Herod I’s
Tangled Family Tree
Herod the Great’s family tree is long and winding,
frequently doubling back into itself. Through his own marriages and the
marriages (and intermarriages) of his descendants, Herod’s family was linked to
many families of other near Eastern client kings of Rome. These connections
supplement our view of the Herodian family, and explain how families of these
client kings of Rome were often inter-connected.
Coin of Herod I,
probably struck 37 BC
Herod I
himself (40 BC – 4 BC) had at least ten wives who bore him 14 children, 9 sons
and 5 daughters. I certainly don’t have the time to introduce you to each of
them and their descendants, but just to catch a glimpse of some of the “A list”
members of the Herodian Dynasty. The Roman numerals used to identify many of
the people involved often vary from reference to reference. For continuity,
therefore, I am using the excellent book HEROD:
King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans by Peter Richardson as our
primary source.
First among
royal connections was Herod’s own marriage to Mariamne the Hasmonean in 37 BC. Mariamne
was the granddaughter of both Hasmonean (Maccabean) Kings John Hyrcanus II (d.
31 BC) and Judah Aristobulus II (d.49 BC). (Her parents were first
cousins—Alexandra was daughter of John Hyrcanus II and Alexander II was son of
Hyrcanus’ brother Aristobulus II.)
Herod no
doubt believed that this marriage would solidify his position as King of the
Jews, since the Hasmonean dynasty that ruled before him was, for the most part,
quite popular. By all accounts, Herod deeply loved Mariamne. Sadly, however,
his paranoia (possibly somewhat justified) caused him to murder not only
Mariamne (in 29 BC), but eventually also (in 7 BC) the two sons they had
together, Herod Alexander II (born 36 [?] BC) and Herod Aristobulus I (born 35
[?] BC).
Even though
they died before their 30th birthdays, both of these sons of Herod
and Mariamne had quite interesting of descendants.
Herod
Alexander II married Glaphyra, daughter of Archelaus, King of Cappadocia. (After
Alexander’s death, and a second marriage to Juba II, King of Mauretania (25 BC
– 23 AD), Glaphyra later married her first husband’s half brother Herod
Archelaus (4 BC – 6 AD), ethnarch of Judaea, after he was banished to Gaul by
Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD).
Juba II, King of
Mauretania (photo cngcoins.com)
The son of Alexander and Glaphyra became Tigranes V, king of
Armenia, who ruled for a very short time around 6 AD. According to Y.T.
Nercessian, “Augustus sent Tigranes V to Armenia. He was distantly related to
the Armenian Artaxiads. He was the grandson of Herod the Great of Judaea, son
of Alexander and Glaphyra… His reign was short-lived and Queen Erato was placed
on the throne.” Tigranes V died in 36 AD.
Tigranes V of Armenia
(photo: cngcoins.com)
Tigranes V
and Erato marked the end of the line for Artaxiad royal line, and shortly the
Parthians moved into power. Nero, however, was having a difficult time
controlling the Parthians. By around 60 C.E. the military/political situation
with Parthia was not tenable for Rome, and Nero installed a new ruler, a
pro-Roman, anti-Parthian puppet, supported by Roman troops. He was another
Tigranes (VI), a usurper who was barely (if at all) related to the original
Armenian royal family. As nephew of the above-mentioned Tigranes V, and a
great-grandson of Herod I and Mariamne, he kept things in the family for his
brief reign.
Tigranes VI of Armenia
(photo: cngcoins.com)
A son of
Tigranes the usurper, Alexander VI, became King of Cetis in Cilicia, and
married Iotape III, daughter of Antiochus, King of Commagene (38 – 72 AD).
Antiochus IV King of
Commagene, his daughter Iotape married a son of the Herodian Tigranes VI
(photo: cngcoins.com)
Tracing the
lineage of Aristobulus I, Herod’s other son with Mariamne, is equally confusing
and just as interesting. In 17 B.C.E. Aristobulus I married his first cousin
Berenike I, the daughter of Herod I’s sister Salome I. This union resulted in
three sons and two daughters. Here we will follow the sons.
