Herod the Great

Herod was born around 72 BCE{{multiref | {{Cite journal |last=Steinmann |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Steinmann |year=2009 |title=When Did Herod the Great Reign? |journal=Novum Testamentum |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=1–29 [12] |doi=10.1163/156853608X245953}} | {{cite journal |last=Filmer |year=1966 |first=W. E. |title=The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great |journal=Journal of Theological Studies |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=283–298 [293] |doi=10.1093/jts/XVII.2.283}} }}{{sfn|Steinmann|2011|pp=219–256}} 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 Petra, in present-day Jordan. Herod's father was by descent an Edomite; his ancestors had been forcibly converted to Judaism. Herod was raised as a Jew.{{sfn|Britannica|loc="Thus, Herod was of Arab origin, although he was a practicing Jew"}}Aryeh Kasher and Eliezer Witztum, King Herod: A Persecuted Persecutor: A Case Study in Psychohistory, pp. 19–23{{Cite book |last=Retsö |first=Jan |title=The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |page=374}}{{sfn|Losch|2008|p=155}} Strabo, a contemporary of Herod, held that the Idumaeans, whom he identified as of Nabataean origin, constituted the majority of the population of western Judea, where they commingled with the Judaeans and adopted their customs.Strabo, Geography Bk.16.2.34 This is a view shared also by some modern scholarly works which consider Idumaeans to be either Arab or Nabataean in origin.{{sfn|Britannica}}{{sfn|Retsö|2013|p=487}}{{Cite book |last=Chancey |first=Mark A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrrRaeP5po0C&pg=PA44 |title=The Myth of a Gentile Galilee |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-139-43465-2 |page=44}}{{Cite book |last1=Shahid |first1=Irfan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4H97SA6pMAC&q=Idumaeans |title=Rome and the Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs |last2=Shahîd |first2=Irfan |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-88402-115-5}} Thus, Herod's ethnic background was Arab on both sides of his family.{{sfn|Britannica|loc="Thus, Herod was of Arab origin, although he was a practicing Jew"}} According to Josephus, Herod was a descendant of Eleazar Maccabeus (Auran) of the Hasmoneans.{{Cite book |last=Josephus |title=Antiquities of the Jews |edition=Loeb |pages=Antiquity of the Jews Book XII/Chapter 9/Section 4; Book XII/Chapter 10/Section 6; Book XIII/Chapter 5/Section 8; Book XIV/Chapter 1/Section 3}}

Herod rose to power largely through his father's good relations with the Roman general and dictator Julius Caesar, who entrusted Antipater with the public affairs of Judea.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D14%3Asection%3D143 14.8.5]}} Herod was appointed provincial governor of Galilee in {{circa|47 BCE}}, when he was about either 25 or 28 years old (Greek original: "15 years of age").Schürer, Emil, T. Alec. Burkill, Geza Vermes, and Fergus Millar. The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.–A.D. 135). Edinburgh: Clark, 1973. pp. 270–275. There he faithfully farmed the taxes of that region for the Roman Senate, and he met with success in ridding that region of bandits.J. H. Hayes & S. Mandell, The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander to Bar Kochba, Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=er1Ls6bSQNMC&pg=PA101 118]. {{ISBN|978-0-664-25727-9}}{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D14%3Asection%3D158 14.9.1–2]}} Antipater's eldest son, Phasael, served in the same capacity as 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 sphere of influence.{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D1%3Awhiston+chapter%3D10%3Awhiston+section%3D8 1.10.8]}} He enjoyed the backing of Rome, but the Sanhedrin condemned his brutality.{{sfn|Jacobs|Broydé|1906|loc="He was of commanding presence; he excelled in physical exercises; he was a skillful diplomatist; and, above all, he was prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition."}} When yet a private man, Herod had determined to punish Hyrcanus the Hasmonean king, who had once summoned Herod to stand trial for murder, but Herod was restrained from doing so by the intervention of his father and his elder brother.

In 41 BCE, the Roman leader Mark Antony named Herod and his brother Phasael as tetrarchs. They were placed in this role to support Hyrcanus II. In 40 BCE Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew, took the Judean 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 special interest in Judea because their general Pompey the Great had conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE, thus placing the region in the Roman sphere of influence. In Rome, Herod was unexpectedly appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=[http://earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/war1.html 1.14.4]: "{{bracket|Mark Antony}} then resolved to get him made king of the Jews...told them that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king; so they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate was separated, Antony and Caesar went out, with Herod between them; while the consul and the rest of the magistrates went before them, in order to offer sacrifices [to the Roman gods], and to lay the decree in the Capitol. Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign"}} Josephus puts this in the year of the consulship of Calvinus and Pollio (40 BCE), but Appian places it in 39 BCE.Steinmann, Andrew "When Did Herod the Great Reign?", Novum Testamentum, Volume 51, Number 1, 2009, pp. 1–29; Young, Rodger C. and Andrew E. Steinmann, “Caligula’s Statue for the Jerusalem Temple and Its Relation to the Chronology of Herod the Great,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 62 (2019): 759–774; Steinmann, Andrew E. and Rodger C. Young, “Elapsed Times for Herod the Great in Josephus,” Bibliotheca Sacra 177 (2020): 308–328; Steinmann, Andrew E. and Rodger C. Young, “Consular Years and Sabbatical Years in the Life of Herod the Great,” Bibliotheca Sacra 177 (2020): 442–461. 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 in an attempt to secure his claim to the throne and gain some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had a wife, Doris, and a young son, Antipater, and chose therefore to banish Doris and her child.

Herod and Sosius, the governor of Syria, at the behest of Mark Antony, set out with a large army in 37 BCE and captured Jerusalem, Herod then sending Antigonus for execution to Mark Antony.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D14%3Asection%3D468 14.16.1]}}{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D1%3Awhiston+chapter%3D17%3Awhiston+section%3D2 1.17.2]}} From this moment, Herod took the role as sole ruler of Judea and the title of basileus for himself, ushering in the Herodian dynasty and ending the Hasmonean Dynasty. Josephus reports this as being in the year of the consulship of Agrippa and Gallus (37 BCE), but also says that it was exactly 27 years after Jerusalem fell to Pompey, which would indicate 36 BCE. Cassius Dio also reports that in 37, "the Romans accomplished nothing worthy of note" in the area.Dio, Roman History 49.23.1–2. According to Josephus, Herod ruled for 37 years, 34 of them after capturing Jerusalem.

