Tristan Hughes

The age of powerful Greek neighbours was ending.

A new power had risen to the fore.

Antipater wanted to secure their support.

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, better known as Pompey the Great, was the most revered Roman general of the time.

He had won great victories in both Anatolia and in the Caucasus.

He had then taken control of Syria for Rome, bringing the ailing Seleucid Empire to its end.

Rome now had a direct border with Judea.

Its legions and most esteemed general were ready to intervene.

Officially, Arcanus or Hyrcanus, the royal Hasmonean prince, was the new ruler of Judea.

But realistically, his family's power was limited.

The Hasmoneans were now subservient to Rome and most power lay with Rome's main man in the region, Antipater.

It was this backdrop that allowed Herod to grow up in a family at the forefront of political life.

Enjoying the luxuries of elite life, by his early 20s Herod had developed quite the personality.

As Dr. Kimberly Tchaikovsky, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh, explains…

While Herod spent his younger years learning what it meant to be an aristocrat, his father Antipater had been solidifying their family's position.

Antipater allied himself with the famous Roman statesman Julius Caesar.

Caesar named Antipater procurator of Judea, Rome's client ruler in all but name.

But Antipater couldn't rule alone.

He needed allies he could trust.

His sons were perfect candidates.