Herod The Great Series

Herod the Great

Tom lowe

1/24/2012

Herod (also known as Herod the Great) was a Roman *client king of Judea,

*A king who is dependent on a more powerful state for political, economic, or military support, and who in return is expected to serve the interests of that state; specifically a king dependent on ancient Rome; he is referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renovation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of the Temple Mount towards its north, the enclosure around the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima, the fortress at Masada, and Herodium.

Herod also appears in the Christian Gospel of Matthew as the ruler of Judea who orders the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of the birth of Jesus. However, most Herod biographers do not believe that this event occurred. Despite his successes, including singlehandedly forging a new aristocracy from practically nothing, various historians have still criticized him. His reign polarizes opinion among historians, some viewing his legacy as evidence of success, and some viewing it as a reminder of his tyrannical rule.

Upon Herod's death, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister: Archelaus became *ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod Antipas became *tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea; Philip became *tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan; and Salome I was given a *toparchy including the cities of Jabneh, Ashdod, and Phasaelis.

*ethnarch: The ruler of a province or people. eth'nar'chy n.

*tetrarch: (in the Roman Empire) the governor of one of four divisions of a country or province.

*toparchy: [noun] a small state or district consisting of a few cities or towns.

Contents

• 1Biography

• 2Reign in Judea

• 3Herod and Augustus

• 4Wives and children

Biography

Herod was born in (or around) 72 BCE in Idumea, south of Judea. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, a high-ranking official under ethnarch Hyrcanus II, and Cypros, a Nabatean Arab princess from the city of Petra in what is now Jordan. Herod's father was by descent an Edomite whose ancestors had converted to Judaism. Herod was raised as a Jew. [Strabo, a contemporary, held that the Idumaeans, whom he identified as of Nabataean origin, constituted the majority of the population of Western Judea, where they blended with the Judaeans and adopted their customs. This is a view shared by some modern scholarly works that consider Idumaeans Arab or Nabataean origins. Thus Herod was ethnically an Arab from both sides.

Herod's rise to power is mainly due to his father's good relations with Julius Caesar, who entrusted Antipater with the public affairs of Judea. Herod, Antipater's son, was appointed provincial governor of Galilee in *ca. 47 BCE when

*Ca ABBREVIATION (preceding a date or amount) circa. "he was born ca 1400."

Herod was about 25 or 28 years old (Greek original: "15 years of age"), and where he faithfully farmed the taxes of that region for the Roman Senate, and where he met with success in ridding that region of bandits. Antipater's elder son, Phasael, served in the same capacity as the governor of Jerusalem. During this time, the young Herod cultivated a good relationship with Sextus Caesar, the acting Roman governor of Syria, who appointed Herod as general of Coelesyria and Samaria, greatly expanding his realm of influence. He enjoyed the backing of Rome, but the Sanhedrin condemned his brutality. When yet a private man, Herod had determined to punish Hyrcanus the king, who had once summoned Herod to stand trial for murder but was restrained from doing so by the intervention of his father and his elder brother.

In 41 BCE, Herod and his brother Phasael were named tetrarchs by the Roman leader Mark Antony. They were placed in this role to support Hyrcanus II. Later, Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew, took the throne from his uncle with the help of the Parthians. Herod fled to Rome to plead with the Romans to restore Hyrcanus II to power. The Romans had a particular interest in Judea because their general Pompey the Great had conquered Jerusalem in 63 *BCE, thus placing the

*BCE - before the Common Era (used for dates before the Christian era, especially by non-Christians).

region in the Roman sphere of influence. Herod was unexpectedly appointed King of the Jews in Rome by the Roman Senate. Josephus puts this in the year of the consulship of Calvinus and Pollio (40 BCE), but Appian places it in 39 BCE. Herod went back to Judea to win his kingdom from Antigonus. Toward the end of the campaign against Antigonus, Herod married the granddaughter of Hyrcanus II, Mariamne (known as Mariamne I), who was also a niece of Antigonus. Herod did this to secure his claim to the throne and gain some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had Doris's wife and a young son, Antipater, who banished Doris and her child.