[The normal way of indicating time in antiquity was to use the year of a king's reign. Our Western calendar was not developed until the 5th century AD, see notes on .] It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar
(Emperor) Tiberius.
[Tiberius was Roman emperor 14-37 AD. However, he was appointed co-regent of Emperor Augustus a few years earlier, around 12 AD. Most likely Luke counts from 19th of August 14 AD, when Augustus died, but it could be two to three years earlier or from the next New Year. Since there are several different calendars with different New Years, it is difficult to say exactly which year this corresponds to. Fifteen years into the reign of Tiberius, when John appears and shortly afterwards Jesus, should be around 28 AD plus or minus a year.] [At the same time as the Emperor in Rome, the following local leaders were active:] Pontius Pilate was the governor
(a verb: acted as leader and administrator – Gk. hegemoneuo) of
Judea [reigned 26-36 AD],
Herod
[Antipas] was a tetrarch
(a verb; literally: ‘rule over a quarter’ – Gk. tetrarcheo) i
Galilee [son of Herod the Great, reigned 4 BC-39 AD],
his brother Philip was tetrarch of
Iturea and
Trakonitis [son of Herod the Great, ruled north of Galileen 4 BC-34 AD],
Lysanias was the tetrarch of
Abilene.
[Little is known about this small area in the north around the city of Abilene, two miles northwest of Damascus.] 