As some believe Herod's family were converts to Judaism, his religious commitment was questioned by some elements of Jewish society.{{Cite journal |last=Atkinson |first=Kenneth |date=October 1996 |title=Herod the Great, Sosius, and the Siege of Jerusalem (37 B.C.) in Psalm of Solomon 17 |journal=Novum Testamentum |publisher=Brill |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=312–322 |doi=10.1163/1568536962613216 |jstor=1560892}} When John Hyrcanus conquered the region of Idumaea (the Edom of the Hebrew Bible) in 140–130 BCE, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism, which meant that they had to be circumcised,{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |first=Emil G. |last=Hirsch |first2=Kaufmann |last2=Kohler |first3=Joseph |last3=Jacobs |first4=Aaron |last4=Friedenwald |first5=Isaac |last5=Broydé |year=1906 |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=514&letter=C&search=Circumcision#1790 |title=Circumcision |chapter=Circumcision Necessary or Not? |quote=The rigorous Shammaite view, voiced in the Book of Jubilees (l.c.), prevailed in the time of King John Hyrcanus, who forced the Abrahamic rite upon the Idumeans, and in that of King Aristobulus, who made the Itureans undergo circumcision |via=JewishEncyclopedia.com}}, citing {{harvnb|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0526.tlg001.perseus-eng1:13.314 13.314]}}. and many intermarried with the Jews and adopted their customs.{{sfn|Bayer}} While Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some,{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0148 2.13.7]: "There was also another disturbance at Caesarea, – those Jews who were mixed with the Syrians that lived there rising a tumult against them. The Jews pretended that the city was theirs, and said that he who built it was a Jew, meaning King Herod. The Syrians confessed also that its builder was a Jew; but they still said, however, that the city was a Grecian city; for that he who set up statues and temples in it could not design it for Jews"}} this religious identification was undermined by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians, which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews.{{sfn|Jacobs|Broydé|1906|loc=Opposition of the Pious: "All the worldly pomp and splendor which made Herod popular among the pagans, however, rendered him abhorrent to the Jews, who could not forgive him for insulting their religious feelings by forcing upon them heathen games and combats with wild animals"}}

Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne I.{{sfn|Losch|2008|p=155}}

File:Herodian Kingdom political map.svg

Herod's rule marked a new beginning in the history of Judea. Judea had been ruled autonomously by the Hasmonean kings from 140 until 63 BCE. The Hasmonean kings retained their titles, but became clients of Rome after the conquest by Pompey in 63 BCE. Herod overthrew the Hasmonean Antigonus in a three-year-long war between 37 and 34 BCE, ruled under Roman overlordship until his death {{circa|4 BCE|lk=no}}, and officially passed on the throne to his sons, thus establishing his own, so-called Herodian dynasty.

File:Herod coin1.jpg Hērōdou}}]]

Herod was granted the title of "King of Judea" by the Roman Senate.{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+BJ+1.14.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148 1.14.4]: "...Antony then resolved to get him made king of the Jews ... told them that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king; so they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate was separated{{clarify|date=December 2015}}, Antony and Caesar went out, with Herod between them; while the consul and the rest of the magistrates went before them, in order to offer sacrifices [to the Roman gods], and to lay the decree in the Capitol. Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign."}} As such, he was a vassal of the Roman Empire, expected to support the interests of his Roman patrons. Nonetheless, just when Herod obtained leadership in Judea, his rule faced two threats. The first threat came from his mother-in-law Alexandra, who sought to regain power for her family, the Hasmoneans,{{sfn|Perowne|2003|p=70}} whose dynasty Herod had overthrown in 37 BCE (see Siege of Jerusalem).{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=267}} In the same year, Cleopatra married the Roman leader Antony.{{sfn|Perowne|2003|p=67}} Recognizing Cleopatra's influence over Antony, Alexandra asked Cleopatra for aid in making Aristobulus III the High Priest. As a member of the Hasmonean family, Aristobulus III might partially repair the fortunes of the Hasmoneans if made High Priest. Alexandra's request was made, but Cleopatra urged Alexandra to leave Judea with Aristobulus III and visit Antony. Herod received word of this plot, and feared that if Antony met Aristobolus III in person he might name Aristobulus III King of Judea. This concern induced Herod, in 35 BCE, to order the assassination of Aristobulus, ending this first threat to Herod's throne.{{sfn|Perowne|2003|pp=70–72}} The marriage of 37 BCE also sparked a power struggle between Roman leaders Octavian, who would later be called Augustus, and Antony.{{sfn|Perowne|2003|p=67}} Herod, owing his throne to Rome, had to pick a side, and he chose Antony.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=270}} In 31 at Actium, Antony lost to Octavian, posing a second threat to Herod's rule.{{sfn|Perowne|2003|p=75}} Herod had to regain Octavian's support if he was to keep his throne.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=270}} At Rhodes in 31 BCE, Herod, through his ability to keep Judea open to Rome as a link to the wealth of Syria and Egypt, and ability to defend the frontier, convinced Octavian that he would be loyal to him.{{sfn|Perowne|2003|pp=77–80, 92–93}} Herod continued to rule his subjects as he saw fit. Despite the autonomy afforded to Herod in his internal reign over Judea, restrictions were placed upon him in his relations with other kingdoms.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=270}}

Herod's support from the Roman Empire was a major factor in enabling him to maintain his authority over Judea. There have been mixed interpretations concerning Herod's popularity during his reign. In The Jewish War, Josephus characterizes Herod's rule in generally favorable terms, and gives Herod the benefit of the doubt for the infamous events that took place during his reign. However, in his later work, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus emphasizes the tyrannical authority that many scholars have come to associate with Herod's reign.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=271}}

Herod's despotic rule has been demonstrated by many of his security measures aimed at suppressing the contempt his people, especially Jews, had towards him. For instance, it has been suggested{{By whom|date=July 2024}} that Herod used secret police to monitor and report the feelings of the general populace toward him. He sought to prohibit protests, and had opponents removed by force.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=271}} He had a bodyguard of 2,000 soldiers.{{Cite book |last=Rocca |first=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znRtCb6mXLIC |title=The Army of Herod the Great |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84603-206-6 |pages=15–16 |access-date=2 November 2013}} Josephus describes various units of Herod's personal guard taking part in Herod's funeral, including the Doryphnoroi, and a Thracian, Celtic (probably Gallic) and Germanic contingent. While the term Doryphnoroi does not have an ethnic connotation, the unit was probably composed of distinguished veteran soldiers and young men from the most influential Jewish families. Thracians had served in the Jewish armies since the Hasmonean dynasty, while the Celtic contingent were former bodyguards of Cleopatra given as a gift by Augustus to Herod following the Battle of Actium. The Germanic contingent was modeled upon Augustus's personal bodyguard, the Germani Corporis Custodes, responsible for guarding the palace.File:Jerusalem Modell BW 2.JPG as depicted on the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. The expansion of the Temple was Herod's most ambitious project.]]

