Ventidius Cumanus (
fl. 1st century AD) was the Roman
procurator of
Iudaea Province from
AD 48 to
c. AD 52. A disagreement between the surviving sources, the
Jewish historian
Josephus and the Roman
Tacitus, makes it unclear whether his authority was over some or all of the province. Cumanus' time in office was marked by disputes between his troops and the Jewish population. Ventidius Cumanus failed to respond to an anti-Jewish murder in
Samaritan territory which led to the violent conflict between Jews and Samaritans. Following an investigation by the governor of
Syria,
Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, Cumanus was sent to
Rome for a hearing before the
Emperor Claudius, who held him responsible for the violence and sentenced him to exile.