Herod I the Great

Herod (Hebrew הוֹרְדוֹס, Hordos; Greek Ἡρῴδης, Hērōdēs), also known as Herod the Great (Greek Μέγας Ήρῴδης) or Herod I (probably in the region of Idumea; 73/74 BC-Jericho, region of Judea; 4 BC), was king of Judea, Galilee, Samaria and Idumea between the years 37 a. C. and 4 a. C. as a vassal of Rome.

He was known for his colossal construction projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (Herod's Temple), the construction of the port of Caesarea Maritima, and the fortresses of Masada and Herodium. There are details of his biography in the work of the I century Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. Herod also appears in the Christian New Testament as the ruler of Judea who ordered the slaughter of the Innocents around the time of Jesus' birth. He created a new aristocracy virtually out of nothing.The story of his legacy has raised mixed opinions, from academics who consider his reign a success and from those who consider him a tyrannical ruler.

In the year 3 B.C. the Emperor Augustus divided the region of Roman Syria among the successors of Herod I. Herod Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea and Samaria; Herod Antipas was appointed Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea; Herod Philip was appointed tetrarch of Batanea, Gaulanítide, Traconítide and Auranítide, and Lysanias was appointed tetrarch of Abilinia. Salome, sister of Herod the Great, received in her brother's will the toparchy of three cities: Yavne (north of Gaza), Ashdod (in Gaza) and Fasayil (east of Judea), which was endorsed by August.

Biography

It is generally accepted that Herod was born around 74 B.C. C. in the region of Idumea, to the south of the region of Judea.However, some authors indicate that he was born around 72 or 71 a. C. he was the second son of Antipater of Idumea, a high-ranking official in the reign of Hyrcanus II, and Cipros, a Nabatean noblewoman. Herod's father was of an Edomite lineage that had converted to Judaism. Herod was raised as a Jew.

Because Antipater was a loyal subject of Hyrcanus, his son Herod was appointed governor of Galilee in 47 BC. C. At that time Herod was between the ages of 25 and 28. His older brother, Phasael, was appointed governor of Jerusalem. Herod had the backing of Rome, but his brutality was condemned by the Sanhedrin.

In the year 41 B.C. C., Herod and his brother Phasael were named tetrarchs by the Roman Marco Antonio. Both replaced Hircano II in the government. Later, Antígono Matatías, nephew of Hyrcanus II, took the throne from his uncle with the help of the Parthian Empire. Herod went to Rome and asked the Romans to restore Hyrcanus to power. The Romans had a special interest in Judea because their general Pompey the Great conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C. C., taking the region to the area of Roman influence.

In Rome, the Senate, in a way not foreseen by Herod, named him "king of the Jews". Josephus places this event in the year of the consulship of Gnaeus Domitius Calvin and Gaius Asinius Pollio (40 BC), but Appian places it in the year 39 BC. C. Herod returned to Judea to take the throne from Antigonus. Near the end of the campaign against Antigonus, Herod married Hyrcanus II's granddaughter Mariamna, who was also Antigonus's niece. Herod thereby attempted to secure his proclamation as monarch and gain favor with the Jews. However, Herod already had a wife, Doris, and a young son, named Antipater, and he chose to banish Doris and her son.

After three years of conflict, Herod and the Romans finally took Jerusalem, and Herod turned Antigonus over to Mark Antony for execution. Herod then takes the role of sole regent of Judea with the title of basileo (Βασιλεύς, "king" in Greek), founding the Herodian dynasty and ending the Hasmonean dynasty. Josefo situates this fact during the consulate of Marco Vipsanio Agrippa and Lucio Caninio Gallo, in the year 37 a. C., but he also says that it occurred exactly 27 years after Pompey's capture of Jerusalem, which indicates that it may have been in 36 B.C. C. Dion Casio informed that in the year 37 a. C. "the Romans achieved nothing worth mentioning" in the area. According to Josephus, Herod ruled for 37 years, 34 of which were after the capture of Jerusalem.