One became Herod IV King of Chalcis
(d. 48 C.E.), who first married Mariamne V, his first cousin, and later married
Berenike III, his niece and the sister of Agrippa II. The son of Herod IV of Chalcis and Mariamne V was another Aristobulus,
King of Armenia Minor. He was the second husband of Salome III, who exotic
dance had previously enhanced her brother-in-law Herod Antipas. As Matthew
reports (14:8-9), Herod was so entranced he offered Salome the reward of her
choice. Then,
Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of
John the
Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he
ordered that her request be granted.
Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he
ordered that her request be granted.
Aristobulus King of
Armenia Minor, and his wife Salome III (photo: cngcoins.com)
A second son was Aristobulus II,
who married another Iotape, daughter of Sampisgeramos, King of Emisa.
The third
son of Aristobulus I and Berenike I was Agrippa I (37-44 AD), who incorporated
Judaea into his territory for the second half of his reign. Agrippa I followed
family tradition and married his first cousin Kypros III, another
grand-daughter of Herod the Great.
Agrippa I portrait, on
the reverse is his wife Kypros III
Among the
children of Agrippa I were Drusilla, Berenike III, and Agrippa II.
Drusilla, shown on a
coin struck Agrippa I, however this Drusilla is NOT the daughter of Agrippa I, but the "daughter of Augustus" who at this time was Caligula. (photo: cngcoins.com)
Coin of Agrippa II with
the portrait of Vespasian.
Drusilla first married King Aziz of
Emisa and later married Marcus Antoninus Felix, procurator of Judaea (54 – 59 AD)
under Claudius.
Coin of Antoninus
Felix, Procurator of Judaea under Claudius.
Agrippa II became the last Herodian
King in the ancient land of Israel and ruled from 56 to around 95 AD. Although
he never actually ruled over Jerusalem, he maintained a palace there, and
wielded quite some influence with many Jews. Claudius assigned him guardianship
of the High Priest’s robes in Jerusalem. Agrippa II made impassioned pleas to
the Jews to give in to Roman rule instead of fighting the Jewish War (66 – 70 AD).
During much of this time his sister, Berenike III, stood by his side.
It was often speculated that
Berenike III stayed by her brother not only by day, but also by night, in an
incestuous relationship. Aside from that it is mentioned above that Berenike’s
second husband was her uncle Herod King of Chalkis.
Herod King of Chalkis,
second husband to Berenike (photo: cngcoins.com)
Her third husband was Polemo II, King of Pontus (38 – 63/4
AD). And finally she nearly became the wife of the Roman Emperor Titus (79 -81
AD), with whom she had a long, well publicized relationship as his mistress. Titus
went so far as to bring Berenike III to Rome and install her in his palace, in
anticipation of a royal marriage. But the Roman Senate, still wary of women of
the East after their experience with Mark Antony’s Cleopatra III, prevailed,
and Titus ended his relationship with her.
Polemo II drachm
showing Nero on its reverse (photo: cngcoins.com)
Titus Judaea Capta
sestertius
Coin of Agrippa II
struck in 78/79 AD said to celebrate his voyage to Rome with sister Berenice,
who anticipated marriage to Titus
We can round out this summary of Herod’s
descendants with a quick look at the three sons who actually inherited his
kingdom after fierce contestations of their father’s will. Herod Antipas,
tetrarch of Galilee (4 BC – 40 AD), first married a daughter of Aretas IV (her
name is not known to history). His second wife was Herodias, daughter of his
half-brother Aristobulus I. This was also Herodias’s second marriage, since she
had previously been married to another of her uncles.
Herod Philip II (4 BC – 34 AD), son
of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem, became tetrarch of the
northeastern section of his father’s kingdom (4 BC – 34 AD). He was the first
husband of the notorious Salome III, his niece. When he died (as discussed
above), Salome married her second cousin, Aristobulus IV, king of Armenia
Minor.
Herod Philip II (a
rare portrait coin) was first husband of Salome II, his niece (shown earlier)
Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judaea
(4 BC – 6 AD), first married one of his niece’s Mariamne IV. After divorcing
her he married Glaphyra, the wife of his half-brother Alexander, who had been
murdered by his father Herod the Great in 7 BC.
Herod Archelaus’ first
wife was his niece Mariamne IV.
© 2016
by David Hendin
