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If you enjoy this episode, you can listen to part two of the Herod story right away over on the Real Dictators podcast. A short history of we'll be back in the new year with brand new episodes. We hope you enjoy. It's 1485 on the feast day of Corpus Christi. We're in Coventry, the fourth largest city in medieval England. Amidst the bustling winding streets, an elaborate performance is in progress.
Giant wooden carts have been parked up at key locations around the city. A makeshift stage has been constructed at each spot. A cast of hundreds is taking part in a theatrical extravaganza. It's called the Mystery Cycle, and it happens every year. It's a ten-play omnibus that tells the life story of Jesus. For the locals, it's one of the most significant events in the calendar. On one stage, the first instalment,
the traditional nativity story is underway. Most of the elements in this production would be familiar to a modern-day audience: the shepherds following the start of Bethlehem, the three kings with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the baby Jesus swaddled in a lowly manger. And then another character emerges onto the stage: King Herod of Judea. This ancient ruler is quite the scene-stealer, the archetypal pantomime villain.
He enters with great fanfare, making a series of grandiose claims. He is descended from Zeus, he is a cousin to God himself, he is the prince of purgatory and chief captain of hell. When the three kings arrive on their way to visit the baby Jesus, Herod treats them with courtly respect, but as soon as their backs are tied, he is already plotting to murder them.
After the kings escape his clutches, Herod flies into a rage. He will hang them, he declares, and kill the baby messiah they've come to see. In fact, he'll kill every child in Bethlehem until the age of two. Overwhelmed with anger, he leaps down from the stage, ranting and raving amid the crowd.
The Coventry play ends with Herod's knights having failed to talk him down, murdering three mock babies on stage in cold blood, while their parents weep and wail. This slaughter of the innocents, derived from the Gospel of Matthew, is the story that everyone knows about King Herod, then and now. It's a theme that has found its way back into popular culture time and again. The cruel dictator whose reign is threatened by the birth of a chosen one,
and who takes drastic action in response. William Shakespeare witnessed a later version of the mystery cycle as a child. His Macbeth, another child-killing tyrant, owes as much to Herod as he does to the historical Scottish king. In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark cautions his own group of actors not to "ham it up" to avoid overdoing the evil in their performances, telling them not to "out-Herod Herod".
Lord Voldemort is a more recent incarnation of the same basic character, a despot of sorts who attempts to murder baby Harry after a prophecy that the child will bring about his downfall. Over the centuries, Herod has been transformed into a literary trope. This might have secured his legacy, but in the process, the historical figure has been obscured.
The true story of Herod the Great is arguably even more dramatic, even more extraordinary than any literary reimagining, replete with political intrigue, family drama, dazzling architectural ventures, and yes, tyranny. So who really was this iconic figure of the immediate pre-Christian era? How did he change the face of the Middle East? Was he as evil as later writers made out? And if not,
Why did his people celebrate when he died a painful, lonely death? From Noisa. This is part one of the Herod story. And this is Real Dictators. It's the first century BC. We're in the desert kingdom of Idumea. This rugged territory is located in the west of modern-day Jordan. The terrain is mountainous, dry, and treacherous to navigate. The red earth isn't fertile, but Idumea lies on the ancient incense roots.
linking the Dead Sea, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Some of the world's most desirable goods travel this way, not only incense but salt, spices, perfumes and luxurious fabrics from India and the Far East. The tribe's people who escort caravans of camels through this hazardous landscape can make a good living and gain influence, providing the traders with food, water and resting places.
It is here that Herod is born in the year 72 BC. His father, Antipater, is the clan chief. He's a savvy dealmaker, whether brokering marriages between families or striking the best agreements with the traders who need to pass through his domain. Antipater's ability to negotiate, but also to fight when needed, has made him a wealthy and powerful man. Dr. Adam Marshak is the author of The Many Faces of Herod the Great.
Antipater's family are Idumean elites and they've been in a position of power in Idumea for a very long time. Antipater is one of the leading men and his family is one of the leading families in Idumea. But Antipater's ambitions for himself and his four sons aren't limited to his home terrain. He can see the bigger picture.
