In AD 39, Agrippa accused Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help of Parthia.

Herod Antipas confessed and Caligula exiled him.

The most famous was Masada, where, in 70-73 CE, a small group of Jewish zealots held out against the might of the Roman legion, and Machaerus where, according to Josephus, John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and died.

John the Baptist | The Baptist scolds Herod Antipas | Herod.

In the Antiquities of the Jews ( Book 18, Chapter 5, 2 ) Josephus refers to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist by order of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea.

The context of this reference is the 36 AD defeat of Herod Antipas in his conflict with Aretas IV of Nabatea, which the Jews of the time attributed to misfortune brought about by Herod's unjust execution of John.

While both the gospels and Josephus refer to Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, they differ on the details and the motive.

While the gospels present this as a consequence of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias in defiance of Jewish law ( as in Matthew 14: 4, Mark 6: 18 ) Josephus refers to it as a pre-emptive measure by Herod to quell a possible uprising.

However, according to other historical accounts Machaerus was rebuilt by Herod the Great around 30 AD and then passed to Herod Antipas.

The 36 AD date of the conflict with Aretas IV mentioned by Josephus is, however, consistent ( and shortly after ) the approximate date of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias estimated by other historical methods.

In his Church History ( Book I, Chapter XI ) Eusebius discusses the Josephus reference to how Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist, and mentions the marriage to Herodias in items 1 to 6.

Herod Antipas from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

The marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias is mentioned both in Josephus and in the gospels, and scholars consider Josephus as a key connection in establishing the approximate chronology of specific episodes related to John the Baptist.

However, although both the gospels and Josephus refer to Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, they differ on the details and motives, e. g. whether this act was a consequence of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias ( as indicated in Matthew 14: 4, Mark 6: 18 ), or a pre-emptive measure by Herod which possibly took place before the marriage to quell a possible uprising based on the remarks of John, as Josephus suggests in Antiquities 18. 5. 2.

Josephus stated ( Antiquities 18. 5. 2 ) that the AD 36 defeat of Herod Antipas in the conflicts with Aretas IV of Nabatea was widely considered by the Jews of the time as misfortune brought about by Herod's unjust execution of John the Baptist.

Justin Meggitt states that there are fundamental similarities between the Josephus ' portrayal of John the Baptist and the New Testament narrative in that in both accounts John is positioned as a preacher of morality, not as someone who had challenged the political authority of Herod Antipas.

* Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, builds on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the city Tiberias in honor of Tiberius.

* Herod Agrippa is a major figure in Robert Graves ' novel Claudius the God, as well as the BBC television adaptation I, Claudius, ( wherein he was portrayed by James Faulkner ).

A major focus of the surviving fragment of the Gospel of Peter is the passion narrative, which is notable for ascribing responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus to Herod Antipas rather than to Pontius Pilate.

Aegina appears to have belonged to the Eretrian league during the Lelantine War ; hence, perhaps, we may explain the war with Samos, a leading member of the rival Chalcidian league in the reign of King Amphicrates ( Herod.

However, Graves acknowledges that there must be a delicate balance between Republican liberty and Imperial stability ; whereas too much of the former led to civil war, too much of the latter led to the corruption of Tiberius, Caligula, Valeria Messalina, Sejanus, Herod Agrippa, Nero, Agrippina the Younger, and countless others – as well as, to a lesser extent, Livia and Claudius himself.

Herod was designated " King of the Jews " by the Roman Senate in 40 BCE: Antony " then resolved to get made king of the Jews ... told Senate that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king ; so they all gave their votes for it.

In 32 BC during King Malichus II's reign Herod the Great started a war against Nabataea, with the support of Cleopatra.

This however resulted in that year not corresponding with the lifetimes of historical figures reputed to be alive, or otherwise mentioned in connection with the Christian incarnation, e. g. Herod the Great or Quirinius.

Coin of Herod of Chalcis, showing him with his brother Herod Agrippa I | Agrippa of Judaea crowning Claudius.

The Bible describes Jesus ' tomb as being outside the city wall, as was normal for burials across the ancient world, which were regarded as unclean, but the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in the heart of Hadrian's city, well within the Old City walls, which were built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1538 Some have claimed that the city had been much narrower in Jesus ' time, with the site then having been outside the walls ; since Herod Agrippa ( 41 – 44 ) is recorded by history as extending the city to the north ( beyond the present northern walls ), the required repositioning of the western wall is traditionally attributed to him as well.

In 40 – 39, Herod the Great was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate, and in 6 CE the last ethnarch of Judea was deposed by the emperor Augustus and his territories were combined with Idumea and Samaria and annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration.

In Demonstration ( 74 ) Irenaeus reinforced his view that Jesus was at least 45 with the statement " For Herod the king of the Jews and Pontius Pilate, the governor of Claudius Caesar, came together and condemned Him to be crucified.

Apparently John in common with the other Apostles remained some twelve years in this first field of labour, until the persecution of Herod Agrippa I led to the scattering of the Apostles through the various provinces of the Roman Empire ( cf.

:" For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.

Herod surrounded the city with a large wall and included within it a smaller walled component that featured a temple.

The Latin spelling Sabaoth combined with the golden vines over the door on the Herodian Temple ( built by the Idumean Herod the Great ) led to the purportedly false identification by Romans with the god Sabazius.

Vespasian is remembered by Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, as a fair and humane official, in contrast with the notorious Herod the Great whom Josephus goes to great lengths to demonize.

But his mother Alexandra Maccabeus ( 63 BC – 28 BC ), through intercession with Cleopatra and Mark Antony, compelled Herod to remove Hananel from the office of High Priest and appoint Aristobulus instead.

He played Herod Antipas in Salome ( 1953, with Rita Hayworth in the title role ) and repeated his role as Henry VIII in Young Bess ( 1953 ).

In around 19 BCE, Herod the Great extended the Mount's natural plateau by enclosing the area with four massive retaining walls and filling the voids.

They were used as stables by the Crusaders, but were built by Herod the Great – along with the platform they were built to support.

" When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Immediately after the death of Tiberius ( 37 AD ), Caligula made over to Herod Agrippa, at that time a prisoner in Rome, the tetrarchy of Philip and the tetrarchy of Lysanias, while Claudius, upon his accession ( 41 ), not only confirmed the liberality of his predecessor towards Herod Agrippa, but added all that portion of Judaea and Samaria which had belonged to the kingdom of his grandfather Herod the Great, together ( says Josephus ) with Abila, which had appertained to Lysanias, and the adjoining region of Libanus.

Emperor Tiberius orders his governor of Syria, Vitellius, to capture or kill Aretas, but he is reluctant to support Herod and abandons his campaign upon Tiberius ' death in 37.

Antipas divorced his first wife Phasaelis, the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea, in favour of Herodias, who had formerly been married to his brother Herod Philip I.

Given that John the Baptist was executed before the defeat of Herod by Aretas IV of Nabatea in the AD 36, and based on the scholarly estimates for the approximate date of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias AD 28-35, Josephus establishes a key connection between the time frame of the ministry of Jesus and his execution.