Note: Flavius
Josephus (37-99? ) authored the most important secular ancient
sources (the Jewish
War and Jewish
Antiquities) for the rule of the Herodians.
Maps source: First
Century Judaea
| Click maps to enlarge. |
Herod the Great
42-4 BC
Early
years
Herod's
Reign
Coin of King Herod the Great
|
-
Born 73 BC of both Jewish and Edomite ancestry.
-
Following Julius Caesar's murder in 44 BC, Mark Anthony awarded Herod with
the title of tetrarch of Galilee (42 BC). In 37 BC, he assumed the
title of
basileus, the highest possible title. He boasted to be
philokaisar
('the emperor's friend').
-
Began an extensive building program in an around Jerusalem: extended the
walls and citadels of Jerusalem, reconstructed the Temple, and built
a new market, an amphitheater, a theater, a new royal palace (Paul was
held prisoner there. Acts
23:25; NKJV), and a new building where the Sanhedrin could convene.
-
Founded Caesarea (9 BC) in honor of the Caesar Augustus. (The harbor was
called
Sebastos, the Greek translation of 'Augustus.')
-
Executed his sons Aristobulus (7 BC) and Antipater (4 BC), causing the
emperor Augustus to joke that it was preferable to be Herod's pig (hus)
than his son (huios).
-
When he heard that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem, Herod sent men
to kill all of the babies there. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to
Egypt.(Mat.
2; NKJV)
-
After his death in 4 BCE, the kingdom was divided among his sons. Herod
Antipas was to rule Galilee and the east bank of the Jordan
as a tetrarch;
Philip was to be tetrarch of the Golan heights
in the north-east; and Archelaus became the ethnarch ('national
leader') of Samaria and Judaea. (Luke
3:1-2, NKJV)
|
Herod's Kingdom |
Herod
Archelaus
Samaria and Judaea
4 BC - 6 AD
Coin of Herod Archelaus |
-
Born in 23 BC.
-
Together with his half-brothers Philip
and Herod Antipas, he was educated at
Rome.
-
Succeeded Herod the Great as ruler in Samaria and Judaea.
-
Upon returning from Egypt, Joseph led his family to live in Galilee to
avoid him. (Mat.
2:21-23; NKJV)
-
Ruled so badly that the Judaeans and Samaritans united to appeal to Rome
to depose him.
-
Sent into exile to Vienne in Gaul by Caesar Augustus.
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Herod's kingdom divided |
Herod
Antipas
Galilee
4 BC - 39 AD
Coin of Herod Antipas |
-
Founded a new capital (17 BC), Tiberias, to honor the Roman emperor, Tiberias.
-
Known to have celebrated Passover and Succoth in Jerusalem, but his subjects
were not convinced of his piety. Jesus compared him to a fox (Luke
13:31-33; NKJV) and warned His disciples about Herod's "unleaven."
(Mark
8:15 , NKJV)
-
Married his brother's ex-wife who happened to be the daughter of his half-brother.
When John the Baptist criticized the king for marrying a woman who was
both his sister-in-law and his niece, he was killed. (Mat.
14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:7-9; NKJV)
-
The Pharisees plotted with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. (Mark
12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26, Mat. 22:15-22; NKJV)
-
When sent to him, by Pontius Pilate, Jesus refused to answer his questions.
Herod mocked Him and sent him back to Pilate (Luke
23:7-12; NKJV)
-
Eventually exiled to Lyon in Gaul by Claudius. Herod
Agrippa succeeded him.
|
Philip
Golan heights/Syria
4 BC - 34 AD
Coin of Philip |
-
Among his subjects, the Jews were a minority; most were of Syrian or Arabian
descent.
-
Known for his moderation and quietness in the conduct of his life and government.
(Josephus,
Jewish
Antiquities, 18.106)
-
Caligula, who succeeded Tiberias, appointed Philip's nephew Herod
Agrippa to rule his principalities.
|
Herod
Agrippa
Agrippa I
37-44 AD
Coin of Herod Agrippa |
-
His father, Aristobulus, was executed in 7 BC by Herod the Great.
-
Received a Roman education with the princes Caligula and Claudius, who
were later emperors.
-
Caligula appointed him "king" of Philip's realm (37 AD). He was the first
to be called king since his grandfather, Herod the Great, who had
died almost forty years earlier.
-
When his brother Herod Antipas tried to steal his realm, Caligula intervened:
Antipas was exiled to Gaul and his realm, Galilee and Peraea, was given
to Agrippa (39 AD).
-
Claudius, who followed Caligula, added Judaea and Samaria were added to
Herod Agrippa's realm in 41 AD. He was now king of all the territories
that had once been ruled by Herod the Great. Jerusalem made the capital
again.
-
Killed James and imprisoned Peter. (Acts
12:1-19, NKJV)
-
Died unexpectedly in 44 AD. (Acts
12:20-23, NKJV; Josephus'
account)
-
Succeeded in some of his territories by his son Julius
Marcus Agrippa.
|
Agrippa's kingdom |
Julius
Marcus Agrippa
Agrippa II
48-100 AD
Coin of Agrippa II |
-
At his father's death (44 AD), he was too young to be king; and his father's
territories became a Roman province.
-
In 48, he inherited some territory from his uncle.
-
In 58, Claudius added the Golan heights and several adjacent countries
to his realm.
-
One year later, Claudius' successor Nero added the city of Tiberias (the
capital of Galilee) and parts of the east bank of the river Jordan.
-
Met the Apostle Paul in Caesarea (58 AD).
-
In the unrest
in Jerusalem in 65 - 68 AD, Agrippa II sided with the Romans. He returned
in 70 AD to witness Jerusalem's destruction by Titus.
-
Continued to rule for another 25 years. There was not much left that would
have made him a Jewish king: the temple was destroyed, his realm was situated
in Syria; and only a few of his inhabitants were Jews.
-
He left no known descendants. The Herodian dynasty ends.
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Map of Judaea
(c. Agrippa II's reign) |
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