King Agrippa I Series

King Agrippa I

King Agrippa I

Born:

c.10 B.C.E.

Died:

44

Title / Office:

king (41-44), Judaea

Herod Agrippa I, original name Marcus Julius Agrippa, (born c. 10 B.C.E.—died 44 C.E.), King of Judaea (41–44 C.E.), a clever diplomat who, through his friendship with the Roman imperial family, obtained the kingdom of his grandfather, Herod I the Great. He displayed great shrewdness in conciliating the Romans and Jews.

After Agrippa's father, Aristobulus IV, was executed by his father, the suspicious Herod, Agrippa was sent to Rome for education and safety. There he grew up in company with Emperor Tiberius's son Drusus. After his mother's death, he quickly spent his family's wealth and acquired severe debts. When Drusus died in 23 CE, Agrippa left Rome, settling near Beersheba in Palestine. An appeal to his uncle Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, won him a minor official post, but he soon vacated it.

In 36, having raised a sizable loan in Alexandria, Agrippa returned to Rome, where Emperor Tiberius received him but refused to allow him to stay at the court until his debt was paid. A new loan covered the obligation, and he secured a post as tutor to Tiberius's grandson. Agrippa also became a friend of Caligula, Tiberius's heir. An unrestrained remark about Tiberius, overheard by a servant, landed Agrippa in prison, but Caligula remained his friend. Within a year, Tiberius was dead, and Agrippa's fortunes were reversed.

In 37, Caligula made him King of the former realm of his uncle Philip the Tetrarch and an adjoining region. Antipas attempted to stop his rise by denouncing him to Caligula; Agrippa made counteraccusations. The confrontation before Caligula ended with Antipas's banishment, and Agrippa acquired his territory. About 41 CE, Agrippa, on the advice of the governor of Syria, dissuaded Caligula from introducing emperor worship in Jerusalem. Later Caligula decided to restore Agrippa to his grandfather's throne but was assassinated in 41 before he could affect that plan. Agrippa supported Claudius, who emerged successfully and added Judaea and Samaria to Agrippa's kingdom. In the delicate question of the imperial succession,

In Judaea, Agrippa zealously pursued orthodox Jewish policies, earning the friendship of the Jews and vigorously repressing the Jewish Christians. According to the New Testament of the Bible (Acts of the Apostles, where he is called Herod), he imprisoned Peter the Apostle and executed James, son of Zebedee. Nonetheless, mindful of maintaining a Roman friendship, he contributed public buildings to Beirut in Lebanon, struck coins in emulation of Rome, and in the spring of 44 was host to a spectacular series of games at Caesarea to honor Claudius. He died prematurely, terminating the compromise he had striven to achieve between Roman authority and Jewish autonomy. Because his son was only 17 years old, Judaea returned to provincial status.

AGRIPPA was educated in Rome with other princes at court and became friendly with Drusus, son of Emperor Tiberius. After a period of overindulgence, he became saddled with debts, and in 23 C.E., he had to return home and stay on the family estates in Idumea. He was subsequently appointed agoranomos ("market overseer") in Tiberias by his brother-in-law, the tetrarch Herod *Antipas. After a quarrel with Antipas, he went to Syria, where he again became involved in debt. To escape from his creditors, he went to Rome, where he became friendly with Gaius, later Emperor Caligula. While drunk, however, he was caught off guard, expressing a wish that Caligula was Emperor instead of Tiberius, and was sent to prison for his indiscretion. Caligula, on his accession, released Agrippa and appointed him to the tetrarchies of *Herod Phillipus and Lysanias, consisting of Bashan-Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Argob, and Abel, with the title of King. In 39 C.E., he was granted the tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, exiled by Caligula, consisting of Galilee, Tiberias, Sepphoris, and Perea. During this period, Agrippa used his connections in Rome to intercede with Caligula on behalf of the Jews. They wished Caligula to retract an order to erect his statue in the Temple in Jerusalem. Shortly afterward, Caligula was murdered. Agrippa, who was in Rome at the time, was among those who supported the succession of Claudius. He was rewarded in 41 C.E. by the addition of Samaria and Judea to the area under his rule. The event was celebrated with a lavish ceremony, and an official covenant of friendship was concluded between Agrippa and Claudius, the deed of the covenant being placed in the Capitol. With the acquisition of these territories, Agrippa now reigned over the whole area of his grandfather Herod's kingdom, and the procuratorship of Judea was temporarily suspended.

The meeting was broken up by Marcus, the governor of Syria, possibly because he suspected a conspiracy with the King of Parthia. There was little to differentiate Agrippa's foreign policy as a client king of Rome from that of other Hellenistic monarchs. Because of his connections with Rome, Agrippa was regarded as the leading vassal king of the East, and once managed to bring several other kings together in Tiberias. Agrippa gave financial help to foreign cities and built several public buildings, including a theater and amphitheater in Berytus (Beirut).