Herodian (Idumaean) Dynasty (37-00-92)
• Herod the Great (c.70; r.37-4 BC)
In 47 BC, Antipater named Phasael (d.40 BC), his eldest son, governor of Judea, and Herod, his second son, governor of Galilee. Four years later, Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) made Herod governor of Syria-Coele and Samaria, and two years later, Mark Antony (c.83-30 BC) made the brothers tetrarchs, effectively uniting the land under a single government. In 40 BC the Parthians invaded Syria and Herod fled with his family. In Rome the Senate appointed Herod king of the Jews, and added western Idumaea and Samaria to his kingdom. In 39 BC Herod set out for Judea with a Roman army and finally captured Jerusalem in 37 BC.
In 31 BC the Battle of Actium removed Herod’s Roman benefactor, Mark Antony. Herod quickly set sail for Rhodes to offer his loyalty to Octavian (=Augustus; 76; r.31-00-14), who confirmed his position as King of Judea and enlarged his kingdom. Herod became one of Augustus’ most trusted independent kings. Augustus, his son-in-law Agrippa (c.63-12 BC), and Herod were considered close friends. Herod, regarding the Hasmoneans as a constant threat, murdered almost the entire royal family, including his wife Mariamne (d.29 BC), his mother-in-law, and the children he had through Mariamne.
Herod is perhaps best known for his extensive building projects. He founded many cities, including Caesarea and Antipatris. He renovated older cities such as Jericho, and erected fortresses all over his kingdom, including Masada west of the Dead Sea. He also erected temples in honour of the Roman emperor in Samaria and Caesarea. Most notably, he began extensive renovations of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a massive project that was completed only in AD 63.
At Herod’s death his kingdom was divided, with the sanction of Augustus, between three of his sons: Herod Archelaus (c.41: r.4-00-6; d.c.18) became tetrarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumaea; Herod Antipas (c.59; r.4-00-39; d?) became tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, with the Jordan dividing the two districts; and Philip (r.4-00-34) became tetrarch of Batanaea and Trachonitis in northern Palestine.
Archelaus was deposed by Augustus in AD 6 and exiled to Gaul. According to Josephus (37-c.100) he was a questionable appointment from the beginning because of his inept handling of disturbances following Herod’s death. The Romans then combined Judea with Samaria and Idumaea to create the Province of Judaea (6-132), as an autonomous part of the Roman province of Syria, ruled by a prefect.
Antipas was especially close to Tiberius (77; r.14-37), in whose honour he founded his capital, Tiberias, on the western edge of the Sea of Galilee. He was deposed by Caligula (28; r.37-41) after petitioning to be made king; he also was exiled to Gaul. Philip embellished Banias and renamed it Caesarea Philippi in honour of Augustus (Caesar) and himself.
Following the succession of his friend Caligula, Herod Agrippa-I (54; r.41-44), a grandson of Herod, was made governor first of the territories that his cousin Philip had held and then Chalcis, the small tetrarchy of Lysanias (c.40), with the title of ‘king’. Agrippa then returned to Rome and brought about the banishment of his uncle Antipas, whose tetrarchy over Galilee and Perea he was then granted. On the assassination of Caligula in 41, Agrippa’s advice helped Claudius (64; r.41-54) in his succession to emperor. As a reward for his assistance, Claudius gave Agrippa dominion over Judea and Samaria, while the kingdom of Chalcis in Lebanon at Agrippa’s request was given to his brother Herod (d.48).Agrippa’s son Herod Agrippa II (c.66; r.52-c.93) was only sixteen when his father died and therefore too young to be king of the volatile kingdom of Judaea. In 48 Claudius put him in charge of the Lebanese kingdom of Chalcis vacated by the death of his uncle, Herod. In 52 Claudius gave Agrippa control of Batanaea and Trachonitis that had been governed by his great uncle, Philip, and by his father. To control Agrippa, Claudius appointed Marcus Antonius Felix (r.52-58) as procurator in Samaria and Judaea. When Nero (30; r.54-68) became emperor he expanded Agrippa’s kingdom to include Perea and the western shore of the Sea of Galilee; territory that had belonged to another great uncle, Antipater, and to his father. On Agrippa II’s death his kingdom was incorporated into the Province of Syria.
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