Herod "the Great" of Judea (74 BC-4 BC) was the King of Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC. He succeeded Antigonus II Mattathias and preceding Philip the Tetrarch. He was infamous for having several family members and rabbis murdered, as well as for ordering the "Massacre of the Innocents" following Jesus' birth.
Biography[]
Prince Herod meeting with Mark Antony.
Herod was born in Edom in 74 BC, the son of high-ranking official Antipater the Idumaean. Antipater appointed his son Governor of Galilee in 47 BC, and he had the support of Rome, while his brutal tactics were condemned by the Sanhedrin. In 41 BC, he was named a tetrarch by Mark Antony, and he was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 37 BC.
He then went back to Judea to oust the usurper Antigonus II Mattathias from power, ending the Hasmonean dynasty and ushering in the Herodian dynasty. Herod reigned as a Roman vassal, and he was known for his colossal building projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima, the fortress at Masada, and Herodium. In 4 BC, he ordered the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of Jesus' birth, as he felt threatened when the Magi told them that a king of the Jews was being born; he was also infamous for killing his own wife, Mariamne I.
Jesus was taken to Egypt by his parents Saint Joseph and Mary until Herod died later that year, upon which they returned to their hometown of Nazareth.