Herod the Great is king of Judah. Biography

The Jewish king Herod the Great remains one of the most controversial figures in ancient history. Most of all, he is known for his biblical story of beating babies. Therefore, even today the very word "Herod" is a phraseology, which means a mean and unprincipled person.

Nevertheless, the personal portrait of this monarch would be incomplete if it began and ended with a mention of the massacre of infants. Herod the Great received his nickname for active activity on the throne in a difficult era for the Jews. This characteristic goes against the image of a bloodthirsty killer, so it is worthwhile to take a closer look at the figure of this king.

A family

According to its origin, Herod did not belong to the royal Jewish dynasty. His father Antipater of Edom was a viceroy in the province of Edom. At this time (1st century BC), the Jewish people found themselves on the path of Roman expansion, which paved its way to the east.

In 63 BC. E. Jerusalem was taken by Pompey, after which the Jewish kings became dependent on the republic. During the civil war in Rome in the 49-45's. Antipater had to choose between candidates for power in the Senate. He supported Julius Caesar. When he defeated Pompey, his supporters received significant dividends for loyalty. Antipater was awarded the title of procurator of Judea and, although not formally a king, actually became the chief Roman governor in this province.

Back in 73 BC. E. The Edomite had a son, the future Herod the Great. Apart from the fact that Antipater was procurator, he was also the guardian of King Hyrcan II, who was greatly influenced. It was with the permission of the monarch that he made his son Herod tetrarch (governor) of the province of Galilee. This happened in 48 BC. E. when the young man was 25 years old.

First steps in politics

Tetrarch Herod the Great was a viceroy loyal to the Roman supreme authority. Such a relationship was condemned by a conservative part of Jewish society. The nationalists wanted independence and did not want to see the Romans on their land. However, the external situation was such that Judea could have protection from aggressive neighbors only under the protectorate of the republic.

In 40 BC. E. Herod as the tetrarch of Galilee had to face the invasion of the Parthians. They captured all defenseless Judah, and in Jerusalem they placed their puppet as a puppet king. Herod safely fled the country in order to enlist the support in Rome, where he hoped to get the army and expel the interventionists. By this time, his father, Antipater of Edom, had already died of old age, so the politician had to make independent decisions and act at his own risk.

Expulsion of Parthians

On the way to Rome, Herod stopped in Egypt, where he met with Queen Cleopatra. When the Jew finally found himself in the Senate, he managed to reach an agreement with the powerful Marc Antony, who agreed to provide the army with troops for the return of the province.

The war with the Parthians continued for another two years. The Roman legions, with the support of Jewish refugees and volunteers, liberated the whole country, as well as its capital, Jerusalem. Up to this point, the kings of Israel belonged to an ancient monarchic dynasty. Even in Rome, Herod agreed to become the ruler himself, but his pedigree was of an artistic nature. Therefore, the applicant for power married the granddaughter of Hyrcanus II Miriamne, in order to legitimize himself in the eyes of his compatriots. So, thanks to Roman intervention, in 37 BC. E. Herod became king of Judah.

The beginning of government

All the years of his reign, Herod had to balance between the two polar parts of society. On the one hand, he tried to maintain good relations with Rome, since his country was in fact a province of the republic, and later of the empire. At the same time, the tsar needed not to lose credibility among his compatriots, most of whom were negative about the aliens from the west.

Of all the methods of preserving power, Herod chose the most reliable - he ruthlessly dealt with his internal and external opponents, so as not to show his own weakness. Repression began immediately after the Roman troops repulsed Jerusalem from the Parthians. Herod ordered the execution of the former king Antigone, who was placed on the throne by the interventionists. For the new authorities, the problem was that the deposed monarch belonged to the ancient Hasmonean dynasty, which rules Judah for more than a century. Despite the protests of dissatisfied Jews, Herod remained adamant, and his decision was implemented. Antiochus, along with dozens of close friends, were executed.

The way out of the crisis

The centuries-old history of the Jews has always been full of tragedies and hard trials. The era of Herod was no exception. In the year 31 BC. E. In Israel there was a devastating earthquake, which killed more than 30 thousand people. Then the southern Arab tribes attacked Judah and tried to plunder her. The state of Israel was in a deplorable state, but always active Herod did not get confused and took all measures to minimize the damage from these misfortunes.

First of all, he managed to defeat the Arabs and drive them out of their land. The nomads attacked Judea also because in the Roman state the political crisis continued , the echo of which extended to Israel. In that memorable year 31 BC. E. The main defender and patron of Herod, Mark Antony, was defeated in the battle at the Aktion against the fleet of Octavian Augustus.

This event had the most long-lasting consequences. King of Judah felt the change of political wind and began sending ambassadors to Octavian. Soon this Roman politician finally seized power and proclaimed himself emperor. The new Caesar and the king of Judah found a common language, and Herod could breathe a sigh of relief.

Urban planning activities

A devastating earthquake destroyed many buildings in all of Israel. In order to raise the country from the ruins, Herod had to take the most drastic measures. In cities, the construction of new buildings began. Their architecture has received Roman and Hellenistic features. The center of such construction was the capital city of Jerusalem.

Herod's main project was the reconstruction of the Second Temple, the main religious building of the Jews. Over the past centuries it has decayed and seemed obsolete against the background of new magnificent buildings. Ancient Jews treated the temple as the cradle of their nation and religion, so its reconstruction became the work of Herod's whole life.