As Herod's family had converted to Judaism, their religious side was questioned by some members of Jewish society. When John Hyrcanus I conquered the region of Idumea (the Biblical land of Edom) around 140-130 to. C., he requested the obedience of the Idumeans to Jewish law on pain of exile; so many Idumeans converted to Judaism and were therefore circumcised. Many married Jews and adopted their customs. Although Herod's propaganda described him as a Jew and he was regarded as such by many, his identification The religious faith was called into question by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians, which earned them the dislike of those who were most attentive to Judaism.

He later executed several members of his own family, including his wife, Mariamna.

Reign

Extension of Herod's kingdom.

Herod's reign marked a new stage in the history of Judea. This had been governed autonomously by the Hasmonean kings since 134 BC. C. until 63 a. C. From this onwards, the Hasmoneans kept their noble titles, but they were vassals of Rome by virtue of the conquest of the territory carried out by Pompey precisely that year. Herod overthrew the Hasmonean Antigonus, an ally of the Parthian Empire, after a war that lasted from 40 to 37 BC. C., and reigned under Rome until his death, in the year 4 a. C., founding the Herodian dynasty for his children.

Herod was invested as "king of the Jews" by the Senate, as a vassal of the Roman Empire, to support its interests. Shortly after his reign began, Herod needed to prove his worth as king to the new emperor, Augustus (who was still known as Octavian), since he had previously sided with his enemy, Mark Antony. Herod succeeded, gained the trust of Augustus and was thus able to continue reigning. Although he had freedom to govern the kingdom in terms of internal affairs, the same was not the case with foreign policy, in which the Romans did impose limitations on him, including in relations with other kingdoms.

Herod's support of the Roman Empire was an important factor in maintaining his authority. There are various interpretations of Herod's popularity during his reign. In the work The Jewish Wars by Flavius Josephus the reign of Herod is described in favorable terms, and the author doubts the participation of the monarch in the infamous events that occurred during his reign. However, in his later work, entitled Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus emphasizes tyrannical authority and some scholars have associated this with Herod's reign. Herod's despotic rule is demonstrated by many of his security measures, designed to repress the contempt his subjects felt towards him, especially the Jews. For example, it has been suggested that Herod used his secret police to monitor and learn about the people's feelings toward him. He attempted to ban protests and removed some opponents by force. He had a personal guard (Latin corporis custodes) of two thousand soldiers. Josephus wrote of the presence of various personal guard units at the king's funeral These units were made up of Doryphnoroi, Thracians, Celts (probably Gauls), and Germans. Although the term Doryphnoroi has no ethnic connotation, the unit may have been made up of veteran soldiers. distinguished men and young men from influential Jewish families. The Thracians had served in Jewish armies since the Asmodean dynasty, while the Celts were Cleopatra's former bodyguards given to Herod by Augustus after the naval battle of Actium. The German contingent came from Augustus' personal guard, the germani corporis custodes, and their function was to protect the palace.

Herod spent large sums of money on various construction projects and making expensive gifts to other rulers, including the Romans. His constructions were based on large and ambitious projects. Herod erected the Temple and part of the hill on which it stands, which today stands as the Western Hill. In addition, he used the latest construction technology, such as hydraulic cement and underwater building for the port of Caesarea.Although Herod's building zeal transformed his domain, it is not clear what caused it. Despite the fact that he built fortresses (Masada, Herodium, Alexandrium, Hyrcania and Macheron) so that his family could take refuge in them in case of insurrection, all his great projects were aimed at winning the support of the Jews and improving his reputation as a sovereign. Although he wanted to win over the sympathy of the Jews, he also built Sebaste and other pagan cities, because he also wanted to curry favor with the large pagan population. However, to defray these expenses, he used a Hasmonean tax system that was a great expense. burden for the Jewish people. Despite the financial burden of his construction projects and the gifts he made, these also entailed the creation of jobs and opportunities for people. In some cases, Herod himself was in charge of helping his people in hardship, as during the great famine that took place in the year 25 a. C.

