The plaque the Romans placed above Jesus's head as he writhed in pain-"King of the Jews"-was called a titulus and, despite common perception, was not meant to be sarcastic. Every criminal who hung on a cross received a plaque declaring the specific crime for which he was being executed. Jesus's crime, in the eyes of Rome, was striving for kingly rule {i.e., treason}, the same crime for which nearly every other messianic aspirant of the time was killed.
( Reza Aslan )
[ Zealot: The Life and Times of ]
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