File:125425_caesarea_national_park_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg's harbor]]

Herod undertook many colossal building projects. Around 19 BCE, he began a massive expansion project on the Temple Mount. In addition to fully rebuilding and enlarging the Second Jewish Temple, he artificially expanded the platform on which it stood, doubling it in size. Today's Western Wall formed part of the retaining perimeter wall of this platform. In addition, Herod also used the latest technology in hydraulic cement and underwater construction to build the harbor at Caesarea Maritima.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=271}} While Herod's zeal for building transformed Judea, his motives were not selfless. Although he built fortresses (Masada, Herodium, Alexandrium, Hyrcania, and Machaerus) in which he and his family could take refuge in case of insurrection, these vast projects were also intended to gain the support of the Jews and improve his reputation as a leader.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|pp=269–273}} Herod also built Sebaste and other pagan cities because he wanted to appeal to the country's substantial pagan population.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=271}} In order to fund these projects, Herod utilized a Hasmonean taxation system that heavily burdened the Judean people. Nevertheless, these enterprises brought employment and opportunities for the people's provision.Levine, Amy-Jill. "Visions of Kingdoms: From Pompey to the First Jewish Revolt," in The Oxford History of the Biblical World, ed. Michael D. Coogan. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 357. In some instances, Herod took it upon himself to provide for his people in times of need, such as during a severe famine that occurred in 25 BCE.{{Cite book |last=Jagersma |first=Henk |title=A History of Israel from Alexander the Great to Bar Kochba |publisher=SCM Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8006-1890-2 |location=London |page=107 |translator-last=Bowden |translator-first=John}}

Although he made many attempts at conforming to traditional Jewish laws, there were more instances where Herod was insensitive, which constitutes one of the major Jewish complaints of Herod as highlighted in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews. In Jerusalem, Herod introduced foreign forms of entertainment, and erected a golden eagle at the entrance of the Temple,{{Cite journal |last=Bourgel |first=Jonathan |date=1 April 2021 |title=Herod's golden eagle on the Temple gate: a reconsideration |url=https://www.academia.edu/45647596 |journal=Journal of Jewish Studies |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=23–44 |doi=10.18647/3480/jjs-2021 |s2cid=233561671}} which suggested a greater interest in the welfare of Rome than of Jews. Herod's taxes garnered a bad reputation: his constant concern for his reputation led him to make frequent, expensive gifts, increasingly emptying the kingdom's coffers, and such lavish spending upset his Jewish subjects.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|pp=269–273}} The two major Jewish sects of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, both showed opposition to Herod. The Pharisees were discontented because Herod disregarded many of their demands with respect to the Temple's construction. The Sadducees, who were closely associated with priestly responsibilities in the Temple, opposed Herod because he replaced their high priests with outsiders from Babylonia and Alexandria, in an effort to gain support from the Jewish Diaspora.Schiffman, Lawrence H. "The Jewish–Christian Schism," in From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Hoboken: Ktav Publishing House, 1991), p. 145. Herod's outreach efforts gained him little, and at the end of his reign anger and dissatisfaction were common amongst Jews. Heavy outbreaks of violence and riots followed Herod's death in many cities, including Jerusalem, as pent-up resentments boiled over. The scope of the disturbances sparked hopes that the Jews of Judea might some day overthrow the Roman overlords, hopes reawakened decades later in the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War in 66 CE.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|pp=269–273}}

The relationship between Herod and Augustus demonstrates the fragile politics of a deified Emperor and a King who ruled over the Jewish people and their holy lands. As they interacted, Herod's desire to satisfy both the Jewish and non-Jewish people of his kingdom had to be balanced with satisfying Augustus' aim to spread the culture, architecture and values of Rome throughout his empire. The sway of Augustus and the Roman Empire on the policy led to the use of Romanized construction throughout Herod's Kingdom. An example of Herod's architectural expansion of Judea in devotion to Rome can be seen with the third temple he commissioned, the Augusteum, a temple dedicated to Augustus.{{Cite journal |last=Berlin |first=Andrea M. |year=2015 |script-title=he:הורדוסאוגוסטוס והאוגוסטיאום בפניון |trans-title=Herod, Augustus, and the Augusteum at the Paneion |journal=Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies |language=he |volume=לא |pages=1–11 |issn=0071-108X |jstor=24433087 |script-journal=he:ארץ-ישראל: מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה}}

{{Main|Herodian architecture}}

File:Jerusalem Western Wall stones.jpg in Jerusalem]]

Herod's most famous and ambitious project was the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem which was undertaken so that he would "have a capital city worthy of his dignity and grandeur", and with this reconstruction, Herod hoped to gain more support from the Jews.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=270}} Recent findings suggest that the Temple Mount walls and Robinson's Arch may not have been completed until at least 20 years after his death, during the reign of Herod Agrippa II.{{Cite web |date=December 2011 |title=Building the Western Wall: Herod Began it but Didn't Finish it |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/Article_eng.aspx?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1882&hist=1 |access-date=9 November 2014 |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority}}

In the 18th year of his reign (20–19 BCE), Herod rebuilt the Temple on "a more magnificent scale".{{sfn|Barton|1906}} Although work on out-buildings and courts continued for another 80 years, the new Temple was finished in a year and a half.Graetz, Heinrich (1893). History of the Jews: From the Reign of Hyrcanus (135 BCE) to the Completion of the Babylonian Talmud (500 CE), Cosimo, New York, Volume 2, 2009 ed, p. 109 To comply with religious law, Herod employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters in the rebuilding.{{sfn|Barton|1906}} The finished temple, which was destroyed in 70 CE, is sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple. Today, only the four retaining walls remain standing, including the Western Wall. These walls created a flat platform (the Temple Mount) upon which the Temple was then constructed.

Herod's other achievements include the development of water supplies for Jerusalem, building fortresses such as Masada and Herodium, and founding new cities such as Caesarea Maritima and the enclosures of Cave of the Patriarchs and Mamre in Hebron. He and Cleopatra owned a monopoly over the extraction of asphalt from the Dead Sea, which was used in shipbuilding. He leased copper mines on Cyprus from the Roman emperor.

{{Main|Massacre of the Innocents}}

File:Kerald (Meister des Codex Egberti) 001.jpg

File:The Herods of the Bible.svg

The Gospel of Matthew describes an episode known as the Massacre of the Innocents. According to this account, after the birth of Jesus, a group of magi from the East visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews", because they had seen his star in the east (or, according to certain translations, at its rising) and therefore wanted to pay him homage. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the "Anointed One" (the Messiah, {{Langx|el|Ὁ Χριστός|translit=ho Christos|link=none}}) was to be born. They answered, in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2. Herod therefore sent the magi to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the child and, after they had found him, to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". However, after they had found Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod. Similarly, Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to Nazareth in Galilee to avoid living under Herod's son Archelaus.