The king hoped that this restructuring would help him win the support of an ordinary people, who for many reasons did not like his ruler, considering him a cruel tyrant and a protege of Rome. Herod generally differed in ambition, and the prospect of being in place of Solomon, who built the First Temple, and did not give him rest.

Restoration of the Second Temple

The city of Jerusalem for several years was preparing for the restoration, which began in 20 BC. E. To the capital from all parts of the country brought the necessary building resources - stone, marble, etc. The daily life of the temple was full of sacred rituals, which could not be violated even during the restoration. So, for example, there was a separate internal section, where only Jewish clerics could get to. Herod ordered to train them in building skills so that they themselves could do all the necessary work in the forbidden zone for the laity.

The first year and a half have gone to rebuild the main temple building. When this procedure was completed, the building was consecrated and religious services continued. Over the next eight years there was a restoration of the yards and separate rooms. The interior was changed so that visitors were comfortable and comfortable in the new church.

The long construction of King Herod survived his mastermind. Even after his death, the reconstruction was still going on, although most of the work was already completed.

Roman influence

Thanks to Herod, the ancient Jews received in their capital the first amphitheater in which classical Roman spectacles - gladiatorial fights took place. These battles were held in honor of the emperor. In general, Herod tried in every possible way to emphasize that he remains loyal to the central authorities, which helped him to sit on the throne until his death.

The policy of Hellenization was disliked by many Jews who believed that, by planting Roman habits, the king insults his own religion. Judaism at that time was in a state of crisis, when false prophets appeared throughout Israel to persuade ordinary people to accept their own teaching. With the heresy fought the Pharisees - members of a narrow stratum of theologians and priests who tried to preserve the old religious order. Herod often consulted with them on particularly sensitive issues of his policy.

In addition to symbolic and religious buildings, the monarch improved the roads and tried to give his towns everything that was necessary for the comfortable life of their inhabitants. He did not forget about his own prosperity. The palace of Herod the Great, built under his personal control, struck the imagination of compatriots.

In a critical situation, the king could act and extremely generous, despite all his love for luxury and greatness. In the year 25 the mass starvation began in Judea, the suffering poor people flooded Jerusalem. The ruler could not feed them to the treasury, as all the money was invested in the construction at that time. Every day the situation became more and more frightening, and then King Herod the Great ordered all his jewels to be sold, the proceeds of which were bought tons of Egyptian bread.

Massacre of the innocents

All the positive traits of Herod's character faded with age. To old age the monarch turned into a merciless and suspicious tyrant. Before him, the kings of Israel were often victims of conspiracies. Partly, therefore, Herod became paranoid, not even trusting his relatives. The corruption of the mind of the king was marked by the fact that he ordered the execution of two of his own sons, who were the victims of a deceitful denunciation.

But much more famous was another story, connected with the painful outbursts of Herod's wrath. In the Gospel of Matthew described the episode, according to which the ruler came to the mysterious Magi. The magicians told the ruler that they were going to the city of Bethlehem, where the real king of Judea was born.

The news of an unprecedented challenger for power frightened Herod. He gave the order, which the history of the Jews did not yet know. The king commanded to kill all the newborn babies of Bethlehem, which was done. Christian sources give different estimates of the number of victims of this massacre. Perhaps thousands of babies were killed, although modern historians dispute this theory due to the fact that in an ancient provincial town there could not be so many newborns. Anyway, but the "king of Judah", to which the wise men were heading, survived. They were Jesus Christ - the central figure of the new Christian religion.

Death and funeral

Herod did not live long after the story of beating babies. He died about 4 BC. When he was 70 years old. For the ancient era it was an extremely respectable age. The old man left this world, leaving behind several sons. He bequeathed to his eldest son Archelaus his throne. However, this candidature was to be examined and approved by the Roman emperor. Octavian agreed to give Archelaus only half of Israel, giving the other half to his brothers and thus splitting the country. This was the next step of the emperor on the way to the weakening of Jewish power in Judea.

Herod was buried not in Jerusalem, but in the fortress of Herodium, named for his name and founded in his reign. The son of Archelaus took up the organization of the funeral arrangements. Ambassadors from various provinces of the Roman Empire came to him . The guests of Judea witnessed an unprecedented spectacle. The deceased was buried magnificently - in a golden box and surrounded by a large crowd of people. Mourning for the deceased king lasted another week. The State of Israel took a long time to the last journey of its first ruler from the dynasty of Herodias.

The tomb of the king was found by archaeologists very recently. This happened in 2007. Nakhodka made it possible to compare with reality many facts, given in ancient written sources.

Conclusion

Herod's personality was ambiguously accepted by his contemporaries. The epithet "Great" was given to him by modern historians. This was done in order to emphasize the great role that the king played in the integration of his country with the Roman Empire, as well as the preservation of peace in Judea.

Most of all reliable information about Herod the researchers picked up from the works of historian Joseph Flavius, who was his contemporary. All the successes achieved by the Tsar during his reign became possible due to his ambition, pragmatism and confidence in the decisions made. There is no doubt that the tsar often sacrificed his concrete fate, when it came to the viability of the state.

He managed to hold out on the throne, despite the confrontation between the two parties - Roman and nationalist. His heirs and descendants could not boast of such success.

Herod's figure is important for all Christian history, although his influence is often not so obvious, because he died on the eve of events related to the activities of Christ. Nevertheless, the whole New Testament story occurred in the Israel that the ancient king left behind.