Herodian tetrarchy

Herodian tetrarchy
Tetrarchyof theRoman Empire
4 BCE–44 CE
Territory underHerod Archelaus Territory underHerod Antipas Territory underPhilip Territory underSalome I Syria Province
Capital	Jerusalem(Herod Archelaus) SepphorislaterTiberias(Herod Antipas) Caesarea Philippi(Philip) Jamnia(Salome I)
Government
King, Ethnarch, Tetrarch, Toparch
• 4 BCE–6 CE	Herod Archelaus(as Ethnarch)
• 4 BCE–39 CE	Herod Antipas(as Tetrarch)
• 4 BCE–34 CE	Philip(as Tetrarch)
• 4 BCE–10 CE	Salome I(as Toparch)
• 37 CE–44 CE	Herod Agrippa I(as King)
Historical era	Augustan Age
• Death ofHerod the Great	4 BCE
•Herod Archelausexiled,Judea,Samaria,andIdumeaannexed as a provinceJudaea	6 CE
•Herod Antipasexiled,GalileeandPereatransferred toHerod Agrippa I's dominions	39 CE
• Territory of a provinceJudaeatransferred toHerod Agrippa I's dominions	41 CE
• Death ofHerod Agrippa I,his dominions annexed as a provinceJudaea	44 CE
Preceded by Succeeded by Herodian kingdom Judaea (Roman province) Kingdom of Chalcis

TheHerodian tetrarchywas a regional division of aclient stateofRome,formed following the death ofHerod the Greatin 4 BCE. The latter's client kingdom was divided between his sisterSalome Iand his sonsHerod Archelaus,Herod Antipas,andPhilip.Upon the deposition of Herod Archelaus in 6 CE, his territories were transformed into aRoman province.With the death of Salome I in 10 CE, her domain was also incorporated into a province.

Other parts of the Herodian tetrarchy continued to function underHerodians.Philip ruled over territories north and east of theJordan Riveruntil 34 CE. His domain was later incorporated into theProvince of Syria.Herod Antipas ruledGalileeandPereauntil 39 CE. The last notable Herodian ruler with some level of independence wasKing Herod Agrippa I.He was given the territory ofJudeawith its capitalJerusalem.With his death in 44 CE, the provincial status of Judea was restored for good.

Later Herodians,Herod of Chalcis,Aristobulus of ChalcisandAgrippa II,reigned over territories outside ofJudeawith the title of king but asRoman clients.The last of them, Agrippa II, died childless in c. 100 CE and thus all territories previously ruled by members of the Herodian dynasty were incorporated into the province of Syria.

Name

The wordTetrarchsuggests four rulers ( "ruler of a quarter" ); however Josephus, in the context of describing Herod's legacy, only mentions three. He refers to Archelaus, who had "one half of that which had been subject to Herod", and for Philip and Antipas "the other half, divided into two parts".On the other hand,Luke the Evangelistrefers toLysanias,tetrarch ofAbilene,in his list of rulers at the time ofJohn the Baptist,alongsidePontius Pilate(one of a series of Roman governors who replaced Archelaus), Herod (Antipas), and Philip.Josephus' reference to one half the kingdom may signify that Archelaus was ruler of two quarters. This would suggest that division into quarters was already established, and that Lysanias' quarter was part of a different tetrarchy in Syria; this is credible, as Herod III, brother of Herod Agrippa I, was king of Chalcis, which was to the north, outside Herod's kingdom. Or it may be that Josephus, in describing the inheritances of Herod's sons, omitted to mention Lysanias, or his predecessor, as they were not Herodians. The reference to "one half of the kingdom" could then be understood as a geographical, rather than a political observation; Archelaus' share of the kingdom covered about half the territory, and more than half the revenue, owned by Herod.It is the view of W. Smith, referring toAbilene,that Abilene, or part of it, was subject to Herod before his death, and held by Lysanias as a tetrarchate from him. The territory was returned later to the Herodians, the first part byCaligulato Herod Agrippa I, the remainder by Claudius to Herod Agrippa II.