What's interesting about Herod's father Antipater is that he's the right person in the right place at the right time. By the time Herod is born, there are two dominant superpowers in the region. The Roman Empire and the Parthians, originating in ancient Iran. Both want a power base in Idumea. The region sits right on the edge of Roman-controlled land and on the Parthian border. Rome controls it, broadly speaking.
but the Parthians have an eye on it. Bruce Chilton is professor of religion at Bard College and author of The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession. The people of Idumea had been at the mercy of larger empires for centuries.
Their territory had literally been shifted over from the east towards the west. They were not in the most fertile part of the region. They didn't have established, well-developed institutions. Their cities, although called cities, were much more like trading towns. And the life of the community was very much on the basis of oral tradition and trade.
But trade is only one part of the picture. This is the Holy Land after all. Religion dominates people's lives. And to understand Herod's life, not to mention the long history of this part of the world, it's vital to understand this context. Idumea sits just to the south of ancient Palestine. According to scripture, it's here, almost 2000 years before Herod's birth, that Abraham made a covenant with God.
according to which his descendants would be given a homeland in return for their faith and obedience to his laws. It's another 600 odd years before King David founds the Kingdom of Israel with its capital Jerusalem, 40 miles north of Edomia. Throughout the centuries of conflict that follow, the Israelites hold to another prophecy regarding a Messiah or Savior who will one day restore peace to the world.
This ruler, it is said, will be directly descended from King David. Forty years before Herod is born, a Jewish royal family, the Hasmoneans, take charge of the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding territories. Among them, Edomia, the tribe of Herod's grandfather, and many other tribes adopt Jewish customs, either willingly or not. Herod's father Antipater is brought up as a Jew, but he will take as his wife a woman called Cypros,
She is an Arab noblewoman. The matrilineal principle which states that Jewish identity is dependent on the mother's bloodline rather than the father's, has yet to be codified in rabbinical law. So Herod and his siblings will be considered Jewish. But their heritage is mixed and not exactly long-standing. Questions around his background will dog Herod throughout his life. As we shall see in due course, they will undermine his ability to rule as a king here.
And there's another aspect of Herod's upbringing that will put him at odds with his subjects. He is part of the elite, a collaborator even. While Antipater raises his children according to the Jewish faith, he also teaches them about the customs of the Roman Empire, which in turn are based on Greek traditions and language. He knows that understanding Hellenic culture is crucial if you want to get ahead in this region. Indeed, Herod's name comes from the Greek word for hero,
The young boys given the kind of education a Roman nobleman's son might expect. He would have been trained in rhetoric and reading and writing and philosophy.
It would have been a classical education and then a lot of military training. Herod, at a young age, was a really athletic, very capable soldier. And that meant hours and hours of training, horseback riding, archery, sword fighting, javelin fighting, all of the major things we associate with a military education.
Harrod was trained as a young man for leadership, and that meant both political leadership but also military leadership. And it would have been essential for him to feel comfortable on a battlefield, to know what to do on a battlefield, and to defend himself if necessary.
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Extreme Muscle Men. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. At this point, there's an essential question to address. How do we know what we know about Herod the Great? Much of the detail of Herod's life comes from an extensive account written by the Jewish Roman historian Flavius Josephus. Born in Jerusalem in AD 37, Josephus is best remembered for his history of the Jewish people.
He later became an ally of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, who permitted him to write and collect a pension. Writing history has meant different things to different people over the centuries. Josephus, it's probably fair to say, was most interested in capturing the essence of Herod's character and the way his people viewed him, rather than triple-checking every fact and figure. He almost certainly used rather a lot of what we might term "artistic license". But he's an invaluable source.
Dr. Tessa Rajak is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the University of Reading and a Senior Research Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford. It is very difficult to suggest, and I don't think few people would do it nowadays, that Josephus isn't a wonderful source for so much of that Judean background. But where did Josephus get his material from, since he lived sometime after Herod's reign?
The answer lies with a rather obscure character from Herod's story, one of his closest friends and advisors, often in the background, but never far from his side, Nicholas of Damascus. He's super important in this story. He's super important because he was actually one of Herod's chief advisors, political advisors, a courtier, presumably a fan of Herod, but...
He probably wrote his account of Herod's reign and his own autobiography after Herod's death when he could spill a lot of beans. So quite a scholarly character, but clearly also quite a survivor within that very dangerous court. Modern day historians are helped by the fact that extensive archaeological evidence also exists from Herod's time.
the Jerusalem temple restoration, the port at Caesarea Maritima, and fortresses at Herodium and Masada. Then there are the more everyday items such as coins bearing Herod's image. Excavation continues at many sites to this day. In 67 BC, when Herod is just five years old, a dispute between two factions of the Hasmonean family spills out into a full-blown civil war.
