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Do you, by chance, have any sources on this because this is an interesting topic for me. I always hear vague references to other folks who claimed to be the messiah, and now this. I'm curious as to the details, myself. It would be info to know. Thanks.


I don't think that any of them claimed to be the messiah. That would have been a blasphemy.

There were about 40 major jewish sects in palestine at that time, plus a lot more small groups lead by charismatic rabbis. The three most popular were Theudas the magician, John the baptist, and Stephen of Jerusalem, every one with hundreds of followers. As to my knowledge all met the same violent death as Jesus. Jesus himself was probably a follower of John before he gathered his own small group. But he never reached the popularity of his more famous colleagues, and without Paulus he would have long been forgotten. I don't have an online source at the moment, but I think if you search for those three names you'll find more information. I got most of the info from a book about the Qumran scrolls that also covers the situation in first century palestine.