History

Detailed map of the tetrarchy

At the time of his death, Herod ruled over most of the South WesternLevant,as aclient-stateof theRoman Empire.Antipas was not Herod's first choice of heir. That honor fell toAristobulusand Alexander, Herod's sons bythe Hasmonean princess Mariamne.It was only after they were executed (c. 7 BCE), and Herod's oldest sonAntipaterwas convicted of trying to poison his father (5 BCE), that the now elderly Herod fell back on his youngest son Antipas, revising his will to make him heir.During his fatal illness in 4 BCE, Herod had yet another change of heart about the succession. According to the final version of his will, Antipas' elder brother Archelaus was now to become king of Judea,Idumeaand Samaria, while Antipas would ruleGalileeandPereawith the lesser function of tetrarch. Philip was to receiveGaulanitis(theGolan Heights), Batanaea (southern Syria),Trachonitisand Auranitis (Hauran).

Because of Judea's status as a Romanclient kingdom,Herod's plans for the succession had to be ratified byAugustus.The three heirs of Herod therefore traveled to Rome to make their claims, Antipas arguing he ought to inherit the whole kingdom and the others maintaining that Herod's final will ought to be honored. Despite qualified support for Antipas from Herodian family members in Rome, who favored direct Roman rule of Judea but considered Antipas preferable to his brother, Augustus largely confirmed the division of territory set out by Herod in his final will. Archelaus had, however, to be content with the title of ethnarch rather than king.Herod's sister Salome I also received the title of queen of Jamnia, ruling Paralia and some areas in southern Perea. Upon her death in 10 CE, the domain was incorporated into Judea Province.

Eventually, after his death the kingdom was divided between three of Herod's sons:

• Herod Archelaus,his son by his fourth wifeMalthacethe Samaritan, received the lion's share of the kingdom;Idumaea,JudeaandSamaria,and the title of Ethnarch ( "ruler of the people"; in this case, the Jews,Samaritans,andIdumeans).
• Herod Antipas,Archelaus’ brother, became Tetrarch ofGalileeandPerea.
• Philip,Herod's son by his fifth wifeCleopatra of Jerusalem,became Tetrarch of the northern part of Herod's kingdom. TheGospel of Lukelists Philip's territories asItureaandTrachonitisandFlavius Josephuslists asGaulanitis,Trachonitis andPaneasas well asBatanea,Trachonitis,Auranitis,and "a certain part of what is called theHouse of Zenodorus".A number of these names refer to the same places, found now in modern-daySyriaandLebanon.

In a turbulent period of history, the rule of the tetrarchs was relatively uneventful. The most trouble fell to Archelaus, who was faced with sedition by thePhariseesat the beginning of his reign, and crushed it with great severity. After ruling for 10 years he was removed by the emperorAugustusin 6 CE, following complaints about his cruelty and his offences against theMosaic law.He was replaced by a Romanprefect,and his territory re-organized as the Roman province ofIudaea.

Philip ruled Iturea, Trachonitis, Batanea, Gaulanitis, Auranitis and Paneas as a tetrarch until his death in 34 CE when his territories became briefly part of the Roman province ofSyria,but in 37 CE were given toHerod Agrippa Iwith the title of king. Herod Agrippa I arranged forChalcisto be handed over to his brotherHerodand ruled himself in Philip's stead. After the banishment of Herod Antipas in 39 CE Herod Agrippa I became also ruler of Galilee and Perea, and in 41 CE, as a mark of favour by the emperorClaudius,succeeded the Roman prefectMarullusas King of Iudaea. With this acquisition, a Herodian Kingdom of the Jews was nominally re-established until his death in 44 CE though there is no indication that status as a province was suspended.

See also

• Herodian dynasty

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Easton, Matthew George(1897). "Archelaus".Easton's Bible Dictionary(New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1854–1857)."Palaestina".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.London: John Murray.