Two brothers, Iricanus and Aristobulus, are vying for joint role of High Priest and King of Judea. Herod's father Antipater throws his lot in with the elder of the two, Iricanus. After three years of fighting, the brothers appeal to Rome to resolve the dispute. But the leading Roman general of the day, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, aka Pompey, sees an opportunity. With Judea weakened by infighting,
He decides to bring his own army into the mix. Pompey sends 35,000 men to Jerusalem. His plan is to seize the city for himself. Antipater sees which way the wind is blowing. He begins back-channeling intelligence to the Romans. After three months, Pompey's siege engines break through the 20 feet stone walls that protect the city. And in his triumph, the general can't resist entering the temple, including the Holy of Holies.
It's an act of blasphemy the Jews won't soon forgive. This is the spot where Jews believe God lives, God resides, and this non-Jew walks in and desecrates the temple. That would have been an outrage. To add further insult to injury, now that Pompey has taken Judea, its land is formally annexed by Rome. The people can no longer govern themselves.
It would have really upset them because the whole premise is that Jews are the chosen people, that God liberates the Jews, except of course when God is punishing them. And so one obvious question is, well, is God punishing us? Did we do something wrong? Because how else can we explain our loss of independence? How else can we explain our loss of autonomy? In Judea, Hyrcanus is restored to the position of high priest.
but the role of king is left vacant for the time being. Instead, in reward for his help and his shrewd diplomacy, Antipater is made governor. Working on General Pompey's behalf, he has become a client king in all but name. Antipater is now officially a Roman citizen and exempt from paying Pompey's taxes. He takes advantage of his new power to give his sons a leg up once they come of age.
Herod, in his mid-twenties, is given control of the region of Galilee. The young man is keen to prove himself. His most important task is to ensure the Romans get their tax revenue. But in rough-and-ready Galilee, rebels are a major threat, plundering towns and villages and robbing wealthy caravan trains. Tackling the bandits gives Herod a chance to show his new bosses how tough he can be.
There's a series of skirmishes and then finally they locate the bandits' hideout and there's this brutal suppression of the bandits and execution of all of the major figures and a lot of other people as well. As a boy, Herod hunted foxes on horseback. Now though, he's hunting a man, Ezekiel the Zealot. Ezekiel is a kind of Galilean Robin Hood and his opposition to Roman rule has earned him favor among local people.
Herod rides without a saddle, leading his men to a farm. They charge through the fields, their swords drawn and swinging. Herod rides right into the farmhouse where Hezekiah is hiding. His men destroy everything in their way. Furniture goes flying, pottery smashes against the limestone walls. The farmer's few possessions have been trampled and broken. His sons, who tried to bar the door, lie maimed and bleeding on the floor.
Leaping from their horses, Herod and his men round up Hesychia and his followers, dragging them out of their hiding places and forcing them into the courtyard outside at the tips of their swords. Hesychia kneels. An officer raises his arm, sword held high above his head. But Herod calls his man to halt. The gathering mob holds its breath. Is this mercy? Herod strides up to Hesychia and pauses in front of him. Then, in an instant,
He brings down the blow. Ezekiel's head rolls towards the crowd. Herod wipes the blood from his sword and calmly remounts his horse. He rides off triumphant to a mixture of screams and cheers as his men behead the rest of the rebels. Herod's merciless crackdown wins him the gratitude of Rome, and many people in Galilee are relieved that the pillaging has ended. But to others, the rebels were freedom fighters
sticking it to the faithless Romans. And Herod has just made it very clear whose side he's on. Herod's problem is that although he's done the job that he was tasked with, not everyone is thrilled about it. In the religious heart of Jerusalem, Herod's actions are condemned. Again, there are two competing sources of power at play, external Roman might and local religious custom. Herod had the backing of Rome in hunting Ezekiel,
But according to local tradition, only the Sanhedrin, the assembly of priests and elders, are permitted to order the death penalty to them. The news that a young upstart has taken a law into his own hands provokes fury. They convince the high priest, Hyracanus, to take action, and to Herod's shock, he is summoned to the Sanhedrin to stand trial for murder.