Although he tried to follow the traditional Jewish laws, there were several moments in which Herod ignored them, which earned him the greatest reproaches from the Jews, according to the work Antiquities of the Jews. In Jerusalem, he introduced foreign forms of entertainment, and erected a golden eagle at the entrance of the Temple to satisfy the Romans. Taxation policy brought him a bad reputation, and his constant concern to improve it and achieve prestige led him to make onerous gifts whose The costs emptied the public coffers, which also generated complaints among the Jews. The two most important Jewish sects during his reign, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, opposed Herod. The former were angry because the king had ignored many of his requests about the construction of the Temple. For their part, the latter, who were known for their priestly responsibilities in the temple, opposed the king because he replaced the high priests with foreigners from Babylonia and Alexandria, in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Jews of the Diaspora. These efforts they were not effective, and by the end of the reign there was a climate of disgust and disaffection among most Jews. After Herod's death, serious riots broke out in several cities, including Jerusalem, similar to those that had occurred before against the royal works. In these riots the decrease of Roman control over the territory was demanded. Herod's rule was the original cause of the anger that led to the great revolt of AD 70. C.

Architectural work

Model of Herod's Temple.

Herod's most famous project was the rebuilding and expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, in order to "have a capital worthy of his dignity and greatness" and to win the support of the Jews. Recent discoveries indicate that the walls of the Temple Mount and Robinson's Arch may not have been completed until 20 years after his death, during the reign of Herod Agrippa.

In the eighteenth year of his reign (20 or 19 BC), Herod began rebuilding the temple on a "larger scale". The new temple was completed in a year and a half, though construction of the surrounding buildings continued for 80 years. To meet religious standards, Herod employed 1,000 priests as stone carvers and carpenters in the rebuilding. The completed temple, which was destroyed in AD 70. C., is sometimes called the Temple of Herod. Today, only four walls remain standing, including the Wailing Wall. These walls surrounded a flat platform at the top of the mount, on which stood the temple.

Other works of Herod include the development of a water supply system for Jerusalem, the construction of fortresses (such as Masada and Herodium), the founding of new cities (such as Caesarea Maritima), as well as the enclosure of holy places (like the surroundings of the Cave of the Patriarchs and of Marne, in Hebron). Herod and Cleopatra held a monopoly over the mining of pitch from the Dead Sea, which was used for shipbuilding. He also had the authorization of the Roman emperor to extract copper from the mines of Cyprus.

Herod in the New Testament

The Matanza de los InocentesGuido Reni, c. 1612. National Bologna Pinacoteca.

Herod appears in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-23). Matthew describes an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents. According to this account, after the birth of Jesus, some Wise Men from the East saw a star in the east (other translations say it was at "dawn") which indicated to them that the king of the Jews. These magicians went to ask Herod about this matter. Herod, as king of the Jews, was frightened by the appearance of a usurper. Herod gathered the priests and the scribes in an assembly and asked them where "The Anointed" (Messiah in Hebrew; Ὁ Χριστός, ho Christos in Greek). They responded by saying that in Bethlehem, in reference to the prophecy of the Book of Micah (Micah 5:2). For this reason, Herod sent the magi to Bethlehem, a town in the Judean region, with instructions to look for the child and, after finding him, to report to him so that he could go and worship him. However, when the wise men found Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to inform Herod. Similarly, Joseph (Jesus' father) was warned in a dream that Herod would try to kill Jesus, so he and his family went to Egypt. When Herod realized that he had been ignored, he gave the order to kill all children under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. According to Matthew, then a prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled. Matthew quotes almost verbatim from Jeremiah 31:15:

In Rama a voice was heard,

There were tears and groaning:
It's Rachel, who's crying to her children.
And he doesn't want to be comforted,

'Cause they don't exist anymore.

Matthew 2:18

According to Matthew, Joseph and his family remained in Egypt until Herod died, and then moved to the town of Nazareth, in the Galilee region, to avoid living under the rule of the son of Herod I in charge of the governorship of Judea., Herod Archelaus.

Herod, in a detail of the work The massacre of the innocent (1482), by Matteo di Giovanni.

Although Herod was guilty of the murder of his wife and two of his children, there are no contemporary sources referring to the Massacre of the Innocents. The absence of sources may be due to the fact that Bethlehem was a small town and the number of male children under the age of two may not have exceeded 20. Most recent biographies of Herod doubt that the event took place. However, Stewart Perowne says that the massacre is "entirely consistent with everything that we know about him". In any case, there is no documentation to support it except for the arguments that each one puts forward. Jack Finegan, A. Schalit, and Richard T. France support the historicity of the fact or say that there is no nothing to prevent Herod from ordering that.

