Chapter 1: Who was King Herod and why is he considered a villain?
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Hello, Greg Jenner here, host of You're Dead to Me. In my new family-friendly podcast series, Dead Funny History, historical figures come back to life for just about long enough to argue with me, tell us their life stories, and sometimes get on my nerves.
There's 15 lovely episodes to unwrap, including the life of Ramses the Great, Josephine Baker, and the history of football, plus much, much more. So this Christmas, give your ears a treat with Dead Funny History. You can find it in the You're Dead to Me feed on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
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.
I think most people remember Herod today or know Herod today as essentially the baby killer. Thinking about the New Testament tradition and the massacre of the innocents, it remains the one go-to idea that people have if they hear the name Herod. Whether it should or not is another question.
Herod, one of the most recognisable yet notorious names from history, his legacy entwined with a biblical slaughter.
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Chapter 2: What were the early life and family background of Herod?
And yet… His gaze was also fixed on a rapidly changing world. The age of powerful Greek neighbours was ending. A new power had risen to the fore. Antipater wanted to secure their support.
The Romans really begin to emerge onto the scene at the end of the Hasmonean dynasty. The queen, Salome Alexandra, dies in 67 BCE, and she leaves the kingdom to her eldest son, Hykenus. Unfortunately, though, he has a younger brother, Aristobulus, who's much more warlike and aggressive. And he decides that he wants the royal crown himself.
And so, of course, the country is plunged into civil war. Now, this gap here provides great opportunities for Herod's father, Antipater, to exert himself and to assert his power.
He is steadfastly loyal to the rightful heir, Hykenus, and always follows Hykenus, possibly because he realized that Hykenus was a little bit weak and there were much greater chances of his own advancement if he threw in his lot with Hykenus. Anyway, there's a civil war between these two men that goes on for several years. Eventually, both sides go to Pompey.
Pompey the Great, who's now in Damascus,
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.
Popeye meets the two sides in Damascus. He doesn't have to go to Judea. They come to him. That's how important he is and how unimportant Judea is for him. And he hears them out. And he says, I won't decide right now, but you have to keep the peace and I'll come back. And it's Aristobulus who doesn't quite abide by this agreement and stirs up trouble.
And that brings Pompey really onto the scene in Judea. That makes him conquer Jerusalem ultimately, which is held by Aristobulus's side. And once he has done that, he installs Hyrcanus as high priest of Judea. That is quite a watershed moment, because it effectively means the end of the Hasmonean kingdom as a political entity.
The Hasmoneans are still in power because Hyrcanus is a Hasmonean leader, but he's no longer king. Pompey abolishes kingship in Judea, but instead makes him high priest and what he calls leader of the people. And in this new vassal state, if you want, the real person who makes the important decisions and who maintains the contact with Roman authorities is Antipater, Herod's father.
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Chapter 3: How did Herod rise to power amidst Roman politics?
The elite in Jerusalem, the people around Hyrcanus at least, are getting worried about Herod's rise and indeed Antipater's rise, his father's rise as well. The level of control this family are beginning to exert over the government of Judea.
Josephus, by the way, was a Jewish historian writing in the first century AD. He is our main source for Herod's early years. Now, Back to the story. Under fire from this central council, Herod headed to Jerusalem to explain his actions. With the support of his family and the Romans, he rode into Jerusalem confident of acquittal. Too confident.
Herod at first isn't particularly worried by this because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He's got very powerful backing in the shape of Sextus Caesar in Syria, who actually sends a note to say, make sure he's acquitted. He's also fairly confident that his family are high standing, and so he doesn't think he's got anything to worry about.
When he gets there, according to Josephus, he wears purple robes and he goes in with a bodyguard in full military dress. Not enough to make anyone suspicious that he's staging a coup, but just enough to let them know that he's somebody significant.
There is this wonderful scene where he is there and no one wants to speak against him because he is really displaying his authority. There is an idea of kind of regalness there and at least emphasising the level that he has got to, the amount of power that he has reached in part through his connections.
One person speaks out against him called Samias in this council and points out to the rest of the members You do realize what he's doing. You do realize that you are letting him get away with this and he is undermining your authority. There is a little bit of an effect to this in that apparently then this sways the council members.
Hykonis gets very, very worried and thinks that they are going to condemn Herod. And so he arranges for Herod to flee.
Herod fled Jerusalem, angered by the opposition he had faced.
When Herod has fled Jerusalem, he is worried that he's going to get summoned again to either the council or before Hyrcanus. And this is when he starts to get a bit annoyed. He believes at this point that Hyrcanus has turned against him and wants him condemned. This is made fairly evident in our sources that this is not the case. Hyrcanus is actually quite sympathetic to Herod.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did Herod face during his rule?
In my new family-friendly podcast series, Dead Funny History, historical figures come back to life for just about long enough to argue with me, tell us their life stories, and sometimes get on my nerves. There's 15 lovely episodes to unwrap, including the life of Ramses the Great, Josephine Baker, and the history of football, plus much, much more.
So this Christmas, give your ears a treat with Dead Funny History. You can find it in the You're Dead to Me feed on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Herod being named king by the Roman Senate is a complete game changer, because suddenly he is not only a very good ally to the Romans, energetic, powerful in his local region, he has now been given this title. And it makes him even more dependent on the Romans than he ever had been before in some ways, because this is completely divorced from native power structures in Judea.
It is an imperial power saying, you will be king of this particular region.
Herod must have been amazed that the Romans had made him king. In just a few weeks, his fortunes had completely changed from utter desperation to him potentially becoming the most powerful person in Jerusalem. I imagine that he was proud. He had achieved a status that his father could never have dreamed of. At the same time, he must have been worried for his family.
They were still stuck in Masada. He also knew that nothing had been won yet and that he needed to fight for his throne.
Herod's venture to Rome proved incredibly successful. From refugee to royal ruler. The Romans had thrown their whole support behind Herod. With money and men in hand, in 39 BC Herod sailed back to Judea, determined to wrestle control back from Antigonus. In the meantime, his brother, Phazeol, had died in Antigonus' captivity. There would be no negotiations. Civil war beckoned.
Herod returns to Judea with a Roman army that is supposed to put him on the throne. But all we know, they were not very good at it. The reports say that Herod had to fight enemies in Judea, but he also had to fight the lackluster attitude of Roman governors, some of whom seem to have been bribed by Antigonus,
He had to find provisions for the Romans because they were somehow unable to do that themselves. And all the while, Herod knew that his family was still in Masada, that he had to cross the entire territory of Judea to get to them, and that he had to find supporters.
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