Those darn Herods!
Some interest was expressed in an earlier post about the goings on of those pesky Herods. The first was Antipater, father of Herod the Great. He was given a Kingdom which included much of Judea by Julius Caesar. Although best known for his slaughter of babies in Bethlehem, Herod was a great builder and an effective king. He inherited the throne of Judea , and his domains were enlarged by Mark Anthony (to Cleopatra's fury) and later by Augustus. He built an excellent port, numerous other public works and most famously he rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem.He also got an exemtion from the Romans so that the Jews didn't have to participate in the imperial religion. After his death, his domains were distributed among 3 of his sons. Archelaus got the bulk of the kingdom with his full brother Herod Antipas becoming a tetrarch (ruler of a quarter)had the area of Gallilee. Phillip, a half-brother to the other 2, was also a tetrarch, with territory in northern Palestine.
Archelaus was removed by Augustus (and exiled to Gaul[France]) for being unable to keep the peace in his kingdom and Judea became a Roman province. The result was "a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed." The Roman governor during the time of the movie was Pontius Pilate. Meanwhile back in Gallilee, Antipas married his cousin Herodias, the mother of Salome' and she divorced her husband Phillip-Herod (not the tetrarch) who was a yet another half-brother to Antipas. Salome' served Herod Antipas by being married off to Phillip the tetrarch, creating an alliance and linking the 2 thrones. Some time after the execution of Jesus, Pilate was removed from office by the governor of Syria, and recalled to Rome to face the wrath of the emperor Tiberius for failing to quell the numerous disturbances in Judea. Altough Tiberius died in the meantime, his successor Caligula was equally hard on incompetants.He too, was exiled to Gaul, by Caligula.
Meanwhile, back in Rome, the brother of Herodias and also the nephew of Antipas, Herod Aggrippa, the childhood friend of Caligula, was given the land of Judea and Phillip's tetrarcy (he died) as well. The jealous Herodius couldn't bear that her brother was a king and her husband only a tetrarch. So she nagged her husband into taking them to Rome to see the new emperor Claudius (Who ALSO happened to be a good friend of Aggrippa)to get a kingship. Getting wind of this, Aggrippa sent a letter to his imperial pal warning him that Antipas was plotting against him. As a result, instead of a new kingdom, Antipas got exile... to where else? Gaul. Aggrippa them received Gallilee as well. Aggrippa left no adult heir and his kingdom reverted to the Roman province of Judea. His young son, Aggrippa II, was given part of Phillip's old tetrarchy which was administered by a regent. He was the last Herodian ruler. Thus ends the saga of the Herods. Worthy of a nightime soap opera.