HEROD I THE GREAT
73 BC - 4 (?) BC

Herod was the smooth talking, jealous, and murderous type. He was Arabic by blood, Jewish by religion, Roman by citizenship, and king of Judaea by trade.

Herod became famous for his many building projects and infamous for killing all boys two years and under in Bethlehem and its neighborhood in an attempt to get rid of Jesus, a possible rival to the throne, or so it was gossiped.

Herod was a skilled horseman, military commander, diplomat, and warrior. One year he even partook in the Olympic Games.


HEROD'S FAMILY
Herod's father was Antipater. A Jewish general poisoned Antipater in the year 43 BC and regretted it later when Herod returned the favor and killed him.

Herod's mother was Cypros, a high society girl from Petra, Jordan.

Herod was his father's second son. Herod's brothers were Phasael, Joseph, and Pheroras. Herod's sister was Salome.

With his 10 wives and 15 children, Herod made Henry VIII look like an amateur. Some of the wives and children were the following:

Herod's first wife was Doris. They had a son together, Antipater. Both mother and son were sent away by Herod so that he could marry Mariamne I. Herod then changed his mind and had Mariamne I, her two sons (Alexander and Aristobulus,) her brother, her grandfather, and her mother (Alexandra) killed.

Mariamne II was the daughter of High Priest Simon. With her Herod had a son named Philip, or Herod Philip.

Another wife was Cleopatra of Jerusalem. Their son was called Philip.

Yet another wife was Malthace, with whom Herod had two sons: Archelaus and Herod Antipas (the one who killed John the Baptist.)

Confused? Check out the Herodian Dynasty.

HEROD'S POLITICAL ALLIANCES AND CAREER
Herod was pro-Roman. In fact, his family was granted Roman citizenship by Julius Caesar. It was tricky to brown-nose the Roman rulers because they changed so rapidly and were naturally each other's enemies.

But Herod kept up with the changes and switched his allegiances very skillfully: From Julius Caesar to Gaius Cassius to Mark Antony to Octavian (Augustus Caesar.)

Herod became governor of Galilee in 47 BC. In 41 BC Herod was made tetrarch of Galilee.


HEROD THE KING
Civil war broke out in Palestine in the year 40 BC. Herod fled to Rome, where the Romans declared him king of the Jews and equipped him with an army to make people back home understand his new position.

Herod went back, kicked butt, took names, and ruled as king of Judaea from 37 BC - 4 (?) BC.
 

HEROD'S POPULARITY
Herod was not admired at all by the Jews.
 

MAP OF HEROD'S KINGDOM
Click to enlarge

HEROD'S BUILDING PROJECTS
Herod's building projects were many and most impressive. Some of them were the entire city of Caesarea including its artificial port, and the city of Sebaste (formerly Samaria.)

Herod also built an abundance of temples and Herod didn't really seem to care who was going to be worshipped in them. For instance, the temple for the Jews in Jerusalem (which was completed in 64 AD, four years before the Romans destroyed it again,) many temples in honor of Caesar Augustus, and a temple at Rhodes in honor of Apollo.


HEROD'S DEATH
Herod became very ill and died in Jericho.

On his deathbed, Evil Herod had a feeling that not too many tears would be shed upon the news of his death. To make sure the day of his death would be a bad day for the Jews and to increase the general amount of mourning, Herod imprisoned the Who's Who of Jewish society and ordered to execute the entire bunch of them the second he died. When he finally died, however, his orders were not carried out and the prisoners were sent home unharmed.

In May 2007, Israeli archaeologist Ehud Netzer claimed to have found Herod's tomb at Herodium (today's Israeli-occupied West Bank.) Read the Washington Post article.

HEROD'S SUCCESSORS
Herod was succeeded by his sons Archelaus, Philip, and Antipas, who divided Herod's kingdom among themselves as follows:

Herod Archelaus - Judaea, Samaria, Idumaea

Philip - Iturea

Herod Antipas - Galilee and Peraea

HEROD' THE GREAT TRIVIA
Herod's life was made into a movie in 1959 - Herod the Great.

Two of the main sources of information about Herod and the Herodian Dynasty are the New Testament and Flavius Josephus.

And here are some Jerusalem maps

Ancient Jerusalem

Jerusalem 1187 AD