"After this, the distemper seized upon his whole
body, and greatly disordered all its parts with various symptoms; for there
was a gentle fever upon him, and an intolerable itching over all the surface
of his body, and continual pains in his colon, and dropsical turnouts about
his feet, and an inflammation of the abdomen, and a putrefaction of
his privy member, that produced worms. Besides which he had a difficulty of
breathing... Yet did he struggle with his numerous disorders, and still had a desire
to live, and hoped for recovery, and considered of several methods of cure.
Accordingly, he went over Jordan, and made use of those hot baths at Callirrhoe,
which ran into the lake Asphaltitis (Dead Sea)...
Here the physicians thought proper to bathe his whole body
in warm oil, by letting it down into a large vessel full of oil; whereupon
his eyes failed him, and he came and went as if he was dying... He then
returned back and came to Jericho, in such a melancholy state of body as
almost threatened him with present death...So he for a little while revived,
and had a desire to live; but presently after he was overborne by his pains,
and was disordered by want of food, and by a convulsive cough, and endeavored
to prevent a natural, death; so he took an apple, and asked for a knife
for he used to pare apples and eat them; he then looked round about to
see that there was nobody to hinder him, and lift up his right hand as
if he would stab himself; but Achiabus, his first cousin, came running
to him, and held his hand, and hindered him from so doing... So Herod,
having survived the slaughter of his son five days, died, having reigned...thirty-seven
years since he had been made king by the Romans" (The Wars of the
Jews, book 1, chapter 33:5-8).
As specified in Herod's last will (rewritten only days before his death),
his kingdom was divided among his three remaining sons from his ten legal
marriages. The largest part of his kingdom was given to Archelaus (mother:
Malthace), while his younger brother, Antipas and his half-brother, Philip
(mother: Cleopatra—not the Egyptian queen) were to be given their own smaller
territories. These arrangements were tentative until ratified by Rome, and
the people knew it, so a period of turmoil and unrest ensued.
Demands were made on Archelaus to reduce taxes, release prisoners and
remove the high priest, Joazar, his late father's last appointee. Protests
also broke out over his father's actions following the golden eagle incident.
With Passover approaching, and Jerusalem filling with the usual huge numbers
of pilgrims, he was worried that the unrest would get out of hand. Archelaus
sent in a cohort of soldiers to police the crowd, but they were stoned to
death. He then sent in his whole army and cavalry. According to Josephus
some three-thousand casualties resulted and Archelaus suspended the week-long
Passover festival. On this auspicious note he left for Rome to have his
father's will ratified. Antipas soon followed to press his own claims under
a previous will. Later, Philip arrived to support Archelaus and to safeguard
his own interests.
With the brothers away in Rome to contest their father's will before
the emperor Augustus, spontaneous uprisings broke out throughout the country.
At Pentecost, the Roman military commander Sabinus looted Herod's treasury.
Bitter fighting broke out in the Temple compound. Stones were thrown at
the Roman troops and the rebels set fire to the Temple porticoes and pillaged
all they could lay their hands on. The Jewish people, with the help of Herodian
troops, besieged Sabinus in Herod's palace.
The turmoil spread from Jerusalem throughout the region as various men
sought to name themselves rulers of portions of Herod's kingdom. In Judea,
for example, a shepherd named Athronges, famed for his extraordinary physical
prowess, proclaimed himself king. Together with his four brothers, he waged
guerrilla warfare. They succeeded in wiping out a company of Roman soldiers
near Emmaus, 16 miles west-northwest of Jerusalem (just off Route 1, the
modern highway heading for Tel Aviv). Herod's slave, Simon, "a comely
person, of a tall and robust body" according to Josephus, was proclaimed
king by a group of followers. With his army, he burned and plundered several
royal residences, including his deceased master's winter palace at Jericho.
He was hunted down by
a Roman military force and beheaded. At the Galilee capital of Sepphoris (Hebrew
Zippori), 4 miles northwest of Nazareth, the Jews, under the leadership
of Judas*, son of Ezekias, rebelled against Roman rule.
Peace was restored only when the Roman legate of Syria, Quintilius Varus,
brought in two legions of troops and various auxiliaries and suppressed
the uprisings. According to Josephus, Varus, burned Sepphoris to the ground
and sold its Jewish inhabitants into slavery. The smoke must have been visible
in the nearby village of Nazareth, creating a lasting impression among its
residents. Varus also broke the siege against Sabinus in Jerusalem. According
to Josephus, a total of two thousand insurgents were crucified.
|
* The fierce dedication of Judas and his followers inspired other Jews to
form a rebel group known as the Zealots. During Jesus' lifetime these men
engaged in sporadic guerrilla warfare and they were to play a leading role
in the unsuccessful revolt against Rome in 66-70 AD that culminated in the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. |
In the aftermath of the uprisings, Varus permitted a delegation of fifty
Jews to sail for Rome to add their voices to the wrangling over the disposition
of Herod's will. Preferring direct Roman rule rather than subjection to
any member of Herodian family, they pointed out before Augustus the long
period of misrule by Herod (from their perspective) and recounted Archelaus'
recent slaughter of Passover pilgrims.
Augustus, who had procrastinated in the face of these competing claims,
at last made his decision known. He confirmed Herod's will, but denied Archelaus
the coveted title of "king" until he should prove himself worthy.
Instead, he was named ethnarch ("ruler of the people")
and given the largest part of his father's kingdom, consisting of the rich
territories of Judea (including Jerusalem), Idumea and Samaria.
Antipas was given the lesser title of tetrarch, or "ruler
of a fourth part" (of Palestine), and he inherited Perea (west of the
Dead Sea; now part of Jordan) and Galilee. He chose the recently destroyed
city of Sepphoris, near Nazareth, as his capital and began a major reconstruction.
Antipas ruled throughout the lifetime of Jesus and is simply called "Herod"
in the Gospels (24 times). He was supported by the Pharisees and a new aristocratic
sect—the Herodians—who, although pro-Roman, preferred to be ruled by a
native prince.
Philip, also designated tetrarch, was given charge of Gaulanitis
(modern Golan Heights), Batanea, Aurantis, Trachonitis and Ituraea, regions
north and east of the Sea of Galilee, mostly inhabited by pagans; he
ruled competently for nearly forty years (4 BC-34 AD).
Also, Herod's sister, Salome, was granted a group of cities (Jamnia,
Phasael, Azotus and Archelais) to provide her with an income (she died in
1 AD and willed them to emperor Augustus' wife).
Joseph, Mary and Jesus decide to make their home in Nazareth
Meanwhile, the news of Herod the Great's death reached Mary and Joseph
in Egypt. Matthew's Gospel hints that Joseph originally intended to return
to Judea and his ancestral home of Bethlehem, "but when he heard that Archelaus was reigning there
(Judea)...he was afraid to go there."
Instead, Joseph,
"having been warned in a dream," decided to return to his original home, Nazareth
in Galilee, ruled by Archelaus' "milder" brother, Antipas.
