Sergius Paulus
Lucius Sergius Paulus or Paullus was a Proconsul of Cyprus under Claudius (1st century AD). He appears in Acts 13:6-12, where in Paphos, Paul, accompanied by Barnabas and John Mark, overcame the attempts of Bar-Jesus (Elymas) "to turn the proconsul away from the faith" and converted Sergius to Christianity. A boundary stone of Claudius mentioning Sergius was discovered at Rome in 1887. It records the appointment (AD 47) of the Curators of the banks and the channel of the river Tiber, one of whom was Sergius. Since Paul's journey to Cyprus is usually dated to the first half of the 40s (and some scholars date his visit even earlier), it is thought Sergius may have first served three years as Proconsul at Cyprus, then returned to Rome, where he was appointed curator. Another inscription was discovered in 1887 at Soli, Cyprus, by Luigi Palma di Cesnola which mentions a proconsul Paulus. This inscription was dated to the middle of the first century by D.G. Hogarth. Terence Mitford noted that based on epigraphic grounds the inscription cannot be dated earlier than this and is probably considerably later. As he is not greeted in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, it is possible