Herods Lost Tomb 2008 1/5

King Herod is a well familiar figure across Western Civilization, yet who was this man, sometimes called as Herod the Murderer by Jewish and Christian sources, while named as Herod the Builder by archeologists ?

Herod (73-4 BCE) was pro-Roman king of a vassal Jewish kingdom in the last decades before the common era. He was a son of Antipater - a high ranked Edomean, and Cypros, who is persumed to be Nabatean woman (Hellinized arabian tribe). Thus he is sometimes mentioned as arab due to his mother's descent, which is not entirely correct. Edomeans were a sister tribe of Israelites, who remained dwelling in southern Canaan when Israelites went to Egypt. Before Herod's birth Edomeans had been conquered by Hasmoneans (2nd century BCE), converted to monotheism and subsequently turned part of the Jewish nation, following their alliance with Judea against the Roman Empire 70 years after Herod's death. Herod the Great is sometimes confused by christian sources with his sons also named Herod.

Herod had begun his career as a general, but the Roman statesman Mark Antony recognized him as the Jewish national leader. During Roman-Parthian war, Herod was removed from the scene, but the Roman Senate made him vassal king and gave him soldiers to seize the throne of Judea. As a friend and an ally of the Romans he was not a truly independent king. However, Rome allowed him a domestic policy of his own. Many citizens of Judea were not content with his rule, because he was not of local Hasmonean royal dinasty, and a vassal of commonly hated Roman Empire. He was succeeded by his sons, and remained known for his enormous construction projects such as Masada, Caesaria Maritima with its huge harbor, reconstruction of the 2nd Temple and Herodium.

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Education

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• הורדוס מלך הורדוס
• הרודיון

[flash06]

part 2?

[Greyshark09]

it shall be uploaded today, you are welcome to subscribe and get updates.

[yerk3]

I wonder why people keep imagining Herod as wearing Middle Eastern garb. He was educated in Rome, and dressed like a Roman. I think I saw a statue once that was supposed to be of him, and he was clean shaven, kind of fat, with a round face, short hair and a laurel. I've also seen a statue bust of his grandson Herod Agrippa, who, though he had very heavily Middle Eastern features, was also clean shaven and with short hair.

[MrAugustus88]

Herod did not look like a Beduin tribesman, Herod was shaved and we wore a toga

he was completey Hellenized and Romanized. Apart from the family nonsesne he did, he an important figure and a friend of the divine Augustus.

[flash06]

thank you for this interesting upload :)