This trial is probably the event of the season, the event of the year, because Herod is an extremely prominent figure from an extremely prominent family, and he's being brought to trial for a very serious charge. The atmosphere in Jerusalem leading up to this trial would have been electric. There would have been
buzz and there probably were periodic riots and fights and you know things breaking out into the street and all this like tension as herod arrives for his trial the narrow streets leading to the temple are crammed with people thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of this controversial young man some shout their support while others cheer as the tall muscular idumean strides along flanked by his bodyguards
71 members of the council wait for Herod in the chamber of Hewn Stone, near the bloodstained altar used many times each day for animal sacrifices. They hold his future in their hands. After putting the rebels to death without authorization, Herod could face the death penalty himself. He steps into the vast hall. When they catch sight of him, the priest's jaws hit the floor. Herod has dressed not so much to impress as to shock.
His robes are dyed a deep regal purple, a clear message that he sees himself as their future ruler, and he doesn't care who knows it. After the charges are heard, the bearded high priest, Hyrcanus, dithers. He has received secret orders from Rome that Herod must be acquitted, but he knows that many of his colleagues want to see the young man humiliated. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Hyrcanus announces he's adjourning the hearing.
When everyone else has gone, Hyracanus takes Herod to one side. He urges him to leave Jerusalem, to de-escalate the situation. In the coming days, Herod does leave, but instead of being grateful for the tip-off, he's furious with the high priest and the rest of the Sanhedrin, furious enough to come back with his entire army. As ever, it's left to Antipater to talk his son down. He persuades Herod to bide his time,
The forces do march on Jerusalem, but divert at the last minute. Sometimes, revenge is a dish best served cold. Now in his thirties, Herod has a growing reputation and some extremely influential supporters. But in this period of history, ruin is only ever a dagger's length away. In Rome, discontent with Julius Caesar is growing. His rule has become increasingly authoritarian. In March 44 BC,
Caesar is stabbed 23 times by a gang of conspirators. He dies on the stone floor of the Senate building. The ramifications are soon felt in every corner of the Roman Empire, including Judea. Caesar was an advocate for the Jews, granting them rights to worship and allowing priests to collect taxes to maintain temple buildings. Antipater had worked hard to develop a good relationship with the Roman dictator.
Now, he and his sons must scramble to win favor with Caesar's assassins. Antipater, ever the crafty politician, would have said, "There's risk, but there's also reward." Because if you remember, that's how Antipater becomes arguably the most powerful person in the Hasmonean kingdom. The power behind the throne is by backing the right horse at the right time. The family's new charm offensive will be focused on General Cassius, one of the ringleaders of the assassination plot. And as always, money talks.
Cassius needs money fast because he knows that his enemies in Rome are going to come after him. He knows that he needs to raise an army. Armies are incredibly expensive, and so he needs money right away and lots of it. So what Cassius does is he turns to the client kings in his sphere of influence, and he basically says to them, pay up. Fortunately, raising taxes is Herod's speciality.
His soldiers travel from village to village on a merciless hunt for loot. But not all of Judea's leaders are so ready to please the Romans. Some have a very different vision of the nation's future. Chief among them is an aristocrat called Malikus. Malikus wants to kick out the Romans and install a more religiously observant Jewish leadership. He is no fan of Antipater and his family, whose own conversion to the faith is so recent.
At least, that's the line that plays well with the people. More cynically, Malichus is as power hungry as any of the other key players. The ideal partners for overthrowing the Romans would be the Parthians, based in eastern Iran. This superpower controls trade routes and is the main rival to the Roman Empire. Malichus extends Felis, but while he's busy scheming, he's slow to raise taxes for his current bosses. Soon that makes him a target for Cassius.
who believes Malicus' parsimony suggests disloyalty, perhaps even treachery. Ever the diplomat, Antipater intervenes to save Malicus' life. He believes him to be loyal to Rome. Antipater even helps make up the shortfall, paying some of Malicus' debt from his own coffers. He just wants to keep the peace, but it's a decision that will have terrible consequences. In 43 BC, Malicus invites Antipater to a lavish banquet.
