Herod , surnamed the Great, king of the Jews, son of Antipater, a noble Idumaean, born in Ascalon, Judea, about 72 B. 0., died in 4. When in 47 Julius Caesar appointed his father procurator of Judea, the young Herod obtained the government of Galilee, and quickly vanquished the hordes of robbers which then infested the province. Alarming the ruling men at Jerusalem by his popularity, he was summoned before the sanhedrim on complaints of having put Jewish citizens to death without trial. On the appointed day he appeared he-fore the tribunal, gorgeously clad in purple, and surrounded by armed men; and though his acquittal was pronounced, he departed secretly to Syria, and was appointed governor of Coele-Syria in 46. After the death of Caesar he favored Brutus and Cassius, and received the, command of the army in Syria. He was equally successful in winning the support of Mark Antony, who entertained him at Rome in 40, and obtained from the senate a decree appointing him king of Judea. After the battle of Actium (31) and the death of Antony, he was confirmed in his kingdom by Augustus, whose favor he enjoyed during his reign. He had entered upon his government by besieging Jerusalem, and he hesitated at no crime or cruelty to establish his sovereignty.

Hyreanus, whom he feared as a competitor, was put to death on a charge of treason; his own wife Mariamne, to whom he was passionately attached, was executed (29); and her execution was followed by that of her two sons, and of her nearest relatives, and several of his principal counsellors. Yet his administration was vigorous and splendid, and for 30 years Judea was undisturbed by war, though its forces aided the Romans in Arabia and on the Bosporus. He erected a marble temple at Paneas in honor of Augustus, restored the city of Samaria under the name of Sebaste, transformed a small town on the coast into the magnificent city of Caesarea, erected temples and theatres, and an amphitheatre without the walls of Jerusalem, in which the Roman combats with wild beasts and gladiators were exhibited, sought to conciliate his subjects by many acts of munificence and liberality, and began to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. In 18 he visited Rome, and was received with the greatest distinction by Augustus. The latter part of his reign was harassed by conspiracies and intrigues, and in his last illness, while a fearful disease was consuming his stomach and intestines, he ordered the execution of his son Antipas. To this illness is also referred the murder of the children in Bethlehem, an event recorded by the evangelist (Matt. ii. 16), but passed unnoticed by Josephus. His death occurred in the year Which is generally considered by critics the year of the birth of Christ. Josephus is the principal authority for the events of his reign, which, notwithstanding its barbarities, restored to Jerusalem much of its earlier magnificence.

He had ten wives, and partitioned his kingdom between three of his sons, Arche-laus, Philip, and Herod Antipas.