79 BC Alexander Jannaeus died, leaving the kingdom of Judea to his widow, Alexandra Salome.
73 BC Herod the Great is born. He is the second son of Antipater, an Idumaean. The Idumaeans were descended from the Old Testament people of Edom. These people had moved from the southeastern shores of the Dead Sea to the deserts south of Judea. They were conquered by the Maccabees and forced to convert to Judaism. Thus Herod could make a claim to be a Jew although his mother was probably a Nabatean Arab.
67 BC Alexandra Salome died, leaving the kingdom of Judea to her son Hyrcanus II. However, within three months, her other son, Aristobulus II, rose up in rebellion against his older brother. Hyrcanus II was defeated and took refuge among the Nabateans. But Antipater, Herod's father convinced the Nabateans to help Hyrcanus II regain the throne. Antipater wanted Hyrcanus II on the throne because Hyrcanus was a weak ruler. Antipater wanted to be the power behind the throne so that he could be in control. The war was on again.
63 BC The Roman General Pompey defeated the Greek kingdom of the Seleucids. Then, since the Roman armies were in Syria, Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II both appealed to Rome for help. The Romans chose to help Hyrcanus II because he was weaker. They took Jerusalem and restored Hyrcanus to the postition of High Priest, but he was not king. Apparently, the Romans appointed Antipater, Herod's father to be the civil administrator. The Romans felt that Antipater represented their interests better than Hyrcanus II. Unrest continued however. Aristobulus' son, Antonigus would eventually lead a revolt.
47 BC The Romans momentarily settled the troubles in Judea. At that time they seem to have given Herod's father effective control of the civil government. Antipater appointed his first son, Phasael, governor of Jerusalem. His second son, Herod, was appointed governor of Galilee. The Romans liked Herod because he was able to defeat guerilla bandits in Galilee. But when Herod executed one of the Guerilla leaders he was accused of murder. He was then ordered to appear before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. He came to Jerusalem with a large bodyguard and the matter was dropped. Nevertheless it seems that Herod was no longer governor of Galilee.
43 BC Antipater, Herod's father was murdered for reportedly offering financial support to Julius Caesar's assassins. Herod convinced the Romans that those accusations were false, and then, backed by the Roman army, he executed his father's killer. Soon afterwards there was a civil war in Judea. One of the Maccabees, named Antigonus, (the son of Aristobulus II), tried to take the High Priesthood, from his uncle, Hyrcanus II. Herod defeated Antigonus and then married his sister Mariamne I in order to gain Jewish favor and a claim to the throne and power in place of his father. But Herod already had a wife named Doris. Legally, he could have kept Doris, but his Jewish beliefs caused him to banish her. Later on Herod would marry other women, but Mariamne I was his love.
40 BC Antigonus was still alive. He tried to retake the throne of Judea with help from the Parthians. He succeeded in defeating his uncle Hyrcnus II, and then bit off both his ears in order to disfigure him so that he could no longer be High Priest. Herod fled to Rome, asking them to restore him to power. The Roman senate elected Herod "King of Judea," but the Jews did not recognize Rome's right to put a client king over them, and Herod would have to fight to regain his father's kingdom.
37 BC With Roman help Herod defeated Antigonus and beheaded him. Herod was now the king of Judea, but he was a client king of Rome. The Hasmonean (Maccabean), dynasty had ended and the Herodian dynasty had begun.
It is interesting that Herod's claim to be a Jew was only a very slight claim, but God honored it, and even the Jews seem to have reluctantly accepted it. For God had said that the sceptre would not depart from Judah until the coming of the Messiah. Gen. 49:10 Perhaps the Idumeans had some Jewish blood in them. Or perhaps they were accepted as "Jews" because they had converted. Herod had some Jewish beliefs.
Herod was called Herod the Great because he was a great builder. He encouraged trade and built the port city of Caesarea. He also rebuilt the temple at a personal cost of over 5 billion dollars. His renovations of the second temple were so extensive that it came to be known as "Herod's Temple."
The Romans like Herod because, although he had Jewish beliefs, he liked Roman and Greek culture. The cities he built were Roman by design and had Greek influences like theatres.
Herod brought wealth and prosperity to his kingdom, while keeping taxes relatively low. But his attempt to mold the Jewish state into a Roman one failed. The Jews hated that idea and eventually revolted against Rome.
Herod was paranoid. His fear caused him to suspect his relatives of betrayal.
30 BC Herod accused Hyrcanus II of plotting with the Nabateans and put him to death.
29 BC Herod killed his most beloved wife, Miriamne I, because of jealousy. She was a Hasmonean. Herod went into a terrible grief because of her death.
During years of intricate scheming and counter scheming three of Herod's sons were put to death, and a fourth escaped death only by dying.
4 BC It seems to me that Jesus was about six months old when paranoid Herod ordered the death of the innocents in Bethlehem. Josephus says about 25 baby boys were killed. Herod died soon afterwards. The Jews said God had judged him.
Herod had not named a successor, so the Romans divided up the kingdom of Palestine between three of Herod's sons and a nephew.
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