The Herodians were a series of Roman client rulers of Palestine from 63 BC until 66 AD. They feature regularly in the New Testament, but who were they and what were they like?



It all began with Antipater the Idumean. He was a wealthy native of Idumea, east of the Jordan (formerly Edom). In other words, he was an Arab. However, his family had converted to Judaism and he was a practicing Jew. The racial origin of the Herodians was Arabic and so this was always a problem for the Jewish population. It was like putting a fox in charge of the chickens. However, all of the Herodians were nominally practicing Jews although they were always held in contempt because of their racial origins and their collusion with Rome.

In 63 BC Antipater supported Pompey in the conquest of Palestine, where Pompey replaced the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty with Roman rule. Antipater became a friend of Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. In 47 BC Antipater rescued Caesar with 3000 men from the siege of Alexandria and so Caesar rewarded him for his support by giving him Roman citizenship and making him procurator of Judea.

Antipater’s 5 children were Phasael, Herod (later called Herod the Great), Joseph, Pheroas and their sister Salome. Herod was made governor of Galilee in 47 BC and Phasael governor of Jerusalem. Antipater was assassinated by poisoning in 43 BC.



In 41 BC the Parthians invaded Palestine and Herod fled to Rome, where the senate appointed him as King of Judea. After a 3 year conflict the Romans retook control of Palestine and Herod was made sole ruler of Judea.  In 31 BC Octavian Augustus confirmed him as king and later extended his kingdom to include Judea, Samaria, Galilee, areas north of Galilee and east of the Jordan.

In 37 BC Herod married a Jewish Hasmonean princess called Mariamne to improve his acceptance by the Jews. Altogether he had 8 wives and 14 children. Herod was a great builder and his crowning achievement was the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. He also increased the wealth of Palestine. However, his family was scourged by intrigue. His sister Salome plotted against Mariamne and Herod executed her in 29 BC, even though he grieved for her for many months. Towards the end of his life family matters got worse. Some of his sons plotted against him and he executed 3 of them. He became increasingly mentally unstable and paranoid. This caused Emperor Augustus to joke that it was better to be Herod’s pig than his son.

Both Matthew and Luke state that Jesus was born in the time of Herod the Great. However the main account is in Matthew 2:


The Magi found Jesus but were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. In response to a dream Joseph took his family to Egypt. When Herod realised he was tricked he gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem who were 2 years or younger. This event is not recorded by Jospehus, but historians consider that the story is plausible, as this is the sort of thing that Herod would do.



In his will, Herod left his kingdom to 3 sons: Archelaeus, Antipater and Philip. Archelaeus was the principle heir and was made ethnarch (leader of an ethnic group) of Judea. Antipas was made tetrarch (ruler of a quarter) of Galilee and Philip was made tetrarch of the area north of Galilee. The sons went to Rome to dispute the will but Augustus confirmed Herod’s decision. Archelaeus then showed himself to be cruel and immoral. In 6 AD Augustus deposed him and he was exiled to Gaul. From 6 AD until Agrippa I, Judea was ruled by Roman governors, the most famous being Pontius Pilate. The only mention of Archelaeus in the New Testament is in Matthew 2:19-23

 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.



Philip inherited the area north of Galilee when Herod the Great died. By all accounts he was a quiet, moderate and popular leader. There were few Jews in the area and he is only mentioned in Luke 3 to mark the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. He was married to Salome the daughter of Herodias who asked for John’s head on a plate (Matthew 14 and Mark 6).



Herod Antipas was appointed to be tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (east of the Jordan) in 4 BC. He is the Herod who is mentioned in the gospels during Jesus’ public ministry. He constructed Tiberias (on the shore of Galilee) in honour of Emperor Tiberius. He married Phasaelis the daughter of King Aretus of Nabatea. However, he later divorced Phasaelis and married Herodias the wife of Herod II (his half-brother). John the Baptist reproved Antipas for his marriage to Herodias and so Antipas put John in prison. At a feast, Herodias’ daughter, Salome, danced before Herod. He gave her a wish and Herodias instructed Salome to ask for the head of John (Matthew 14 and Mark 6). Herod’s execution of John the Baptist is also recorded by Josephus in the Antiquities of the Jews (18.5.2).
Even though Antipas was a pragmatic politician, he was also a torn character. Mark 6:19-20 records:

Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

Jesus’ early activities were in Galilee, which was Herod’s jurisdiction. Luke 9:7-9 records:


Luke 8:3 mentions that one of Jesus’ women followers was “Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household.” This may explain how the gospel writers learned about what was happening in Herod’s court.

