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What decree is said to have been issued by Caesar Augustus immediately preceding the birth of Christ?
Luke: “That all the world should be taxed” ([ii, 1]).
No such decree was issued by Augustus, nor even one that the Roman world should be taxed. The taxation of different provinces of the empire was made at various times, no general decree ever having been issued and no uniform assessment ever having been attempted by Augustus. An enrollment of Roman citizens for the purpose of taxation was made in Syria 7 A. D.