Most modern biographers of Herod, and a majority of biblical scholars, dismiss Matthew's story as a literary device.{{Cite book |last=Maier |first=Paul L. |title=Chronos, Kairos, Christos II: Chronological, Nativity, and Religious Studies in Memory of Ray Summers |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-86554-582-3 |editor-last=Summers |editor-first=Ray |pages=170–171 |chapter=Herod and the Infants of Bethlehem |editor-last2=Vardaman |editor-first2=Jerry |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&pg=PA169}} Contemporary non-biblical sources, including Josephus and the surviving writings of Nicolaus of Damascus (who knew Herod personally), provide no corroboration for Matthew's account of the massacre,Sanders, E. P. (1994). The Historical Figure of Jesus. Viking Adult. pp. 87–88. and it is not mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. Classical historian Michael Grant states "[t]he tale is not history but myth or folk-lore",{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/herodgreat00gran_0 |title=Herod the Great |publisher=American Heritage Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-07-024073-5}} while Peter Richardson notes that the story's absence from the Gospel of Luke and the accounts of Josephus "work[s] against the account's accuracy".{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWTakr1BbvkC&q=richardson+herod |title=Herod King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-57003-136-6 |page=298}} Richardson suggests that the event in Matthew's gospel was inspired by Herod's murder of his own sons.{{sfn|Richardson|1996|p=288}} Jodi Magness has said that "many scholars believe that the massacre of the innocents never occurred, but instead was inspired by Herod's reputation".{{sfn|Magness|2021|p=126}} Others, such as Paul Maier, suggest that since Bethlehem was a smaller town, the slaughter of about a half dozen children would not have warranted a mention from Josephus.

File:Herodian Tetrarchy political map.svg}}
{{legend inline|#bcbdcf|Territory under Herod Antipas}}
{{legend inline|#e8bd9a|Territory under Philip the Tetrarch}}
{{legend inline|#c6cc9e|Territory under Salome I}}]]

Herod died in Jericho,{{sfn|Britannica}} after an unidentified but excruciatingly painful, putrefying illness, known to posterity as "Herod's Evil".{{Efn|Based on Josephus' descriptions, one medical expert has diagnosed Herod's cause of death as chronic kidney disease complicated by Fournier's gangrene.CNN.com – Health (25 January 2002). [http://edition.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/conditions/01/25/king.herod/ Mystery of Herod's death 'solved'] CNN Archives, 2002. Accessed 30 January 2013.}}[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/196/what-loathsome-disease-did-king-herod-die-of What loathsome disease did King Herod die of?], The Straight Dope, November 23, 1979{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+AJ+17.6.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146 17.6.5]}} Josephus states that the pain of his illness led Herod to attempt suicide by stabbing, and that the attempt was thwarted by his cousin.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D17%3Awhiston+chapter%3D7%3Awhiston+section%3D1 17.7]}} In some much later narratives and depictions, the attempt succeeds; for example, in the 12th-century Eadwine Psalter.{{Cite book |title=English romanesque art 1066–1200: Hayward Gallery; London 5 April–8 July 1984 |publisher=Arts Council of Great Britain |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-7287-0386-5 |editor-last=Zarnecki |editor-first=George |location=London |page=111}} Other medieval dramatizations, such as the Ordo Rachelis, follow Josephus' account.{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Alexander |title=Suicide in the Middle Ages: The Curse on Self-Murder |volume=2 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 | isbn=978-0-19-161399-9}}

Josephus stated that Herod was so concerned that no one would mourn his death that he commanded a large group of distinguished men to come to Jericho, and he gave an order that they should be killed at the time of his death so that the displays of grief that he craved would take place;{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D17%3Awhiston+chapter%3D6%3Awhiston+section%3D5 17.6.5]}} his brother-in-law Alexas and his sister Salome did not carry out this wish.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D17%3Awhiston+chapter%3D8%3Awhiston+section%3D2 17.8.2]}}

{{Anchor|Year of death: either 5, 4 or 1 BCE, or 1 CE}}Most scholarship concerning the date of Herod's death follows Emil Schürer's calculations, which suggest that the date was in or around 4 BCE; this is three years earlier than the previous consensus and tradition (1 BCE).Schürer, Emil. A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Vol. I, Herod the Great pp. 400–467, New York, Scribner's, 1896. [https://archive.org/details/historyofjewishp01sch/]{{sfn|Steinmann|2011|pp=219–256}}Barnes, Timothy David. "The Date of Herod's Death," Journal of Theological Studies ns 19 (1968), 204–219Bernegger, P. M. "Affirmation of Herod's Death in 4 B.C.", Journal of Theological Studies ns 34 (1983), 526–531.Knoblet, Jerry. Herod the Great (University Press of America, 2005), p. 179.

Two of Herod's sons, Archelaus and Philip the Tetrarch, dated their rule from 4 BCE,{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=1.631–632}} though Archelaus apparently held royal authority during Herod's lifetime.{{sfn|The Jewish War|loc=2.26}} Philip's reign would last for 37 years, until his death in the 20th year of Tiberius (34 CE), which implies his accession as 4 BCE.Hoehner, Harold. Herod Antipas, (Zondervan, 1980) p. 251.

Some scholars support the traditional date of 1 BCE for Herod's death.Edwards, Ormond. "Herodian Chronology", Palestine Exploration Quarterly 114 (1982) 29–42Keresztes, Paul. Imperial Rome and the Christians: From Herod the Great to About 200 AD (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1989), pp. 1–43.{{Cite journal |year=1989 |editor-last=Vardaman |editor-first=Jerry |editor2-last=Yamauchi |editor2-first=Edwin M. |title=The Nativity and Herod's Death |journal=Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan |location=Winona Lake, IN |publisher=Eisenbrauns |pages=85–92}}Finegan, Jack. [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/not/2009/00000051/00000001/art00001 Handbook of Biblical Chronology], Rev. ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998) 300, § 516.

Filmer, for example, proposes that Herod died in 1 BCE, and that his heirs backdated their reigns to 4 or 3 BCE to assert an overlapping with Herod's rule, and bolster their own legitimacy.Filmer, W. E. "Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great", Journal of Theological Studies ns 17 (1966), 283–298.Marshall, Taylor. The Eternal City (Dallas: St. John, 2012), pp. 35–65. Based on the coins of Herod's sons Steinmann and Young argue that Herod's sons antedated their reigns to 6 BCE before Herod's death so that their reigns cannot be used to argue for a 4 BCE date for Herod's death.{{Cite journal |last1=Steinmann |first1=Andrew E. |last2=Young |first2=Rodger C. |year=2021 |title=The Case for Antedating in the Reigns of Herod's Sons |journal=Bibliotheca Sacra |volume=178 |pages=436–455}}

In Josephus' account, Herod's death was preceded by first a Jewish fast day (10 Tevet 3761/Sun 24 Dec 1 BCE), a lunar eclipse and followed by Passover (27 March 1 CE).{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+AJ+17.6.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146 17.6.4]}} Objections to the 4 BCE date include the assertion that there was not nearly enough time between the eclipse on March 13 and Passover on April 10 for the recorded events surrounding Herod's death to have taken place.Steinmann, Andrew. [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brilleclipses /not/2009/00000051/00000001/art00001 "When Did Herod the Great Reign?"]{{dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Novum Testamentum, Volume 51, Number 1, 2009, pp. 1–29.

