Paul the Apostle, born Saul of Tarsus, was a Christian apostle who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first century AD. Although he was not one of the Twelve Apostles and did not know Jesus during his lifetime, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age. He founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe between the mid-40s and mid-50s AD, and fourteen of the 27 books of the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to him.