It is, he insists, the least he can do to thank him. A hundred guests enjoy the finest wines and food in honor of Antipater. This banquet
would have been quite the event. I mean, we should imagine a huge banqueting room, probably several rooms. Wine would have been flowing freely. Music would have been everywhere. Acrobats, gymnastics, juggling, poetry recitals, nice incense wafting all over the room. Probably a lot of people overindulging in both wine and food and maybe vomiting in the bushes.
Probably a lot of also prostitutes were hired for the event. This is a great opportunity for Malchus because Antipater is going to have to drink at this banquet. To not eat, to not drink at this banquet would have been insulting. The banquet was for him. He was the guest of honor. Antipater relaxes. After all, there's a lot to celebrate. Malchus is now in his debt and he's bolstered his own standing with the Romans as well as that of his sons.
Little does he know that Malicus has bribed a butler to slip something into his drink. As Antipater leaves the party, he feels dizzy and collapses in the street, unconscious. His heart slows, then stops altogether, thanks to the belladonna, or deadly nightshade, added to his wine. The toast to Antipater's health has ended up killing him, and he's been murdered by the very man whose life he saved.
When this news reaches Herod, he is of course devastated, but he too can scheme like a Roman. Herod invites Malichus to a meeting in the city of Tyre, pretending he has no idea that Malichus was behind his father's murder. But just like the previous banquet, Herod's get-together is a trap.
Herod has now learned Roman ways. He understands that diplomacy is often duplicity. So he heartily greets Malichus and tells him that he is going to send on a lesser officer to announce Malichus' way into the city.
That officer goes off, but what he does is alert some Roman officers that Cassius had put at Herod's disposal for the purposes of the assassination. So when Malichus met up with those Roman officers, he was greeted the same way that Julius Caesar had been greeted on the Ides of March. He was put to death by daggers.
And so that was the close of Malichus' career and life. With his father's killer dead, Herod looks to the future and at the top of his to-do list is taking the throne of Judea. He knows that his heritage will count against him. To many, the facts of his birth and upbringing means he simply cannot hope to fulfill the prophecy of the line of David. But he also knows that in this era, marriage can offer a shortcut to power.
In fact, Herod is already married. His wife, Doris, yes really, has given him a son and heir, but he's permitted to take more wives if he wants to. He decides to bolster his standing by marrying a Hasmonean princess, a woman with impeccable Jewish lineage. Mariamne is the granddaughter of the high priest, Hyrcanus. And when the deal is done, she is only 12 or 13 years old.
Mary Omni is the prize. Her father represented one side of the Civil War. Her mother represented the other.
So to marry her, to be her husband is really a statement about the importance of that husband. If you're her husband, you are the heir to the throne because Jerichonus has no sons. His closest relative is this woman, is Mary Omni. And that
is the real importance of Mariamne. It's not necessarily just about her, it's actually really about who her future children can claim to be. Herod hopes that if Mariamne bears him a son, no one will question his right to rule. He banishes his first wife and focuses all his attention on his new bride and her family. They are well aware of how valuable both she and her potential offspring are to whichever man she marries.
She's incredibly proud of her lineage. She knows her place. She knows her importance. And yet, at the same time, we do get a sense from Josephus that at least in their early years together, Mariamne and Herod seem at first to be quite a match, that he deeply loves her. Herod will have to wait five years for Mariamne to reach marriageable age. In the meantime, there are other deals to be brokered.
Yet another Roman coup has led to another change of leadership. And this time, it's good news for Herod. Cassius has killed himself after a defeated battle. And Mark Antony is now sharing power with two other triumphiers, Lepidus and Octavian. Herod and Antony go way back. They first met more than a decade ago, when Antony was a cavalry officer in Syria. They've remained good friends ever since. But while Herod has Antony's backing,
He isn't the only ambitious up-and-comer in Judea. There is another upwardly mobile young man on the scene. His name is Antigonus. He is the nephew of Hyracarnas, the current high priest. But Antigonus wants to seize his uncle's position, by force if needs be. Once again, this region of the Middle East will be at the epicenter of the clash of empires. While Herod is Rome's man, Antigonus has been back-channeling with the Parthians.
He's already promised them vast riches if they can help him to power. To sweeten the deal, he's even agreed to throw in 500 Judean noblewomen. And so, in 40 BC, Antigonus' forces march on Judea and Galilee. He doesn't have the power to seize Jerusalem outright, but he inflicts significant damage. Enough damage, crucially, for the Parthians to step in and offer to mediate.
