Julia Maesa was born on 7 May of an unknown year. Because her first daughter was born
in 180 AD, and Roman girls typically married at the age of fifteen, she may have been born in
165 AD or a few years earlier. Her father was Julius Bassianus, the high priest of the sun god
Elagabalus of Emesa, a holy city in Syria. Maesa married to a Roman knight named Gaius
Julius Avitus Alexianus. The couple had two daughters, Julia Soaemias (born180 AD) and Julia
Mamaea, who was a bit younger. The Roman emperor Aurelius (Caracalla) was the first
Roman emperor a statesman and intelligent, scholarly wise man and worshipped the cult of
Mithra due to his familys affiliation. This cult was already popular in Syria and known as the
cult of Elagabalus. The Elagabalus meant Sun God of the mountain and the statue was
brought to Rome and combined to gather that became sol invective (invisible Sun) of the
Roman Empire.

Caracalla (nickname) renamed himself as an Emperor Aurelius and Geta (nickname) as Publius Severus, and
Heliogabalus was Elagabalus or second Marcus Aurelius. (Both names are suggestive of sun-Greek-Helios and
Syrian- Elagabalus.

We also know that the many early Roman Emperor starting from Augustus equated them
with the God. The main guiding principle was to establish their authority as ultimate and
unchallengeable by the people they ruled. Unquestionably, Julius Cesar may have learned
that from the Egyptians history on how Pharos ruled and maintained their authority.

i
Roman Aureus depicting Elagabalus. The reverse reads Sanct Deo Soli Elagabal (To the Holy Sun God Elagabal),
and depicts a four-horse, gold chariot carrying the holy stone of the Emesa temple. The silver coin in the right
shows the coin of Coin of Emperor Probus, circa 280, with Sol Invictus riding a quadriga, with legend SOLI
INVICTO, "to the Unconquered Sun": the Emperor (at left) wears a radiated solar crown, worn also by the god.

After Aurelian, the next coin appeared under Christian emperor Constantine who worshipped
Christianity and Mithraism. Some say, Constantine was baptized as Christians at his death
bed. Falvio Barberio claims that the formal introduction of Mithra cult was introduced in
Rome around early third century AD. by Flavius dynasty.

A gold multiple of "Unconquered Constantine" with Sol Invictus, struck in 313. The use of Sol's image appealed
to both the educated citizens of Gaul, who would recognize in it Apollo's patronage of Augustus and the arts;
and to Christians, who found solar monotheism less objectionable than the traditional pagan pantheon. On the
right mural indicate a Dedication made by a priest of Jupiter Dolichenus to Sol Invictus and the Genius of the
military unit equites singulars

The Roman emperors after the end of Julio-Claudian dynasty came from the Roman
equestrian order that means coming from Military order of Plebeian. One important element
of The Roman equestrian order was ("Order of Mounted knights"), similar to the mythical
order of King Arthurs Knights of The round Table.. They constituted equestrian order
ranking below the original patricians (Roman Patricii), a hereditary caste that monopolized
political power during the early era of the republic. The non-patricians (plebeians) also have
become the people of mixed origin due to their long military careers overseas. This can be
easily compared to Indian Vedic Kshatriya and Vrtya Kshatriyas of the later period or
Agnivansh Kshatriyas. A member of the equestrian order was known as an Eques
(equivalent to Sanskrit-Asva) meaning horse mounted they occupied the Praetorian
Guards ranks during Vespasians time and therefore became the second order of roman
aristocrats. Domitilla, the Elder was the wife of the Roman Emperor Vespasian. She was a
daughter of Flavius Liberalis, a humble Roman clerk. Before her marriage, she was a formal
mistress to an African Roman knight of equestrian order. She was the mother of Titus Flavius
Caesar. Titus was a military commander and tactician, serving under his father in Judaea
during the First Jewish-Roman War and associate of Josephus.
The last book of the New Testament is commonly known today as the "Book of Revelation"
or "The Revelation by John". The traditional date for the Book of Revelation is towards the
end of the reign of Domitian Flavius. The Revelation was written against the background of
the administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under Domitian. This will further support the
majority opinion about the date for this book, towards the end of Domitians reign.

The different punishments for Christians that can be found in this apocalyptic book
(imprisonment, banishment and execution) clearly point in the direction of the Fiscus
Judaicus and the distinction it made between Jewish people practicing Judaism and Jewish
Christians who followed sol-Invictus. This distinction is also very present in the letters to the
seven churches in Rev. 2 and 3, and also in the vision in Rev. 7 about the 144 000 and the
innumerable multitude. Both in the seven letters and in the vision, as mentioned above, a
clear distance between Christian communities that included Jewish Christians and
mainstream Judaism can be detected.