Herod was also concerned about Jesus’ increasing following and Jesus’ view of Herod was not that complimentary. Luke 13:31-32 records:


According to Luke 23:7-12 Antipas finally met Jesus during his trial:


Antipas’ demise came not long afterwards. Phasaelis, his first wife, returned to her dad, King Aretus, who was somewhat annoyed. There were also border disputes and Aretus declared war on Antipas. Antipas lost badly. As well as this, his nephew and brother in law (Agrippa I) went to Rome and conspired against Antipas. Emperor Caligula exiled him in 39 AD. His wife Herodias chose to join him in exile and he died soon afterwards.



Herod Agrippa I was a grandson of Herod the Great. His father was Aristobulus, who was executed by Herod in 7 BC. His sister was Herodias, the wife of Antipas. Thus he was a brother in law and nephew to Antipas. Incestuous relationships were quite common amongst the Herodians. At least they liked each other… well sometimes.

After the death of his father, Agrippa was sent to the court at Rome for his political education (which was a common pattern for the Herodians).  Emperor Tiberius liked him and he also became good friends with Caligula, who became Emperor after Tiberius. After Philip the Tetrarch’s death, Caligula appointed him as King of Syria. He then conspired against Antipas and took over Antipas’s territory (Galilee and Perea) after Antipas was exiled.

In 41 AD Caligula was assassinated and Agrippa supported Claudius in becoming Emperor. As a reward, Claudius made him king of Judea and Samaria as well. Thus his kingdom was similar to Herod the Great. Agrippa was zealous for the Jewish faith. On one occasion he risked his life by advising Caligula against desecrating the temple. Thus he was liked by the Jews.

However, he was not so nice to the Christians. He supported the Jewish leadership. He persecuted the Christians, including executing the disciple James the son of Zebedee and arresting Peter. He did not rule for long. His death is recorded in Acts 12:19-23:


Josephus provides an independent account of the same event:




Herod Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I. His sisters were Berenice, Mariamne and Drusilla (the wife of Felix). In 48 AD he was given the Syrian kingdom, he looked after the Jerusalem temple and he appointed the high priests. His kingdom was further increased in 53 AD and 55 AD.

The Apostle Paul’s appearance before Agrippa and Berenice is recorded in a long account in Acts 25:13 to 26:32. Paul’s defence is as follows:


This reflects Agrippa’s knowledge of Jewish affairs. Paul then provides his defence and the trial concludes as follows:


So Paul was sent to Rome and we hear no more from Agrippa II in the New Testament.

Unlike his father Agrippa II was unpopular with the Jews for his capricious manner. At the start of the Jewish Wars in 66 AD the Jews expelled Agrippa and Berenice. Agrippa went back to Rome and Berenice settled in Pompeii where she perished when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.



This marked the end of the Herodian dynasty. The Herodians were puppet rulers for the Roman Empire. Their task was to collect taxes for Rome and keep the peace. Their advantages were that they were friendly and cooperative with Rome but were also of the Jewish faith. Thus they sided with the Jewish religious leadership and were wary of any movement that seemed to threaten the existing religious establishment. This included Jesus and his followers.

The New Testament is deeply embedded within a historical context. Jesus interacted with the religious and imperial politics of his day. The politicians of the day were aware of his movement, as his ministry was “not done in a corner”. The New Testament writers are making a claim about historical events.

There are surviving busts of Agrippa I and II and we know what they looked like. However, the Herodians and all their kingdoms and influence are long since gone. By contrast, there are no busts of Jesus or Paul and we don’t know even what they looked like. All we have is the written word. They did not have the power of the sword but rather spoke to peoples’ mind, and their influence will go on forever.