In 66 CE, Eleazar ben Hanania compiled the Megillat Taanit, which contains two unattributed entries for cause of festivity: 7 Kislev and 2 Shevat. A later Scholion (commentary) on the Megillat Taanit attributes the 7 Kislev festivity to king Herod the Great's death (no year is mentioned).[https://web.archive.org/web/20190715202448/http://www.verednoam.com/articles/Noam%20MegillatTaanit.pdf Megillat Taanit – The Scroll of Fasting] by Vered Noam Some scholars ignore the Scholion and attribute the 2 Shevat date instead to Herod's death.

Augustus respected the terms of Herod's will, which stipulated the division of Herod's kingdom among three of his sons.{{harvnb|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=17.12.317–319}}. Augustus "appointed Archelaus, not indeed to be the king of the whole country, but ethnarch of one half of that which had been subject to Herod, and promised to give him the royal dignity hereafter, if he governed his part virtuously. But as for the other half, he divided it into two parts, and gave it to two other of Herod's sons, to Philip and to Herod Antipas, that Herod Antipas who disputed with Archelaus for the whole kingdom. Now, to him it was that Perea and Galilee paid their tribute, which amounted annually to two hundred talents, while Batanea with Trachonitis, as well as Auranitis, with a certain part of what was called House of Lenodorus, paid the tribute of one hundred talents to Philip; but Idumea, and Judea, and the country of Samaria, paid tribute to Archelaus, but had now a fourth part of that tribute taken off by the order of Caesar, who decreed them that mitigation, because they did not join in this revolt with the rest of the multitude." Augustus recognised Herod's son Herod Archelaus as ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from {{Circa|4 BCE|6 CE|lk=no}} Augustus then judged Archelaus incompetent to rule, removed him from power, and combined the provinces of Samaria, Judea proper, and Idumea into Iudaea province.Ben-Sasson, H. H. A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, {{ISBN|978-0-674-39731-6}}, p. 246: "When Archelaus was deposed from the ethnarchy in 6 CE, Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea were converted into a Roman province under the name Iudaea." This enlarged province was ruled by a prefect until the year 41 CE. As to Herod's other sons, Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea from Herod's death to 39 CE when he was deposed and exiled; Philip became tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan, namely Iturea, Trachonitis, Batanea, Gaulanitis, Auranitis and Paneas,{{bibleverse|Luke|3:1}}{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link172HCH0008 Concerning Herod's Death, And Testament, And Burial]}}{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link172HCH0011 An Embassage To Caesar; And How Caesar Confirmed Herod's Testament]}} and ruled until his death in 34 CE.

{{Main|Herodium}}

File:Herods grave israel museum 2013 mrach by history on the map efi elian.jpg]]

The location of Herod's tomb is documented by Josephus, who writes, "And the body was carried two hundred furlongs, to Herodium, where he had given order to be buried."{{harvnb|The Jewish War|loc=5.33.1}}. On the historical circumstances of the building of Herodium, see: Jonathan Bourgel & Roi Porat, "[https://www.academia.edu/45647662/Herodium_as_a_Reflection_of_Herod_s_Policy_in_Judea_and_Idumea Herodium as a Reflection of Herod's Policy in Judea and Idumea]," Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 135/2 (2019), 188–209. Professor Ehud Netzer, an archaeologist from the Hebrew University, read the writings of Josephus and focused his search on the vicinity of the pool and its surroundings. An article in the New York Times states,

Lower Herodium consists of the remains of a large palace, a race track, service quarters, and a monumental building whose function is still a mystery. Perhaps, says Ehud Netzer, who excavated the site, it is Herod's mausoleum. Next to it is a pool, almost twice as large as modern Olympic-size pools.{{Cite web |last=Rosovsky |first=Nitza |date=24 April 1983 |title=Discovering Herod's Israel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/24/travel/discovering-herod-s-israel.html |website=The New York Times}}

On May 7, 2007, an Israeli team of archaeologists of Hebrew University, led by Netzer, announced they had discovered the tomb.{{Cite news |last=Barkat |first=Amiram |date=7 May 2007 |title=Archeologist: King Herod's tomb desecrated, but discovery 'high point' |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/archeologist-king-herod-s-tomb-desecrated-but-discovery-high-point-1.219914 |access-date=7 May 2013 |work=Haaretz}}Associated Press (7 May 2007). [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270575,00.html "Israeli Archaeologist Finds Tomb of King Herod"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206050422/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270575,00.html |date=2008-12-06 }}, FOX News, Accessed 7 May 2013.[http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=634 "Herod's Tomb Discovered"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814131042/http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=634 |date=2007-08-14 }} IsraCast, May 8, 2007. Accessed 7 May 2013.Kalman, Matthew (8 May 2007). [http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/05/08/herods_tomb_reportedly_found_inside_his_desert_palace/ "Herod's tomb reportedly found inside his desert palace"] The Boston Globe, Accessed 7 May 2013. The site is located at the exact location given by Josephus, atop tunnels and water pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to Herodium, {{cvt|12|km|mi}} south of Jerusalem.{{Cite news |last=Weizman |first=Steve |date=8 May 2007 |title=Archaeologists Find Tomb of King Herod |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-07-3709859735_x.htm |access-date=7 May 2013 |work=USA Today |agency=Associated Press}} The tomb contained a broken sarcophagus but no remains of a body.

Not all scholars agree with Netzer: in an article for the Palestine Exploration Quarterly, archaeologist David Jacobson (University of Oxford) wrote that "these finds are not conclusive on their own and they also raise new questions."{{Cite journal |last=Jacobson |first=David |date=January 2007 |title=Editorial: Has Herod's Place of Burial Been Found? |url=https://www.academia.edu/40159748 |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly |volume=139 |issue=3 |pages=207–208 |doi=10.1179/003103207x227346 |s2cid=162335572 |doi-access=free}} In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas also challenged the identification of the tomb as that of Herod. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features. Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification.{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=October 11, 2013 |title=Archaeological stunner: Not Herod's Tomb after all? |url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |work=Haaretz}}

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Gush Etzion Regional Council intend to recreate the tomb out of a light plastic material, a proposal that has received strong criticism from major Israeli archeologists.{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=29 January 2012 |title=Top Archaeologists Condemn Israeli Plan to Rebuild Ancient Tomb |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2012-01-29/ty-article/top-archaeologists-condemn-israeli-plan-to-rebuild-ancient-tomb/0000017f-f569-ddde-abff-fd6d85dc0000 |work=Haaretz}}