Vettius Agorius Praetextatus (Pater Patrum of Rome):

Vettius Agorius Praetextatus was a senator and held various appointments in Roman
administration but the most important was the Pater Patrum or head of all Pagan churches
of Rome that included the important church of the cult of Mithra. He died in Rome during
384 AD. His name and his religious and political appointments are written on the basement
of St Peters' Basilica, together with the names of a long list of other Roman senators,
spanning the period from 305 to 390 AD. The one thing that they have in common is that they
all are "Patres" of Roman Mithras. This is clear evidence that it was here, inside the Vatican
that the supreme leader of the Mithraic organization resided, at the side of the most sacred
Basilica of Christianity, erected by Constantine the Great in 320 AD. For at least 70 years the
supreme leaders of two "religions" that were always supposed to be competitors, if not
sworn enemies, lived peacefully and in perfect harmony side by side. There two standing
memorials in Rome that certifies his worship of Mithra. Her is Latin and English translation.
o the shades of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, augur, priest of Vesta, priest of Sol, member of the Board of
Fifteen, initiate of the senate of Hercules, hierophant of Liber and the Elusinian mysteries, neocorus (?),
tauroboliate (i.e. had undergone the taurobolium in the cult of Cybele), pater patrum; and in the state:
candidate for Quaestor, Urban Praetor, Corrector of Tuscany and Umbria, a consular of Lusitania, proconsul of
Achaia, Urban Prefect, senatorial legate 5 times, Praetorian Prefect of Italy and Illyria twice, consul-ordinarydesignate; and Aconia Fabia Paulina, noble woman, initiate of Ceres and the Eleusinian mysteries, initiate of
Hecate at Aegina, tauroboliate hierophant.
The Latin: Basis magna marmorea. In hortis Matthaeiorum, ubi adhuc extat. Agorii / Vettio Agorio Praetextato
v(iro) c(larissimo). a) On the first coluum: Pontifici Vestae / pontifici

Solis / quindecemviro auguri /

tauroboliato / curiali / neocoro / hierofante / patri sacrorum.

b) On the second column: Quaestori candidato / praetori urbano / correctori Tus/ciae et Umbriae / consulari /
Lusitaniae / proconsuli / Achaiae / praefecto urbi / praef(ecto) praet(orio) II / Italiae et IIlyrici / consuli
designato.
c) On the right side: Dedicata kal(endis) febr(uariis) / d(omino) n(ostro) Fl(avio) Valentiniano Aug(usto) III/et
Eutropio cons(ulibus).

Both of this confirms his role as priest of Sol Invictus.

Villa Mattei at Caelian Hill in Rome

Capitoline Museum, Rome 387 AD

There are more words of praise by Aconia Fabia Paulina, the wife of Vettius for 40 years and
one noteworthy comment she makes is very revealing and compatible with Persian Mithra.
There were blood sacrifices consistent with Mithras bull mythology of pagan worship. Julia
confirms through the above inscription that the blood sacrifices such as the Taurobolium
(as portrayed in TV series Spartacus and Rome were all secret and nocturnal rituals within the
church. Within a decade of his death, all places of pagan worship would be closed and
replaced with Christianity. Same parallels are drawn with rituals of Indo-Persian. All Parthian
emperors were crowned by House of Suren with blood Ceremony.( Gonophores (One of the
alleged Magi) belonged to House of Suren). Sisodiya Rana also performed the blood rituals at
the inauguration with same blood rituals that they observed from Guhilot and Maitraka of
Saurashtra.
Archeologically, The Mithraeum of the Seven Spheres seems to have been excavated for the
first time by Petrini, in the years 1802-1804. Four inscriptions were found:

The dedication of an altar to Sol Mithras by L. Tullius Agatho:

L. TVLLIVS AGATHO
DEO INVICTO SOLI
MITHRAE ARAM D. D.
E AN QVE DEDICAVIT OB
HONORE DEI M. AEMILIO
EPAPHRODITO PATRE
A restoration of the shrine and its vestibule (pronaos) by A. Decimius Decimianus:
A. DECIMIVS A. F. PAL. DECIMIANVS S. P. RESTITVIT

A. DECIMIVS A. FIL. PAL. DECIMIANVS AEDEM

CVM SVO PRONAO IPSVM QVE DEVM SOLEM MITHRA
ET MARMORIBVS ET OMNI CVLTV SVA P. RESTITVIT

Red unlined Latin Text above underlines the Mithra worship.

