Lucas 2:1-7 describes how Jesus was born in Bethlehem. According to the passage, Caesar Augustus declared that a census should be conducted in the Roman Empire. As part of the census, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Joseph's ancestral home was. Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, as there was no room for them in the inn, so Jesus was laid in a manger. The first witnesses to Jesus' birth were simple shepherds in the fields.