This story served Dionysus the Meager to historically orient the birth of Christ, thus being able to mark the beginning of the Christian era, the basis of the current Gregorian calendar.

Death of Herod

Herod died in Jericho. Regarding the year, Flavius Josephus says that he died thirty-seven years after the Romans made him king and thirty-four years after he took Jerusalem (Jewish Antiquities, book XVII, chap. VIII, sec. 1). In dating the time he was made king by Rome, Josephus uses consular dating according to the years of the Roman consuls' magistracy. According to Josephus, Herod was made king in 40 B.C. C. (Apiano dates the appointment of him in the year 39 a.). Josephus dates the capture of Jerusalem by Herod in the year 37 a. C., twenty-seven years after Pompeyo took the city (63 BC). (Jewish Antiquities, book XIV, chap. XVI, sec. 4). Therefore, the date of his death, according to this calculation, would be the year 3 or 4 BC. c.

Since the work of scholar Emil Schürer in 1896, most scholars agree that Herod died between late March and early April of 4 BC. C. In favor of the hypothesis that presents the year 4 d. C. as the date of his death includes the fact that the sons of Herod, who reigned in different regions of his kingdom, dated his government from the year 4 d. C. Josefo says that the Tetrarch Herodes Filipo died after 37 years of government, in the year 20 of the government of Tiberius (year 34 AD), so he would have begun to reign between the year 3 or 4 a. C. Other scholars have continued to support the traditional date of 1 BCE. In particular, Filmer and Steinmann believe that while they admit that Herod was made king by the Roman Senate in 39 B.C. C., he died in 1 a. C. His thesis tries to validate the evangelical accounts of the birth of Christ. For this they affirm that the heirs of Herod dated the governments of him from before his death, from the year 4 or 3 a. C. They speculate that at least Archelaus would have exercised, apparently, royal prerogatives during the life of his father.

Josephus says that Herod died after a lunar eclipse. He lists a series of events between this eclipse and his death, and between his death and the Passover. Effective March 13, 4 AM. C. an eclipse of the moon took place, about 29 days before Easter, and that eclipse is the one traditionally associated with the account of Josephus. However, there were other eclipses around that date, and there are academics who propose the total lunar eclipse of March 23, 5 B.C. C. For its part, there was also an eclipse of the Moon in the year 1 BC. C., about three months before Easter. In addition, this eclipse was total, while that of the year 4 a. C. was only partial. The total eclipse of the year 1 a. C. occurred on January 8 (January 10 in the Julian calendar), 18 days before Sebat 2, the traditional day of Herod's death.

Josephus wrote that Herod's final illness (sometimes called "Herod's disease") was very severe. Based on Josephus's descriptions, an expert physician has diagnosed Herod's cause of death as a chronic kidney disease, complicated by Fournier's gangrene. Other recent investigations have mentioned that his disease was a scabies that led to worms, putrefaction and that it was accompanied by psychiatric disorders.

Josephus wrote that Herod was so concerned that no one mourned his death that he sent a large group of distinguished men to Jericho and had them executed at the moment of death to ensure there was no sign of grief. for them, their sister Salome and their son Archelaus did not fulfill this mandate.

The division of the kingdom of Herod:
Herod ArchelausHerod AntipasHerod Philippi IISalome IRoman province of SyriaAutonomous cities of the city

In the year 3 B.C. C. Emperor Augustus divided the region of Palestine between the successors of Herod I. Herod Archelaus was named ethnarch of Judea and Samaria; Herod Antipas was appointed Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea; Herod Philip was appointed tetrarch of Batanea, Gaulanítide, Traconítide and Auranítide, and Herod Lysanias was appointed tetrarch of Abilinia; Salome, sister of Herod the Great, received in her brother's will the toparchy of three cities: Yavne (north of Gaza), Ashdod (in Gaza) and Fasayil (east of Judea), which was endorsed by August.

