Herod Agrippa I
- DATABASE: see Category:Herod Agrippa (subject)
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Herod Agrippa I (10 BCE - 44 CE) was a member of the Herodian family. He ruled as King of Judea from 41 CE to his death in 44 CE.
Overview
Herod Agrippa was the son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice, sister of Herod the Great. After his father was executed by Herod the Great in 7 BCE, he was sent to Rome where he was educated by Tiberius alongside his son Drusus and future emperor Claudius. After spending some years in Israel, Agrippa returned to Rome where he befriended future emperor Caligula. For his support to Caligula, Agrippa was even cast to prison. Now emperor Caligula set him free and rewarded him with territories in the East, including those belonging to Agrippa's uncle, Herod Antipas, who was banished. Herod Agrippa took an active role in Jewish affairs; in 41 CE he interceded with Caligula on behalf of the Jews, when that emperor was attempting to set up his statue in the temple at Jerusalem.
The assassination of Caligula in 41 CE was not a reverse of fortune for Agrippa, as the new emperor was his childhood friend Claudius, who added the province of Judea and Samaria to Agrippa's possessions. Agrippa was now ruling a territory larger than the one that belonged to his grandfather Herod the Great. Josephus describes him as a wise and kindly ruler. According to Christian tradition, however, Herod Agrippa persecuted the Jerusalem church, imprisoned Peter and had James son of Zebedee beheaded.
The reign of Herod Agrippa did not last long as he died a sudden death in 44 CE. Agrippa's premature death was a blow for the Romans who had hoped to restore a native dynasty in Jerusalem. Agrippa's son, Herod Agrippa II, was judged too young to inherit the entire kingdom; thus Judea and Samaria returned to be a Roman province. The children Agrippa had from Cypros (Herod Agrippa II, Berenice, Mariamne, and Drusilla), however, would play an important role in Judea in the years and decades to come, as the most loyal allies of the Romans in the region.
Herod Agrippa I in ancient sources
Herod Agrippa I in Scholarship
Herod Agrippa I in Fiction
Related categories
References
- Agrippa / David C. Braund / In: The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992 Freedman), dictionary, 1:98-100