Macrobius ({{circa|400 CE|lk=no}}), one of the last pagan writers in Rome, in his book Saturnalia, wrote: "When it was heard that, as part of the slaughter of boys up to two years old, Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered his own son to be killed, he [the Emperor Augustus] remarked, 'It is better to be Herod's pig [Gr. hys] than his son' [Gr. hyios]". This was a reference of how Herod, as a Jew, would not kill pigs, but had three of his sons, and many others, killed.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Raymond |title=The Birth of the Messiah |publisher=Doubleday |year=1993 |location=New York}}

File:Herod coin.jpg]]

According to contemporary historians, Herod the Great "is perhaps the only figure in ancient Jewish history who has been loathed equally by Jewish and Christian posterity", depicted both by Jews and Christians as a tyrant and bloodthirsty ruler. The study of Herod's reign includes polarizing opinions on the man himself. Modern critics have described him as "the evil genius of the Judean nation",Tierney, John. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07289c.htm "Herod: Herod the Great"], Catholic Encyclopedia (1910): "Herod, surnamed the Great, called by Grätz "the evil genius of the Judean nation" [https://archive.org/stream/historyofje02grae#page/76/mode/2up (Hist., v. II, p. 77)]. and as one who would be "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition."{{sfn|Jacobs|Broydé|1906|loc="above all, he was prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition"}} His extraordinary spending spree is cited as one of the causes of the serious impoverishment of the people he ruled, adding to the opinion that his reign was exclusively negative.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=273}} Herod's religious policies gained a mixed response from the Jewish populace. Although Herod considered himself king of the Jews, he let it be known that he also represented the non-Jews living in Judea, building temples for other religions outside of the Jewish areas of his kingdom. Many Jews questioned the authenticity of Herod's Judaism on account of his Idumean background and his infamous murders of members of his family. However, he generally respected traditional Jewish observances in his public life. For instance, he minted coins without human images to be used in Jewish areas and acknowledged the sanctity of the Second Temple by employing priests as artisans in its construction.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=272}}

File:Brooklyn Museum - The Magi in the House of Herod (Les rois mages chez Hérode) - James Tissot.jpg in the House of Herod. James Tissot, late 19th century]]

Along with holding some respect for the Jewish culture in his public life, there is also evidence of Herod's sensitivity toward Jewish traditions in his private life: around 40 ritual baths or {{tlit|he|mikvehs}} were found in several of his palaces.Eyal Regev, "Herod's Jewish Ideology Facing Romanization: On Intermarriage, Ritual Baths, and Speeches," The Jewish Quarterly Review 100 (2010): 210. These {{tlit|he|mikvehs}} were known for being used during this time in Jewish purity rituals in which Jewish people could submerge themselves and purify their bodies without the presence of a priest.Regev, "Herod's Jewish Ideology," 207. There is some speculation as to whether or not these baths were actual {{tlit|he|mikvehs}} as they have also been identified as stepped {{lang|la|frigidaria}} or Roman cold-water baths; however, several historians have identified these baths as a combination of both types.Regev, "Herod's Jewish Ideology," 211. While it has been proven that Herod showed a great amount of disrespect toward the Jewish religion, scholar Eyal Regev suggests that the presence of these ritual baths shows that Herod found ritual purity important enough in his private life to place a large number of these baths in his palaces despite his several connections to gentiles and pagan cults. These baths also show, Regev continues, that the combination of the Roman {{lang|la|frigidaria}} and the Jewish {{tlit|he|mikvehs}} suggests that Herod sought some type of combination between the Roman and Jewish cultures, as he enjoyed the purity of Jewish tradition and the comfort of Roman luxury simultaneously.Regev, "Herod's Jewish Ideology," 212.

However, he was also praised for his work, being considered the greatest builder in Jewish history,{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} and one who "knew his place and followed [the] rules".{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=270}} What is left of his building ventures are now popular tourist attractions in the Middle East.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=296}}

{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2017}}

{{further|Herodian Kingdom of Judea}}

• 39–37 BCE – War against Antigonus the Hasmonean begins. After the conquest of Jerusalem and victory over Antigonus, Mark Antony executes him.
• 36 BCE – Herod makes his 17-year-old brother-in-law Aristobulus III high priest, fearing that the Jews would appoint him as King of the Jews in his place.
• 35 BCE – Aristobulus III is drowned at a party on Herod's orders.
• 32 BCE – The Nabatean war begins, with victory one year later.
• 31 BCE – Judea suffers a devastating earthquake. Octavian defeats Mark Antony, and Herod switches allegiances to him.
• 30 BCE – Herod is shown great favor by Octavian, who confirms him as King of Judea at Rhodes.

File:Bronze coin of Herod the Star minted at Samaria.jpg

• 29 BCE – According to Josephus, amid Herod's great passion and jealousy concerning his wife Mariamne I, she learns of Herod's plans to murder her and stops sleeping with him. Herod charges her with adultery and puts her on trial. His sister Salome I is the primary witness against her. Mariamne's mother Alexandra makes an appearance to further incriminate her daughter. Historians speculate that Alexandra was next on Herod's list to be executed, and she only did this to save her own life. Mariamne is executed, and Alexandra declares herself Queen, stating that Herod was mentally unfit to serve. Josephus states that this is a strategic mistake, and Herod executes her without a trial.
• 28 BCE – Herod executes his brother-in-law Kostobar,{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+AJ+15.7.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146 15.7.8]}} husband of Salome and father to Berenice, for conspiracy. There is a large festival in Jerusalem, as Herod had built a theater and an amphitheater.
• 27 BCE – An assassination attempt on Herod is foiled. To honor now-Emperor Augustus, Herod rebuilt Samaria, and renames it Sebaste.
• 25 BCE – Herod imports grain from Egypt and starts an aid program to combat widespread hunger and disease following a massive drought. He also waives a third of taxes due. He begins construction on Caesarea Maritima and its adjoining harbor.
• 23 BCE – Herod builds a palace in Jerusalem as well as the Herodion fortress. He marries his third wife Mariamne II, the daughter of the priest Simon Boethus. Immediately, Herodes deprives Jesus, son of Fabus of the high priesthood, and confers that dignity on Simon instead.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D15%3Awhiston+chapter%3D9%3Awhiston+section%3D3 15.9.3]}}
• 22 BCE – Augustus grants Herod the regions of Trachonitis, Batanaea, and Auranitis in the northeast.
• {{circa|20 BCE|lk=no}} – Expansion starts on the Temple Mount; Herod completely rebuilds the Second Temple.

