The apostles embrace and prepare to leave Jerusalem with travelling staffs and satchels as roads stretch into the Roman world beyond the city.

What Happened to the Apostles?

The New Testament gives only partial and fragmentary information about most apostles' later lives; Acts follows Peter and, more extensively, Paul, but says little about most of the original Twelve after its early chapters. James, son of Zebedee, is reported executed by Herod Agrippa I around 44 AD (Acts 12:2), one of the few apostolic deaths recorded in the New Testament itself.

For the rest, later Christian tradition assigns various apostles to missionary work and martyrdom in specific regions. Much of it is (Andrew to Greece or Scythia for example) is recorded in the second century, in later texts and in church histories not contemporary with the events. Interestingly though there is some DNA evidence of Jewish ancestors in the parts of India where Thomas was said to have travelled. These traditions vary between sources, sometimes conflict with one another, and often can't always be verified against independent historical records, Many might be treated as later church tradition rather than established history.

Paul's own later career is comparatively better documented through his own letters and in Luke’s writing in Acts, up to his imprisonment in Rome. Both later tradition, and some early Christian writers, such as Clement of Rome writing around the 90s AD, suggest Paul and Peter were executed in Rome under Nero. They are suggestions with somewhat earlier and more substantial attestation than traditions about the other apostles.

Enjoyed this article? John writes regularly about the historical world behind the Maximus novels.

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