Did Jesus exist?

[athrock]

Of course not. Nor does anyone dispute where they came from or who they were disciples of:

-and that contention establishes the historicity of jesus just as much as the passage (and further speculation) below does..... 

“Therefore, to put down the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits and punished in the most unusual ways those hated for their shameful acts [flagitia], whom the crowd called 'Chrestians.' The founder of this name, Christ, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Suppressed for a time, the deadly superstition erupted again not only in Judea, the origin of this evil, but also in the city [Rome], where all things horrible and shameful from everywhere come together and become popular. Therefore, first those who admitted to it were arrested, then on their information a very large multitude was convicted, not so much for the crime of arson as for hatred of the human race. Derision was added to their end: they were covered with the skins of wild animals and torn to death by dogs; or they were crucified and when the day ended they were burned as torches. Nero provided his gardens for the spectacle and gave a show in his circus, mixing with the people in charioteer's clothing, or standing on his racing chariot.” (Annals of Imperial Rome 15:44)

The "Chrestianos" were people who followed "Christ" who was executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate.

...which is not at all.

This should be awfully simple.   I'm looking for the history of a man, not the history of the beliefs of his followers, or a recitation of fairy tales which include him as a character.

Questions of christianity, in the selected passage above, are the least of the worries the passage has as far as reliability is concerned btw.  There's far greater concern that the passage in question editorializes the reign of Nero to a greater extent than it recounts it.  Any tidbit of info regarding the history of christian belief that might be gleaned from the passage is a footnote, comparatively.

The history of a man named Jesus? There are several, as you know. 

However, Tacitus tells that a man put to death by Pontius Pilate had followers who were called "Chrxstianos".

What a coincidence. The Book of Acts tells us pretty much the same thing.