File:Herod IMG 0594.JPG]]

• {{circa|18 BCE|lk=no}} – Herod traveled to Rome for the second time.
• 14 BCE – Herod supports the Jews in Anatolia and Cyrene. Owing to prosperity in Judea, he waives a quarter of taxes due.
• 13 BCE – Herod makes his first-born son Antipater, by Doris, first heir in his will.
• 12 BCE – Herod suspects his sons Alexander and Aristobulus, from his marriage to Mariamne, of threatening his life. He takes them to Aquileia to be put on trial. Augustus ultimately reconciles the three. Herod supports the financially strapped Olympic Games and ensures their future. He amends his will so that Alexander and Aristobulus rise in the succession plans, but Antipater remains the primary heir.
• {{circa|10 BCE|lk=no}} – The newly expanded temple in Jerusalem is inaugurated. War breaks out against the Nabateans.
• 9 BCE – Caesarea Maritima is inaugurated. Owing to the course of the Nabatean war, Herod falls out of favor with Augustus. He again suspects Alexander of plotting to kill him.
• 8 BCE – Herod accuses his sons Alexander and Aristobulus of high treason. He reconciles with Augustus, who also gives him permission to prosecute his sons.
• 7 BCE – Court hearings take place in Beirut in front of a Roman court. Alexander and Aristobulus are found guilty and executed. The succession is amended such that that Antipater becomes the exclusive successor to the throne. Herod Philip, his son by Mariamne II, is now second in the line of succession.{{clarification needed|date=November 2023}}
• 6 BCE – Herod takes action against the Pharisees.
• 5 BCE – Antipater is brought before a court, charged with plotting to murder Herod. Now seriously ill, Herod names his son Herod Antipas from his fourth marriage with Malthace as successor.
• 4 BCE – Young disciples of the Pharisees smash the golden eagle over the main entrance of the Temple after their teachers label it as an idolatrous symbol. Herod arrests them, brings them to court, and sentences them. Augustus approves the death penalty for Antipater. Herod executes his son, and changes his will again: now Herod Archelaus, from the marriage with Malthace, would rule as ethnarch over the tetrachy of Judea, while Herod Antipas by Malthace and Philip from Herod's fifth marriage with Cleopatra of Jerusalem would rule as tetrarchs over Galilee and Perea, as well as over Gaulanitis, Trachonitis, Batanaea, and Panias. Salome I was also given a small toparchy in the Gaza region. As Augustus did not confirm this revision, no one receives the title of King. However, the three sons were ultimately granted rule of the stated territories.

It is very probable that Herod had more children, especially with the last wives, and also that he had more daughters, as female births at that time were often not recorded. As polygamy (the practice of having multiple wives at once) was then permitted under Jewish law, Herod's later marriages were almost certainly polygamous.{{sfn|Antiquities of the Jews|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D18%3Awhiston%20chapter%3D1%3Awhiston%20section%3D2 18.1.2–3]}}

In part based on the tree of Rick Swartzentrover.{{efn-lg|name=swartzentrover}}

{{tree chart/start}}

{{tree chart | | | | | Ant |y| Cyp |Ant=Antipater
the Idumaean|Cyp=Cypros
(Nabatean)}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | Pha | | Her | | Sal | | Phe | | Jos |Pha=Phasael|Her=Herod
the Great|Jos=Joseph|Phe=Pheroras|Sal=Salome I| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | |!| | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | Ari |~| Ber |Ari=Aristobulus IV|Ber=Berenice}}

{{tree chart/end}}

{{tree chart/start}}

{{tree chart | | | | | HeG |y| Wif |HeG=Herod
the Great|Wif=1.Doris}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | Ant |Ant=Antipater II
d. 4 BCE}}

{{tree chart | | }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | Hus |y| Wif |Hus=Alexander|Wif=Alexandra}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | Hus |y| Wif | | Ar3 |Ar3=Aristobulus III
d. 35 BCE|Hus=Herod
the Great|Wif=2. Mariamne I
d. 29 BCE}}

{{tree chart | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | Ar4 |y| Ber | | Ale | | Ph2 |~| Sal | | Ant |~| Cyp |Ar4=Aristobulus IV
d. 7 BCE|Ber=Berenice|Ale=Alexander
d. 7 BCE|Sal=Salampsio|Ph2=Phasael II|Cyp=Cypros II{{efn-lg|name=calmet}}|Ant=Antipater{{efn-lg|name=calmet}}}}

{{tree chart | |,|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | Ma3 |~| HAs | | He5 | | Her |~| He2 | | HAa | | ArM |Ma3=Mariamne III|HAs=Herod Archelaus|He5=Herod V|Her=Herodias|He2=1. Herod II {{dubious|NOT! Son of Herod the Great & Mariamne. Who was meant here?|date=December 2015}}
2. Herod Antipas|HAa=Herod Agrippa I|ArM=Aristobulus Minor}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | HA2 | | BdA | | MdA | | DdA |HA2=Herod Agrippa II|BdA=Berenice|MdA=Mariamne|DdA=Drusilla}}

{{tree chart | | }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | SsB |SsB=Simon Boethus
(High Priest)}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | HeG |y| Wif |HeG=Herod
the Great|Wif=3.Mariamne II}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | He2 |He2=Herod II}}

{{tree chart | | }}

{{tree chart | | | | | HeG |y| Wif |HeG=Herod
the Great|Wif=4.Malthace
(Samaritan)}}

{{tree chart | Ar4 | | | | |!| |Ar4=Aretas IV
king of Arabia|}}

{{tree chart | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| }}

{{tree chart | Phs |~| HAn |~| Hds | | Ma3 |~| HAr | | Oly |y| Jos |Phs=1.Phasaelis|HAn=Herod Antipas|Hds=2.Herodias|Ma3=Mariamne III|HAr=Herod Archelaus|Oly=Olympias|Jos=Joseph ben Joseph}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HCh |~| Mar |HCh=Herod of Chalcis|Mar=Mariamne}}

{{tree chart | | }}

{{tree chart | | | | | HeG |y| Wif |HeG=Herod
the Great|Wif=5.Cleopatra
of Jerusalem}}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | |!| }}

{{tree chart | | | | | | | PtT |~| Sal |PtT=Philip the Tetrarch
d. 34 CE|Sal=Salome}}

{{tree chart/end}}

{{notelist-lg|refs=

{{efn-lg|name=swartzentrover|[http://www.swartzentrover.com/cotor/Bible/Bible/NT/Gospel%20&%20Acts/Herod%20FamilyTree.htm Family Tree of Herod] Rick Swartzentrover}}

{{efn-lg|name=calmet|{{Cite book |last=Calmet |first=Augustin |title=Calmets Great dictionary of the holy bible |year=1812 |page=340 |chapter=Cypros II |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hc03AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT340 |via=Google Books}}}}

