Agrippa II

• SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Herod Agrippa II (subject)
• ANCIENT SOURCES: see Agrippa II (sources)

Herod Agrippa II was a member of the Herodian family.

Overview

Herod Agrippa II (Marcus Iulius Agrippa) was the son of Herod Agrippa and Cypros, and the brother of Berenice, Mariamne, and Drusilla).

Like all the younger members of the Herodian family, Agrippa II was educated at Rome. When his father died in 44 CE, he was only seventeen, and was deemed to be too young to succeed to the throne. However he retained important rights at Jerusalem including the appointment of the High Priest, a right of which he would make frequent use until the outbreak of the Jewish War in 66 CE. He also played an influential role on behalf of his compatriots, notably in the dispute over the High Priest's vestments, successfully opposing the decision of the new Roman governor Cumanus. By 50, the Emperor Claudius gave him the small territories of his deceased uncle, Herod of Chalcis.

Agrippa II returned in the land of Israel in 53 CE, when in return for the surrender of the small kingdom of Chalcis, Claudius granted him the rule over the former tetrarchy of Herod Philip. Emperor Nero then added important parts of Galilee and Perea to his possessions, and Agrippa in his honor renamed Neronia the capital Caesarea Philippi.

Agrippa's sister, Berenice, who had been the wife of Herod of Chalcis, came to live with his brother after her husband's death. The two siblings lived together ever since, and Herod Agrippa never married. Rumors soon spread of an incestuous relation, in spite of Berenice's brief marriage to Polemon of Cilicia.

The Acts of the Apostles shows Herod Agrippa II and Berenice as a royal couple visiting Caesarea Maritima in the year 60 to welcome the new Roman governor Festus. They also frequently resided in Jerusalem, on the former palace of the Hasmoneans. Agrippa took an active role as custodian and inspector of the Temple. When at the time of Albinus the building of the Herodian Temple was finally completed, he initiated a project of paving the streets of Jerusalem in order to employ the crowd of workers.

Herod Agrippa II, Berenice, and Drusilla (who had married the Roman governor Felix) remained the most loyal allies of the Romans in the region, before, during and after the Jewish War. In 66 CE, after unsuccessfully using their influence to forestall the revolt, they unwaveringly sided with the Romans, in spite of the initial loss of territories. By 67 CE Agrippa II had regained his entire kingdom and became the official host of Vespasian in the region. Herod Agrippa II befriended Titus and supported the love affair between his sister and the heir to the Roman throne. In 69 CE, the Year of the Four Emperors, Herod Agrippa II and Berenice supported Vespasian's rise to imperial power (Tacitus, Historiae II.81).

After the Jewish War ended, Agrippa II was not only confirmed in his possessions but rewarded with considerable territorial increments. In 75 CE, Agrippa was in Rome, welcomed with the rank of praetor, while Berenice lived more uxore with Titus. The affair did not end in marriage. Agrippa and Berenice ultimately returned to Palestine and very little is known about their whereabouts. Agrippa died by the end of the first century, leaving no children or heirs. His possessions were incorporated in the Roman province of Syria.

Herod Agrippa II in ancient sources

• See Agrippa II (sources)

Herod Agrippa II in Fiction

As he is mentioned in the Acts of Apostles, Herod Agrippa II is present in some fictional works on Paul of Tarsus.

Related categories

• Herod Agrippa (subject) / Drusilla (subject)
• Berenice (subject)

References

• Agrippa II / Schurer / Vermes / 1 (1973) 471-183

• Agrippa / David C. Braund / In: The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992 Freedman), dictionary, 1:98-100

External links

• Wikipedia