Herodian dynasty
Antipater and the Herodian dynasty (c. 47 BCE-39 CE): Herod the Great, his building works, and his sons Archelaus, Antipas and Philip.
Category: States
- 47 BCEAntipater helps Caesar; the Herodian rise
In 47 BCE Antipater the Idumaean, adviser to Hyrcanus II, helps Julius Caesar at Alexandria and is rewarded with Roman citizenship and the post of procurator of Judea. He gives his sons Phasael and Herod the governorships of Jerusalem and Galilee. He is poisoned in 43.
- 40 BCEParthians install Antigonus; Herod named king
In 40 BCE the Parthians invade Syria and back Antigonus, last Hasmonean ruler, who takes Jerusalem and mutilates Hyrcanus II so he cannot be high priest. Herod flees to Rome, where the Senate names him king of Judea (40 or 39, by source).
- 37 BCEHerod takes Jerusalem
In 37 BCE (36 by some arguments) Herod, with Roman help, takes Jerusalem after a siege and ends Hasmonean rule. Antigonus is executed, beheaded by Antony according to Josephus.
- c. 31 BCEHerod switches sides to Octavian
Herod had backed Antony. After Actium in 31 BCE he meets Octavian at Rhodes (31 or 30, by source) and is confirmed as king by Octavian, soon Augustus.
- c. 25 BCEHerod builds Caesarea Maritima
Between about 25 and 9 BCE Herod builds the port city of Caesarea Maritima, inaugurated in 9 BCE. When Judea becomes a province in 6 CE it is the seat of the Roman governor, and the Pilate Stone was found there.
- c. 20 BCEHerod rebuilds the Temple
About 20-19 BCE Herod begins rebuilding the Second Temple and its platform. The sanctuary is done in about a year and a half; ancillary works go on for roughly 80 years. This is the Temple of Jesus's time, destroyed by Rome in 70 CE.
- c. 5 BCEThe birth of Jesus (traditional)
Matthew places Jesus's birth in the reign of Herod, so before 4 BCE; scholars give a range of 7 to 2 BCE. Luke links it to the census of Quirinius, in 6 CE, which most critical scholars take as an error. Both put it in Bethlehem; the Gospels give no year.
- 4 BCEHerod the Great dies
Herod dies in 4 BCE by most scholars' reckoning (1 BCE by another school). Augustus honors his will: Archelaus gets Judea, Samaria and Idumea, Antipas Galilee and Perea, Philip lands to the north-east. The Massacre of the Innocents appears only in Matthew.
- 6Judea becomes a Roman province
In 6 CE Augustus deposes Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, and turns Judea into a Roman province under a prefect, the first being Coponius. The capital moves from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Syria's legate Quirinius takes a census for taxes.
- c. 28John the Baptist preaches and is killed
About 28-29 CE John the Baptist preaches and baptizes; Jesus's baptism by him is among the events scholars accept most widely. Herod Antipas has John killed, around 30. The Gospels cite his rebuke of Antipas's marriage; Josephus says Antipas feared revolt.
- 41Agrippa I rules Judea
Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great and friend of Claudius, helps Claudius to the throne and in 41 CE receives Judea, Samaria and Idumea, a realm about as large as Herod's. He dies at Caesarea in 44, and Judea returns to direct Roman rule under procurators.