[linMcHlp]

At some point in the investigation of Mahan’s work, Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur and a Union general in the Civil War, was the U.S. consul or ambassador to Turkey.

Wallace was asked to ask some questions at the Library of _____ (again, I forget) in Constantinople (sp?), because some documents of Pilate were supposed to be there?

Wallace asked, and the librarian said, No such papers . . . or words to that effect.

So, the provenance (usage?) of Mahan’s work, was not there.

The irony, in my view, is that Lew Wallace’s book, Ben Hur, became popular fiction.

And, if William Mahan had published his own work as fiction, Mahan would probably have been a financially successful author.

I remain interested, because Lew Wallace took the word of the fellow in charge at the Constantinople library . . . and I wonder if that was true.

[laplata]

Wallace wrote a great story.

[Antoninus]

It is fascinating stuff, and certainly worthy of consideration. I have no doubt that Mahan could have found "something" at a Greek library in Constantinople. But whether he had the scholarly chops to discern a fraudulent work from a legitimate one is unknown, at least by me.

Here is a link to a translation of the so-called "Letter of Pilate." It doesn't provide much new information and has many of the hallmarks of a later fraud.

This article includes some of the authentic ancient sources that tell us a little more about Pilate, namely Josephus and Philo.

There is a ton more, including the so-called "Acts of Pilate" and "The Report of Pilate the Procurator" and The Death of Pontius Pilate" among others. All of these works have been considered "historical fiction" of later dates by most Church scholars.