Of course, they don't reveal that they're already backing Antigonus. Herod is deeply suspicious of the Parthian peace talks, but his older brother, Pheasel, agrees to attend, as does Hyracarnas himself. It's a decision that will prove their undoing. On their way to the summit in Damascus, both men are taken prisoner. The result of that was utter disaster.
In order to make sure that there would be no chance of Hyrcanus serving as high priest in the future, he was physically mutilated. A high priest had to be intact, and Hyrcanus either had his ears cut off or he had his ears chewed off by his high priestly competitor. Either way, he would no longer serve as high priest.
Fazael, the elder brother of Herod, was chained and imprisoned in a tower. He belatedly understood the dreadful position he had put his own family in.
Herod is forced to flee the city. He's forced to flee Jerusalem. He doesn't know what's going to happen to him. His brother is in captivity. Hyrcanus is in captivity and has been mutilated and therefore can't be high priest anymore. Herod is public enemy number one. It's a penny drop moment. The Parthians are coming to get him. As their troops pour into Jerusalem, Herod has mere hours to flee.
It's the middle of the night when he makes his escape bid. He gathers his most loyal soldiers, along with what's left of his family, not to mention a number of the noble women that Antigonus had promised to the invaders. It's a caravan of thousands. The soldiers march, but everyone else travels by wagon. They try to hurry over the rocky terrain, knowing that at dawn the risk of attack would become that much greater. But the wagons aren't built for this pitted landscape. As the sun rises, the Parthians are closing in.
Herod's caravan is marooned in the foothills of a mountain seven miles south of Jerusalem, and his soldiers are heavily outnumbered. He orders his fighters to split into two groups, dividing either side of the mountain. Antigonus watches these troop movements from a nearby peak. It looks for all the world like Herod has lost control of his men, and they've deserted. He orders his own cavalry and foot soldiers forward, but it's a trap. Herod's forces are lying in wait, up on the concealed slopes.
Now they race down, ambushing the enemy, butchering them and seizing their supplies. Against the odds, Herod has won a decisive battle, but he knows that he can't win the war, not on his own anyway. He'll need the help of the allies he and his family have cultivated so carefully over the years, the Romans.
Right now, he has to get to Rome. He is loyal to Rome, maybe because he likes them better, but also because that was what he made his career on. And Parthia has now invaded. He can't stay in Judea. He needs to get to Rome because he needs to, A, let them know what's going on, and B, remind them that he's the only real loyal guy left. Herod begins the long journey to the imperial capital.
but en route he received some terrible news: his brother Fiesel is dead. In an apparent suicide, he leapt from the cell where he was being held, falling onto the rocks below. As his small band of men wend their way out of the Holy Land, Herod has never been more alone.
He's not in a good place. Only a short while ago, he was the talk of the town. He was the preeminent noble. He was the man on the rise. His future looked secure. Herod had a path laid out for him where with his father's help and with his father's guidance and influence, Herod himself, or maybe Herod and his brother, would have risen to the natural position of preeminence that they were meant to have.
And then all of that fell apart. For Harrod, this would have been a really lonely but also really anxiety-inducing journey because his future is not secure and it's not clear that things are going to turn out in the way that he wants and that Antony and Octavian are going to support him. They may very well just say, "Well, clearly you have proven that you can't actually rule and therefore we'll find someone else."
The first stop on Herod's journey is Alexandria in Egypt. There he plans to visit his friend Mark Antony's new squeeze, Cleopatra. If Herod can persuade her to lend him an army for her lover's sake, it would save him the long trip to Rome. But the Egyptian queen proves a tough nut to crack. Herod is granted his royal audience. He's invited to board a small boat. It will take him to a private island opposite Alexandria's port.
which only those with express permission may visit. As he alights, he takes in the magnificent Egyptian architecture. Sixty red granite columns tower over him, each topped with a sculpted crown. Beyond this gateway lies an even grander palace. Inside, he's led along corridors decorated with fine paintings. Before being shown into an ante-room, here he will wait and wait and wait.
