Lecture 11

         Roman rule began in 63 BCE when Pompey besieged Jerusalem for Rome. He assumed control of Jerusalem to settle the dispute between brothers Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. Hyrcanus was installed as “ethnarch” and Idumean Antipater was installed as “procurator.” In 43 BCE Antipater was murdered and in 40 BCE was the Parthian invasion. Herod kicked all Parthians out of Palestine and Rome backed Herod as king of Judea. He took control of Galilee, Samaria, and Idumea, and in 37 BCE Herod took Jerusalem from the Parthians. There is proof of Herod the Great from coins with his name on them. He was considered a “client king”- which meant he was good to his people so he wasn’t overthrown but also respected Rome and collected taxes for them so he would stay on the throne. In the bible there is mention of the Magi coming to see “new king” from the star they followed. Once Herod had heard of this new king he felt threatened and asked the magi to tell him where the king was, but they outwitted him so he became furious. He ordered his men to kill all babies under the age of 2 years old in hopes that this new king would be killed. There is no hard evidence of this story to be true but it follows his personality very well as he was a brutal leader. Herod was best known for his massive building projects, which was beneficial for the people because it opened many more job opportunities. The Herodian Temple Mount was the actual mount (not the temple) that was done with Roman architecture, and it was the size of 15 football fields on top. Herod the Great also added 3 fortifications to the Citadel of David. He would use it as protection to retreat there when his own people were coming after him in anger. It was, however, originally built to protect the people if the city was breached. The Siloam Pool was expanded by Herod and the Romans put drainage systems in place. He built the Antonia Fortress on top of Temple Mount, where Romans could stay and watch over what was going on in the city. So the question is was Herod the Great a Good King or Bad? It is true that he didn’t defile the temple, he allowed Jews to select high priest, he married a princess, he offered relief during the famine, he put objects on coins (not his face), he avoided building pagan temples, and he employed numerous Jewish workers as builders. However, there is no question that he was a dictator, he was only half-Jewish, and he worked solely for the Romans (which included taxing people). From a political point of view, Herod was a good successful king who helped Jerusalem to flourish. But from a religious and moral stand point, he was a tyrant who was power hungry and would do anything immoral to keep that power all to himself.