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Timeline of Paul’s life

Paul's life from his birth in Tarsus to his death in Rome, year by year, set beside the emperors and the governors of Judaea whose rule framed it. Each entry links to the article that discusses it.

A decorated 1695 map of the eastern Mediterranean tracing the journeys of Paul — Daniël Stopendaal, map of the eastern Mediterranean showing the travels of Paul, 1695. Image: Daniël Stopendaal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The timeline below follows the chronology in the book, which draws on the standard biographies of Paul and on the Roman historians. All dates are approximate and in the Common Era. Estimates of the date of Paul’s death run from 62 to 67 CE.

c. 5–10 CE Born in Tarsus, Cilicia, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin (allegedly), with Roman citizenship. Who was Paul of Tarsus in the Bible?
c. 20–30 CE Studies the Torah under Gamaliel in Jerusalem and becomes a Pharisee. Who was Paul of Tarsus in the Bible?
c. 33–36 CE Takes part in the persecution of the Jerusalem community. Reports his vision on the road to Damascus. Saul the persecutor The Damascus road: one vision, three stories
c. 36–37 CE In Damascus and Arabia. Escapes Damascus in a basket: by his own account from the governor of King Aretas IV of Nabataea, who reigned until about 40 CE; by Luke’s, from the Jews. Was Paul an apostle? A self-appointed one
c. 38 CE Flees to Jerusalem, meets Peter and James, then returns to Tarsus. James, the brother of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam
c. 39–43 CE Preaches in Syria and Cilicia, based in Tarsus.
c. 44 CE Brought to Antioch by Barnabas, where the disciples are first called Christians. Was Paul the founder of Christianity?
c. 45 CE Carries famine relief to Jerusalem with Barnabas.
c. 47–48 CE First mission, to Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. The Roman: name and tongue
c. 50 CE The Jerusalem council on Gentile converts and the law. The confrontation with Peter at Antioch follows. The Jerusalem Council
c. 51–53 CE Second mission, from Galatia into Greece. Writes to the Thessalonians from Corinth, and stands before Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, whose term an inscription at Delphi dates to about 51–52 CE: the one fixed date in Paul’s life. Adapting the message to the pagans
c. 54–56 CE Third mission, based at Ephesus. By their fruits
c. 57 CE In Macedonia and Corinth. Writes to the Corinthians and the Galatians. The purse: the collection for Islamicjerusalem
c. 58 CE Writes to the Romans. Returns to Jerusalem, undertakes the Temple vow at James’s instruction and is arrested. The Jerusalem Council
c. 59–60 CE Held at Caesarea. Appeals to Caesar and is shipwrecked on Malta on the way to Rome. The citizenship and the appeal to Caesar
c. 61–62 CE Under house arrest in Rome.
c. 62–67 CE Executed in Rome. Tradition places his death under Nero. The failed prophet