Herod's "suicide attempt"

Josephus wrote that the pain of his illness led Herod to attempt to kill himself by stabbing himself, but he was discovered by his cousin and prevented from killing himself. Much later sources claim that Herod committed suicide, and this is sometimes depicted in medieval art (for example, in the 12th century Eadwine psalm book) and dramaturgy, although other plays follow Josephus' account and present only his failed attempt to take his own life, such as the play Ordo Rachelis.

Herod's Tomb

Air photo of the ruins of Herodion's fortress, from the southwest.

The location of Herod's tomb was documented by Josephus, who wrote, "and the body was carried through two hundred stades, towards Herodium, where he had given orders to be buried".

Josephus gives more clues about the tomb, like the monuments to Herod:

And they threw it under the hedges and walls that the inhabitants had made in their gardens and the orchards of trees, and cut off all the fruit trees that were between them and the wall of the city, and filled all the spaces with holes and the simes, and demolished the rocky precipices with iron tools; so attached the whole place from the Scopus to the monuments to Herod,

Academic Ehud Netzner, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University, analyzed the writings of Josephus and focused on finding the area around the pool. In a 1983 New York Times article his hypothesis was mentioned:

The lower part of Herodion preserves the remains of a large palace, a racing room, a service building and a monumental building whose function remains a mystery. Perhaps, says Ehud Netzer, who excavated in the place, it is Herod's mausoleum. Next there is a swimming pool, which is almost twice as much as modern Olympic pools.

It took Netzner thirty-five years to find the exact location until, on May 7, 2007, a team of Israeli archaeologists from the Hebrew University that he led announced that they had discovered the tomb. It is located at the same site indicated by Josephus, above the tunnels and the pool, in a flat desert area halfway up the hill of Herodium, 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem. The tomb contained a Broken sarcophagus, but no remains of the body.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Gush Etzion Regional Council attempted to make a replica of the tomb using a lightweight plastic material.

In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas argued that the identified tomb was not Herod's. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has some features that make this unlikely. Roi Porat, who replaced Netzner as head of the excavations after his death, maintained the identification of Herod's tomb.

Academic opinion on his reign

The study of Herod's reign includes mixed opinions. His critics have described him as "a madman who killed members of his own family and a large number of rabbis", "the evil genius of the Jewish nation", and someone who "was prepared to commit any crime to satisfy his desire." unlimited ambition". His extraordinary expense is mentioned as the cause of the serious impoverishment of the people he ruled, to which is added the opinion that his reign was completely negative.

Herod's religious policies elicited mixed responses from the Jewish people. Although Herod considered himself the king of the Jews, he let it be believed that he also represented the non-Jews who lived in Judea, building temples for other religions outside the Jewish areas of his kingdom. Many Jews questioned the authenticity of Herod's Judaism because of his Idumean origin and the infamous murders of his family members. However, Herod used to follow the Jewish rules in his public life. For example, he produced coins without human images so they could be used in Jewish areas and recognized the sanctity of the Second Temple by using priests in its reconstruction.

Nonetheless, he was also praised for his works, being called the "greatest builder in Jewish history", and someone who "knew to be in his place and followed the rules". In fact, the remains of his buildings are today well-known tourist attractions in the Near East, and many have historical and religious content.

Timeline

30s B.C. C

• 39-37 B.C.: War on Antigon. After the conquest of Jerusalem and the victory over Antigone, Marco Antonio executes it.
• 36 B.C.: Herod appoints his 17-year-old brother-in-law, Aristobulus III, high priest, and fears that the Jews name Aristobulus III "king of the Jews" instead.
• 35 B.C.: Aristobulus III is drowned in a feast by Herod's order.
• 32 B.C.: The war against the Nebatians begins, with victory one year later.
• 31 B.C.: Judea suffers from a devastating earthquake. Octavio defeats Marco Antonio, so that Herod narrows his alliance with Octavio, which would later be Augustus.
• 30 a. C.: Herod receives the approval of Octavio, which reaffirms him in Rhodes as "king of the Jews."

