10 Interesting Herod Facts

Herod facts provide the biography of the life of Herod the Great. Herod is one of the most important people who set up the modern and ancient Israel. You need to learn about his personality, life and legacy of Herod by reading the following post below:

Herod Facts 1: date of birth

There is no exact date of birth of Herod. But the great king was estimated to bear around 74 BC. He was called as the descendant of Esau Idumaeans since he was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean.

Herod Facts 2: Antipater

Herod was an Antipater’s son for he was the descendant of Esau. Probably you are not familiar with the word Antipater. He has a high ranking official under the ruler of Proman Province or Ethnarch, Hyrcanus II and Cypros.

Herod Facts

Herod Facts 3: governor

Hyrcanus II’s lifestyle & military campaigns gave Antipater great power and position. Since Herod was a son of Antipater, he was awarded with a good position as the governor of the northern regions in Israel. At that time, he was only 25 years old.

Herod Facts 4: Phasael

Antoher member in the family of Herod, Phasael also granted a good position as a governor of Jerusalem. Phasael was Herod’s elder brother.

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Herod Facts 5: Sanhedrin

Sanhedrin was the religious body which ruled Israel. Sanhedrin did not like with the role of Antipater in the country due to his brutality to the people.

Herod Facts 6: John Hyrcanus

John Hyrcanus was the Maccabean who ruled the area where Herod was born 100 years later. All people in the area were forced by John to convert to Judaism if they did not want to be expelled from the land. All of them agreed to obey the Jewish religious laws.

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Herod Facts 7: Herod’s father

Antipater was Herod’s father. He supported the plan to kill Julius Caesar. Instead of killing Caesar, Antipater was killed by the supporters of Caesar. He was poisoned.

Herod Facts 8: his father’s murderers

Realizing that his father was killed, Herod asked the permission from Rome to find out and kill the murderers of his father.

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Herod Facts 9: Anthony and Cleopatra

Herod became the close friends of Cleopatra and Anthony. When he was the king of Israel, Marc Anthony was the ruler the Middle East. Cleopatra became the queen of Egypt. Check Cleopatra facts here.

Herod Facts 10: Roman backing

Herod always got the roman’s backing. Antigonus got the backup power from Parthians which made Herod out of power in his kingdom.  So he got a help from the Rome.

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Antigonus was defeated by Herod. It needed three years to make Antigonus out of power. The surprising fact is that Herod married to the niece of Antigonus, Mariamne. Do you have any suggestion on facts about Herod?