Category:Salome I (subject)

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Salome I was a member of the House of Herod, the sister of Herod the Great.

This page is edited by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan

Overview

Salome I was the daughter of Antipater and Cypros and the sister of Phasael and Herod the Great.

She married the governor of Idumea, Costobarus. They had a daughter Berenice I. In 28 BCE Costobarus was accused of treason by Salome I and presumably executed by Herod.

The rivalry between the House of Herod and the House of Hasmoneus was highlighted by the rivalry that opposed Salome I (and her mother Cypros) to Herod's wife Mariamne (and her mother Alexandra the Hasmonean), until Mariamne was executed in 29 BCE. Eventually, Salome I agreed to have her daughter married to Mariamne's son (and Berenice's cousin) Aristobulus IV. The couple had several children, Herod Agrippa I, Herod of Chalcis, Herodias, Mariamne III and Aristobulus Minor. The marriage did not end the rivalry between the two families. Berenice I sided with her mother, while her husband remained loyal to his maternal grandmother. Aristobulus IV and Alexandra the Hasmonean were ultimately executed by Herod in 7 BCE.

Upon the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, Salome I was given a toparchy including the cities of Yavneh, Ashdod, Phasaelis, plus 5000 drachmae and a royal habitation at Ashkelon.

Salome I in ancient sources

Josephus is the main source for the life of Salome I.

See Salome I (sources)

Salome I in scholarship

From the historical point of view, Salome I is the foremother of the scion of powerful and politically engaged women that characterized the House of Herod, no less than the House of Hasmoneus. Research on Salome I however is limited by the paucity of historical sources.