Tristan Hughes

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Hello and welcome to a very special episode of The Ancients, one that has been in the works for quite some time and I'm now really excited to share with you.

We are covering the rise of one of ancient history's most infamous figures, King Herod, the villain of the Nativity story and yet at the same time, at least in my opinion, one of the most extraordinary rulers from antiquity.

we are going to be taking you from Herod's beginnings to how he ultimately became King of Judea.

It is an action-packed story full of twists and turns, and we've moulded it into an epic narrative, featuring three great experts from the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Benedict Eckhart, Dr. Kimberly Tchaikovsky, and Professor Helen Bond.

Now, this originally came out as a History Hit documentary, which you can go and watch on History Hit.

But because it is such a great story, I also really wanted to turn it into a special Ancients episode too, just for you.

I really do hope you enjoy.

Let's go.

Herod, one of the most recognisable yet notorious names from history, his legacy entwined with a biblical slaughter.

So who was the real Herod?

The powerful ancient ruler who crossed paths with great names such as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Mark Antony?

And how did he defy all odds to become king?

This is the rise of Herod.

Herod was born in 72 BC into a Judean kingdom that was struggling to assert its authority, surrounded by superpowers.

That's Dr. Benedict Eckhart, professor of the history of the ancient Mediterranean world at Edinburgh University, and an expert on ancient Judea at the time of Herod.

Judea itself was ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty.

And at the time of Herod's birth, the figurehead of that dynasty was Queen Salome Alexandra.

Having wrestled back control of Judea from the Seleucids, the Hasmonean dynasty had ruled the kingdom of Judea for almost a hundred years by the time that Herod was born.