20s a. C

• 29 BC: Josephus says that Herod was very passionate and very jealous with his wife, Mariamna I. She discovered that Herod planned to kill her, and stopped sleeping with him. Herod accused her of adultery. Her sister, Salome I, was the main witness against her. Mariamna I's mother, Alejandra, also framed her own daughter. Historians say that their mother was going to be the next person executed and that she did it to save her own life. Mariamna was executed, and Alexandra proclaimed herself queen, arguing that Herod was mentally incapable of governing. Josephus wrote that this was the strategic error of Alejandra, for Herod executed her without trial.
• 28 B.C.: Herod executed his brother-in-law Kostobar (Mr. of Salome, father of Berenice) as a conspirator. There was a great festival in Jerusalem because Herod had built a theater and an amphitheater.
• 27 BC: An attempt to murder Herod fails. To honor Augustus, Herod rebuilt Samaria and renamed it as Sebaste (August in Greek is Sebaste).
• 25 a. C.: Herod imported grain from Egypt and began a program of aid to combat the great famine and the diseases that were caused by a great drought. He also gave up a third of the taxes. The construction of Cesarea Maritime and its port began.
• 23 B.C.: Herod built a palace in Jerusalem and Herodion's fortress in Judea. He married his third wife, Mariamna II, the daughter of the priest Simon ben Boethus; immediately after Herod deprived Jesus ben Fabus of his role as high priest and gave him that charge to Simon.
• 22 B.C.: The Roman Emperor Augustus gives him the regions of Traconítide, Batanea and Auranítide, northeast.
• Around 20 B.C.: The expansion of the Temple Mount begins and Herod finishes the reconstruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.

Years 10 a. C

• Around 18 B.C. Herod traveled, for the second time, to Rome.
• 14 BC: Herod supports the Jews of Anatolia and Cyrene. Because of Judea's prosperity, he forgives a quarter of the taxes.
• 13 B.C.: Name your firstborn Antiposter (son of Doris) first on the line of succession.
• 12 a. C.: Herod suspects that the children he had with Mariamna I, Alexander and Aristobulus want to kill him. He sends them to Aquile to be judged. Augusto reconciles all three. Herod financially supports the Olympic Games, which had financial problems, and guarantees their continuity. Modify your will to remove Alexander and Aristobulus from the actual succession, and Antiposter remains the first in the line of succession.
• Around 10 B.C.: An enlargement of the temple is opened. The war against the Nebatians begins.

Last decade of the 1st century BC. C

Herod's tomb.

• 9 a. C.: Cesarea Maritime is inaugurated. Given the course of the war against the Nebatians, Herod fell in disgrace before Augustus. Herod again suspects that Alexander is urging a confabulation to kill him.
• 8 a. C.: Herod accuses his sons Alexander and Aristobulus of high treason. Herod is reconciled with Augustus, who gives him permission to proceed legally against his children.
• 7 BC: A Roman court held a hearing in Beirut. His sons Alexander and Aristobulus were found guilty and executed. Antiposter became the only heir to the throne. Later, he joined Herod Philip, the son of Mariamna II as second in the successor order.
• 6 a. C.: Herod acted against the Pharisees.
• 5 a. C.: Antiposter was brought before a court accused of trying to murder the king. He, then seriously ill, appointed his son Herod Antipas (from his fourth wife, Maltace) successor.
• 4 BC: Young disciples of the Pharisees destroy the golden eagle placed at the entrance of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Pharisees adoctrinated them by telling them that it was a Roman idolatry symbol. Herod arrested them, brought them to trial and sentenced them to death. Augustus approved the death penalty for Antiposter. Then Herod adjusted his son and changed his will again with the following provisions: Herod Arquelao (of Maltace) would be king of Judea and Samaria; Herod Philippi (of Cleopatra of Jerusalem), Enarca of Baulanítide, Batanea and Traconítide; Herod Antipas (of Maltace), tetrarch of Galilee and Perea; Lisanias (from Malta) This will must be validated by Augustus.
• 3 B.C.: Augustus accepted the will with some modifications in the territorial divisions in the area and gave no one the title of king.

Wives and children

It is very likely that Herod had more sons, especially with his later wives, and also that he had more daughters, since female births were sometimes not recorded at that time.

Family tree