}}

• The Feast of Herod, The Feast of Herod (Donatello), The Feast of Herod (Rubens)
• Cultural depictions of Herod the Great
• Herod's Palace
• Judean date palm: Germination of 2000-year-old seed
• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Shaye J. D. |title=Ancient Israel: from Abraham to the Roman destruction of the Temple |date=1999 |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |isbn=978-1-880317-53-2 |editor-last=Shanks |editor-first=Hershel |edition=Revised |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=Roman Domination: the Jewish Revolt and the Destruction of the Second Temple}}
• {{Cite book |last=Josephus |author-link=Josephus |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0148 |title=The Jewish War |year=c. 1760 |translator-last=Whiston |ref={{sfnref|The Jewish War}} |author-mask=Josephus |orig-date=c. 75 |translator-given=William}}
• {{Cite book |last=Josephus |author-link=Josephus |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146 |title=Antiquities of the Jews |year=c. 1760 |translator-last=Whiston |ref={{sfnref|Antiquities of the Jews}} |author-mask=Josephus |orig-date=c. 93 |translator-given=William}}
• {{Cite book |last=Magness |first=Jodi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KR4OEAAAQBAJ |title=Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-691-21677-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Perowne |first=Stewart Henry |title=The Life and Times of Herod the Great |publisher=Sutton |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7509-3273-8}}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite EJ |last=Bayer |first=Bathja |title=Herod I |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herod-i |short=yes |orig-date=1971–1972 |ref={{sfnref|Bayer}} |via=Encyclopedia.com}}
• {{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Temple of Herod |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14304-temple-of-herod |first=George A. |last=Barton |year=1906 |via=JewishEncyclopedia.com}}
• {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2023 |title=Herod |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/263437/Herod |access-date=16 November 2023 |last=Perowne |first=Stewart Henry |ref={{sfnref|Britannica}}}}
• {{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Herod I |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=630&letter=H |first=Joseph |last=Jacobs |first2=Isaac |last2=Broydé |year=1906 |via=JewishEncyclopedia.com}}
• {{Cite book |last=Losch |first=Richard R. |title=All the People in the Bible |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8028-2454-7}}
• {{Cite book |last=Steinmann |first=Andrew E. |title=From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology |publisher=Concordia |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7586-2799-5 |location=St. Louis}}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• Bourgel, Jonathan Hérode Roi d'Israël (Paris: Cerf, 2019).
• {{Cite journal |last=Brandon |first=S. G. F. |year=1962 |title=Herod the Great: Judaea's Most Able but Most Hated King |journal=History Today |volume=12 |pages=234–242}}
• {{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Grant (author) |url=https://archive.org/details/herodgreat00gran_0 |title=Herod the Great |publisher=American Heritage Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-07-024073-5 |location=New York}}
• Günther, Linda-Marie (hg.) Herodes und Jerusalem (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2009).
• Günther, Linda-Marie (hg.) Herodes und Rom (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2007).
• Jacobson, David M. and Nikos Kokkinos (eds). Herod and Augustus: Papers Held at the Institute of Jewish Studies Conference, University College London, 21–23 June 2005 (Leiden, Brill, 2009) (IJS Studies in Judaica, 6).
• Kasher, Aryeh and Witztum, Eliezer. King Herod: A Persecuted Persecutor. A Case Study in Psychohistory and Psychobiography (Berlin and New York, Walter de Gruyter, 2006).
• Knoblet, Jerry. [{{googlebooks|tWZW4a95vy0C|plainurl=y}} Herod the Great]. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2005.
• Kokkinos, Nikos. The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998).
• Marshak, Adam Kolman. The Many Faces of Herod the Great. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm B. Eerdmans, 2015.
• {{Cite journal |last=Marshak |first=Adam Kolman |year=2006 |title=The Dated Coins of Herod the Great: Towards a New Chronology |journal=Journal for the Study of Judaism |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=212–240 |doi=10.1163/157006306776564700}}
• Netzer, Ehud. The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006).
• {{Cite book |last=Perowne |first=Stewart |author-link=Stewart Perowne |title=The Life and Times of Herod the Great |publisher=Abingdon |year=1956 |location=New York}}
• Richardson, Peter. Herod the King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans (Edinburgh: 1999).
• {{Cite book |last=Roller |first=Duane W. |title=The Building Program of Herod the Great |publisher=University of California Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-520-91935-8 |location=Berkeley}}
• Schalit, Abraham. Konig Herodes – der Mann und sein Werk. Berlin, 1969 (in German, expansion of the former book by the same name from 1960 in Hebrew: הורדוס המלך – האיש ופועלו. ירושלים: מוסד ביאליק).
• {{Cite book |last=Sandmel |first=Samuel |url=https://archive.org/details/herodprofileofty00sand |title=Herod: Profile of a Tyrant |publisher=Lippincott |year=1967 |location=Philadelphia |url-access=registration}}
• Schwentzel, Christian-Georges (2011). Hérode le Grand. Paris: Pygmalion.
• {{Cite journal |last=Zeitlin |first=Solomon |author-link=Solomon Zeitlin |year=1963 |title=Herod: A Malevolent Maniac |journal=Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.2307/1453457 |jstor=1453457}}
• {{Cite book |last=Zeitlin |first=Solomon |title=The Rise and Fall of the Judean State |publisher=The Jewish Publication Society |date=1962–1978 |location=Philadelphia}}

{{Refend}}

{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130122185817/http://www.imj.org.il/exhibitions/presentation/exhibit.asp?id=850 "Herod the Great: The King's Final Journey"], The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, February 13, 2013 – October 5, 2013. Curators: Dudi Mevorach and Silvia Rozenberg.
• [http://jewishhistory.huji.ac.il/internetresources/historyresources/second_temple_and_talmudic_era.htm#Herod Herod and the Herodian Dynasty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814122639/http://jewishhistory.huji.ac.il/internetresources/historyresources/second_temple_and_talmudic_era.htm#Herod |date=2016-08-14 }} The Jewish History Resource Center – Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

{{S-start}}

{{S-hou|Herodian dynasty||c. 72 BCE||4 or 1 BCE}}

{{S-bef|rows=4|before=Antigonus}}

{{S-ttl|title=King of the Jews|years=37–4 BCE}}

{{S-aft|after=Herod Archelaus}}

{{s-break}}

{{S-ttl|title=Ruler of Galilee|years=37–4 BCE}}

{{S-aft|after=Herod Antipas}}

{{s-break}}

{{S-ttl|title=Ruler of Batanea|years=37–4 BCE}}

{{S-aft|after=Philip}}

{{s-break}}

{{S-ttl|title=Ruler of Iamnia|years=37–4 BCE}}

{{S-aft|after=Salome I}}

{{s-end}}

{{Gospel of Matthew}}

{{New Testament people}}

{{Christmas}}

{{Nativity of Jesus}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:70s BC births

Category:0s BC deaths

Category:1st-century BC Herodian rulers

Category:Biblical murderers

Category:Herodian dynasty

Category:Judaism-related controversies

Category:Masada

Category:New Testament people

Category:Roman client monarchs

Category:People of the War of Actium

Category:People of Antony's Parthian War

Category:Uxoricides

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