Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera

Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera (c. 22 BC – AD 40) was a Roman soldier whose tombstone was found in Bingerbrück, Germany, in 1859.

A historical connection from this soldier to Jesus of Nazareth has long been hypothesized by numerous scholars, based on the claim of the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus, who, according to Christian writer Origen in his Contra Celsum ("Against Celsus") (Greek Κατὰ Κέλσου, Kata Kelsou; Latin Contra Celsum), was the author of an anti-Christian work titled 'The True Word' (Greek Λόγος Ἀληθής, Logos Alēthēs).

Celsus' work was lost, but in Origen's account of it Jesus was depicted as the result of an affair between his mother Mary and a Roman soldier. He said she was "convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Pantera". Tiberius Pantera could have been serving in the region at the time of Jesus's conception. Both the ancient Talmud and medieval Jewish writings and sayings reinforced this notion, referring to Jesus as "Yeshu ben Pantera" (Jesus, son of Pantera).

Although the hypothesis is considered unlikely by mainstream scholars given that there is little other evidence to support the Pantera paternity, outside of the hostile Jewish texts, the chronological time frame of the Pantera tomb does make the proposition a fascinating intellectual curiosity since even the Gospels acknowledge that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. Historically, the name Pantera is not unusual and was in use among Roman soldiers.

In October 1859, during the construction of a railroad in Bingerbrück in Germany, tombstones for nine Roman soldiers were accidentally discovered. One of the tombstones was that of Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera and is presently kept in the Römerhalle museum in Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

The inscription (CIL XIII 7514) on the tombstone of Abdes Pantera reads:

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