Pontius Pilate

About Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate, serving as the Roman prefect of Judea from approximately 26 to 36 CE, occupies a pivotal, albeit controversial, place in global history. His primary historical significance, which secures him an HPI Rank of #467 out of the roughly 15,000 figures analyzed, stems almost entirely from his judicial decision regarding Jesus of Nazareth—an event central to the foundation of Christianity. As the political authority responsible for maintaining Roman order, his actions regarding this religious movement had immense, long-term cultural and civilizational consequences across millennia.

In the contemporary digital landscape, Pilate's historical gravity appears relatively well-recognized in terms of raw volume, receiving approximately 1.3 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of attention places him in the category of "overattention," evidenced by his Attention Gap score of +3x relative to his historical importance ranking. For context, this means he receives three times the proportional online traffic compared to figures of equivalent historical weight. This interest is remarkably consistent, as indicated by a modest year-over-year increase of +3.9%, though his recent momentum shows a slight Q1 to Q3 dip of -1%.