He was the last pagan head of the church of Mithra ritual. Timothy Frake in his article The
Jesus Mysteries writes that at the site of Vatican, there once stood the Temples of Sun God
Attis and Goddess Cybele along with Mithraum where sacrifice to of the bull were made and

a piece of sacrifice along with blood was offered to devotees after the sermon. In the present
catholic church communion, these two symbolic items are replaced as bread of Christ with a
little sip of red wine replacing the ancient offering of bull meat and blood at the ceremony.
"He who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he will be made one with me
and I with him the same shall not know salvation."
At the heart of these mysteries, there is a good reason to believe the hands of brilliant
Josephus who knew many eastern and Asian cultures where similarities of the beliefs
persisted and it is not too difficult to create a mythology for the Prophet hungry masses
who were waiting for centuries for the arrival of another messiahs.

St. Pau Apostle Preaching Mithra version of Christianity

The satirist Celsus observed that the new religion was nothing more than a pale reflection of
their own ancient teachings of Greeks. Early bishops like Justin Martyr, Tertullian and

Irenaeus, were very disturbed and blamed these similarities were the result of 'diabolical
mimicry'. Other absurd arguments ever advocated was none other than the Devil made us to
do this or in a kinder word of 'plagiarism by anticipation'.
Eusebius of Caesarea & Pamphili was a Roman historian and Christian scholars. He was
appointed as the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine during 314 AD. He wrote early several
Christian works. The suspicion of alteration of the Josephus text falls on the shoulder of
Eusebius. A copy of the original Hebrew Version of the Gospel of Matityahu (Josephus), and
many of Origen's own writings, the marginal comments in extant manuscripts note that
Eusebius, Pamphilus and his friends and pupils corrected and revised much of the biblical text
in their library that has become the source of current canonical texts. Eusebius was the
person who baptized the Great Constantine at his death bed and became the favored christen
Bishop of the Constantine, the Great.
There are many dissenters and atheists who question the subject of the relationship of Jesus
and Mithra cites several examples of those who offered proof were viciously refuted or
murdered as an anti-Christ pagans.
Acharya S/D.M. Murdock in their articles on The origin of Christianity and mysteries of
Jesus present some historical evidence that:
the various Christians themselves have disclosed the myth founded upon more ancient
deities located throughout the known ancient world. Some of the "great" Church fathers,
such as historian Eusebius (c. 263-339), were determined by their own peers to be
unbelievable liars committing Pious fraud ,who regularly wrote their own fictions of what
"the Lord" said and did during his alleged sojourn upon the earth. According to renowned
historian Edward Gibbon, in one of his works, Evangelical Preparation. Eusebius provides a
handy chapter entitled, "How it may be lawful and fitting to use falsehood as a medicine, and
for the benefit of those who want to be deceived. Wheless calls Church fathers Justin Martyr
(c. 100-c. 165), Eusebius and Tertullian (c. 160c. 220) "three luminous liars, while Bronson
Keeler concludes that the early Christian fathers were extremely ignorant and superstitious;
and they were singularly incompetent to deal with the supernatural myths. In addition, of
the dozens of gospels, those once considered canonical or genuine were later rejected as
"apocryphal" or spurious, and vice versa. Illustrating this contention, in his play from 1564
AD, Bishop of Ossory, appears to be suggesting that Pope Leo X (1475-1521AD) was privy to
the truth based on his high rank, when the bishop recounts an alleged exchange between
Cardinal and Pope regarding the false hood.

The son of God or reincarnation of God existed in many ancient religions and this should not
be any surprise. Acharya S/D.M. Murdock finds similarity in myths, biographies , stories and
tradition that parallel Christianity.
1. Adad of Assyria
2. Adonis, Apollo and Zeus of Greece Agni of India
3. Alcides/Hercules of Thebes Attis of Phrygia
4. Baal of Phoenicia Bali of Afghanistan33
5. Buddha/Beddhu of India, China and Japan
6. Deva Tat (Buddha) of Siam34 Hesus of the Druids
7. Horus, Osiris, and Serapis of Egypt35 Indra of Tibet/India
8. Jao/Iao of Nepal Krishna of India
9. The Mikado of the Shintos Mithra of Persia
10, Odin of the Scandinavians Prometheus of Caucasus/Greece
11. Quetzalcoatl of Mexico Salivahana of Burma 36
12. Tammuz of Syria or Elagobalus
14. Thor of the Gauls
15. Universal Monarch of the Sibyls Wittoba of the Bilingonese
16. Xamolxis/Zamolxis of Thrace Zarathustra/Zoroaster of Persia
17. Mahavira and other Jaina Tirthankaras

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