As a career politician, Herod surely recognizes the power play. At long last, he's shown into Cleopatra's opulent chambers. A servant announces him: "Herod, ruler of Galilee." The queen greets him warmly, and finally she makes him an offer. She will give him the troops he needs to take back Judea, but he will have to serve under her command. He tells her he'll think about it. Cleopatra's offer is better than nothing.
but not exactly what he had in mind. He'll have to journey on to Rome after all. Herod tells his men to charter a ship to leave the next day. They will risk the storms and pirates of the Mediterranean in one last roll of the dice. He's not afraid of danger. What scares him most is obscurity. By the time Herod finally makes it to Rome, in late 40 BC, the stakes could scarcely be higher.
In his absence, back home, Antigonus has had months to lick his wounds and plot his own comeback. Herod goes straight to meet Mark Antony at his villa. Of course they would be speaking Greek. Herod speaks Greek fluently. Antony, as an educated Roman aristocrat, would have also spoken Greek fluently. But there probably would have been translators on hand just to make sure that things go well. There would have been scribes, there would have been secretaries, there would have been advisors.
Herod needn't have worried about winning Antony round. The bigger hurdle will be his fellow triumphier, Octavian. There was no loyalty there, just cold, hard politics. Fortunately, Octavian agrees that Herod is the right man for the job. They knew what he was good at. They knew he was good at suppressing rebels. They knew he was good at keeping the peace. They knew he was willing to do whatever it took, that he was willing to be brutal and ruthless. They didn't have to personally like him.
They just had to know that he would do the job. Next up, though, is the Roman Senate. As Herod climbs the steps of the Senate House, he's flanked by the two most powerful men in the Empire. Antony and Octavian have assured him that the senators will go along with their wishes. But Herod is taking nothing for granted. He knows it was in this Senate House that Caesar was murdered four years earlier.
The tall bronze doors close behind him as he enters the austere hall. Almost a thousand senators sit on benches, lining two sides of the vast room. It's a daunting audience, but Herod has one of the best orators in the empire on his side. Not for nothing did Shakespeare give Mark Antony the best speech in his play, and Antony is on top form today, singing Herod's praises.
His revenue raising, his battle skills, his diplomacy. This brave leader and close friend of the Roman people has been ejected from his land by the barbaric Parthians, and the outrage cannot be allowed to stand. If Rome is to take back this territory, it can only be with Herod in charge. But there's more. Antony doesn't just want Herod instated as a governor. This man deserves more than that. The throne of Judea is there for the taking.
Herod must be king of the Jews. The response to Antony's words is overwhelming. Now it's time to vote. The senators move across to one side of the hall. Nobody remains on the other side. It's unanimous. In name at least, Herod is king of Judea. The great ambition that Herod had clearly cherished, I would think from a very early age, was to be named as king.
actually to reign as the sovereign over Judea. That was an extraordinary ambition for him. He did not belong to the royal household, nothing like a member of the family of David, and also he did not belong to any of the high priestly families. Herod, at a moment of historic weakness, achieved the royal title that his father had never inherited.
But of course, at that moment in the year 40, that was a theoretical title. He was king of Judea. In that sense, one could also refer to him as king of the Jews. But in order to make that a reality on the ground, it would take the better part of three years of extraordinarily cruel and bloody fighting. Right now, Roman custom demands an act of sacrifice. Herod must accompany his allies to the Temple of Jupiter
where swine will be butchered to mark the momentous news. It's an uncomfortable proposition. Back home, this would be seen as an act of sacrilege. But when in Rome... At first, that might seem shocking. Herod, the Jewish aristocrat, making a sacrifice with non-Jews in a non-Jewish temple. What other option does he have?
He can't afford to offend Antony or Octavian, so he's going to do whatever they want. You know, hopefully my people don't find out about this. Hopefully they don't hear about this. But I don't have the option right now because I need Roman money. I need Roman soldiers. I need Roman help. To visit the temple characterizes the tightrope Herod will have to walk if he is to be a successful ruler of Judea. He's been given the job by the Romans.
and in exchange, they will expect all the revenue and ease of trade that's made it an important part of their empire. But even if Herod can win the war to seize back the land, winning the support of his people will be the bigger fight. Later that day, Mark Antony gives a banquet in Herod's honor. He fastens a gilded diadem band around his head. Now he has to make it so. In the next episode, Herod leaves Rome to wrest Judea from the Parthians.
He will marry a princess, commission mind-blowing buildings, and even murder his in-laws as he tries to win over the populace. But how will that desperate quest shape his subjects' lives and his own legacy? And what of Herod's most notorious act, the slaughter of the innocent? That's next time.