Jewish Bubba: Herod's Dynasty/Rulers From 47 BCE to 100 CE

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Herod's Dynasty/Rulers From 47 BCE to 100 CE

Nadene Gokldfoot

List of Herodian rulers (47 BCE – 100 CE)

1. Antipater the Idumaean (Procurator of Judaea) 47–44 BCE
👨 2 Herod the Great
- Governor of Galilee 47–44 BCE
- Tetrarch of Galilee 44–40 BCE
- Elected king of all Judaea by the Roman Senate 40 BCE, reigned 37–4 BCE
- 👨 2 Phasael (Governor of Jerusalem) 47–40 BCE
Pheroras (Governor of Perea) 20–5 BCE
Herod Archelaus (Ethnarch of Judaea) 4 BCE – 6 CE
Herod Antipas (Tetrarch of Galilee) 4 BCE – 39 CE
Philip the Tetrarch (Tetrarch of Batanaea) 4 BCE – 34 CE
Salome I (Tetrach of Jabneh) 4 BCE – 10 CE
Tigranes V of Armenia (King of Armenia) 6–12 CE
👦 3. Herod Agrippa
- Grandson of Herod the Great (son of Aristobulus)
- King of Batanaea 37–41 CE
- King of Galilee 40–41 CE
- King of all Judaea 41–44 CE, previously Judaea (Roman province), gifted to him by Claudius, and reinstated as a province after his death.
Herod of Chalcis (King of Chalcis) 41–48 CE
👿 4. Herod Agrippa II
- Son of Agrippa I
- Tetrarch of Chalcis 48–53 CE
- King of Batanaea 53–100 CE
Helped Titus in siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE
👦 5. Aristobulus V of Chalcis
- King of Armenia Minor 55–72 CE
- Tetrarch of Chalcis 57–92 CE
- a son of Herod of Chalcis and his first wife Mariamne. Herod of Chalcis, ruler of Chalcis in Iturea, was a grandson of Herod the Great through his father, Aristobulus IV.
Tigranes VI of Armenia (King of Armenia) 58–61 CE
also known as Tigran VI or by his Roman name Gaius Julius Tigranes was a Herodian Prince and served as a Roman Client King of Armenia in the 1st century. He was the child born to Alexander by an unnamed wife.
Gaius Julius Alexander (King of Cetis) 58–72 CE
a Herodian Prince who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire. Alexander was of Jewish, Nabataean, Edomite, Greek, Armenian and Persian ancestry. He was the son of the Herodian Prince, later king Tigranes VI of Armenia and his wife Opgalli.

In Eretz Yisrael in the beginning was a small area called Edom AKA Idumea/Mount Seir. It was a mountainous land and easily fortified and was very fertile. Edom lay South of the Dead Sea and bordered on the Red Sea at Elath and Ezion Gaeber. The Edomites were Semites, traditionally descendants of Esau, son of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob, (Gen 36:1) and lived by hunting.

During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus (134–104 BCE), Judea conquered Edom (Idumea) and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.

The Edomites were gradually integrated into the Judean nation, and some of them reached high-ranking positions. In the days of Alexander Jannaeus, the Edomite Antipas, was appointed governor of Edom. His son Antipater, father of Herod the Great, was the chief adviser to Hasmonean Hyrcanus II and managed to establish a good relationship with the Roman Republic, who at that time (63 BCE) extended their influence over the region, following conquest of Syria and intervention in a civil war in Judea.

Julius Caesar appointed Antipater to be procurator of Judea in 47 BCE and he appointed his sons Phasael and Herod to be governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively. Antipater was murdered in 43 BCE; however, his sons managed to hold the reins of power and were elevated to the rank of tetrarchs in 41 BCE by Mark Antony.

The Herodian dynasty was a royal dynasty of Idumaean (Edomite) descent, ruling the Herodian Kingdom and later the Herodian Tetrarchy, as a vassal state of the Roman Empire. The Herodian dynasty began with Herod the Great, who assumed the throne of Judea, with Roman support, bringing down the century long Hasmonean Kingdom.

His kingdom lasted until his death in 4 BCE, when it was divided between his sons as a Tetrarchy, which lasted for about 10 years. Most of those tetrarchies, including Judea proper, were incorporated into Judaea Province from 6 CE, though limited Herodian de facto kingship continued until Agrippa I's death in 44 CE and nominal title of kingship continued until 92 CE, when the last Herodian monarch, Agrippa II, died and Rome assumed full power over his de jure domain.

In 40 BCE, the Parthians invaded the eastern Roman provinces and managed to drive the Romans out of many areas. In Judea, the Hasmonean dynasty was restored under king Antigonus as a pro-Parthian monarch.

Herod the Great, the son of Antipater the Idumean and Cypros (possibly of Nabataean descent), managed to escape to Rome. After convincing the Roman Senate of his sincere intentions in favor of Romans he eventually was announced as king of the Jews by the Roman Senate. Despite his announcement as king of the whole of Judea, Herod did not fully conquer it until 37 BCE. He subsequently ruled the Herodian kingdom as a vassal king for 34 years, crushing the opposition while also initiating huge building projects, including the harbor at Caesarea Maritima, the plaza surrounded by retaining walls at the Temple Mount, the Masada and the Herodium, among other fortresses and public works. Herod ruled Judea until 4 BCE; at his death, his kingdom was divided among his three sons as a tetrarchy.