https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/messiah/messianic-claimant-15-simon-bar-giora/
I personally believe that this is the historical, factual man behind the bulk of the Jesus story in the new testament. He was eventually caught and where previously the Jewish orthodoxy had been rooting for him, they turned on him once his forces were defeated.
The Christian movement was more than just a pain in the Romans' ass, to the point that to save the empire, Constantine "converted" and established the Universal Church.
You can read further into this story, this happened when they tried to hide out from the Romans as they fled battle, in underground passages, and wound up digging a new tunnel upwards to wind up walking straight into the Romans.
So now you know on what the Pythons were basing Life of Brian, and why political uprising was the central theme.
It was always my personal feeling that the things that the Jesus in the bible did that mattered was not the impossible virgin birth, or the resurrection, but chasing the money changers out, asserting that the government does not have the right to collect taxes, and that the people should fight back.
Here's the quote from that page's quote text:
> Simon, thinking he might be able to astonish and elude the Romans, put on a white frock, and buttoned upon him a purple cloak, and appeared out of the ground in the place where the temple had formerly been
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> At the first, indeed, those that saw him were greatly astonished, and stood still where they were; but afterward they came nearer to him, and asked him who he was.
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> Now Simon would not tell them, but bid them call for their captain; and when they ran to call him, Terentius Rufus (who was left to command the army there) came to Simon, and learned of him the whole truth, and kept him in bonds, and let Titus know that he was taken.
Life of Brian was based on at least part of this story, absolutely no doubt whatsoever. And drew on actual history relating to the agitation of the Jews at their being annexed by the Romans.