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Herod the Great....
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Herod was born 73 BCE as the son of a man from
Idumea
named Antipater and a woman named Cyprus, the daughter of an Arabian sheik.
Antipater was an adherent of Hyrcanus, one of two princes who struggling to
become king of Judaea. |
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In this conflict, the Roman general
Pompey intervened in Hyrcanus' favor. Having favored the winning side in the conflict,
Antipater's star rose, especially since he cooperated with the
Romans as
much as possible. In the civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar,
Hyrcanus and Antipater sided with the latter, for which especially the
courtier was rewarded: in 47, he was appointed epitropos ('regent') and
received the Roman citizenship. |
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It was obvious that Antipater was the real power behind
Hyrcanus' throne. He managed to secure the appointment of his young son
Herod to the important task of governor of Galilee. The boy, who was only
sixteen years old, launched a small crusade against bandits, which made him
very popular with the populace and impopular with the Sanhedrin. |
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On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar was murdered. The new leaders
in Rome were Caesar's nephew Octavian and Caesar's powerful
second-in-command Mark Antony. They announced that they would punish
Caesar's murderers, Brutus and Cassius, who fled to the East. Cassius
ordered all provinces and principalities to pay money for their struggle
against Octavian and Mark Antony, and
Judaea had to pay some 15,000 kg of
silver. Antipater and his sons had to take harsh measures to get the money,
and in the ensuing troubles, Antipater was killed. With
Roman help, Herod
killed his father's murderer. |
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