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 the 1961 film King of Kings, Salomé, portrayed by Brigid Bazlen, performs a similar dance ; her voluptuous seduction of a drunken lascivious Herod Antipas remains highly praised and is now widely regarded as Bazlen's best performance.

by Herod the Great, in order that his marriage with Boethus's daughter Mariamne might not be regarded as a mésalliance.

Herod the Great regarded the place as deserving the strongest fortification, particularly because of its proximity to Arabia.

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.

In John, Jesus and his disciples go to Judea early in Jesus ' ministry when John has not yet been imprisoned and executed by Herod.

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.

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.

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.

Louis Feldman has stated that there is " no necessary contradiction between Josephus and the gospels as to the reason why John was put to death " in that the Christians chose to emphasize the moral charges while Josephus emphasized the political fears that John stirred in Herod.

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.

In the Gospel accounts of John's death, Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his incestuous marriage, and later executes John by beheading.

John condemned Herod for marrying Herodias ( who was not only his brother Philip's former wife but also Herod's niece ) in violation of Old Testament Law.

Josephus writes that Herod had John arrested because John had so many followers that Herod feared they might begin a rebellion.

So it may have been that Herod wanted John arrested because he was a political threat, and John's condemnations of Herod's marriage was " the final straw ".

Josephus presents two opposing reasons, one which would help secure Hyrcanus against the rising threat of Herod, and the other being his desire to quickly dispose of Hyrcanus and take power himself.

Both Lady and Cort find that Herod's main goal of the contest is to eliminate anyone who might pose a threat to him as leader of the town, and form a bond over their histories with Herod.

After questioning Jesus and receiving very few replies, Herod sees Jesus as no threat and returns him to Pilate.

The three Magi were separately warned in a dream of the threat that King Herod posed and went home by a different route than they came.

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.

:" 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.

* Agrippa I, king of Judaea, successfully accuses Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, of conspiracy against Caligula.

In that day, Herod the king committed violence against some who belonged to the church.

To secure himself against danger from Aristobulus, Herod instituted a system of espionage against him and his mother.

Other arguments against historicity include the silence of Josephus ( who does record several other examples of Herod ’ s willingness to commit such acts to protect his power, noting that he " never stopped avenging and punishing every day those who had chosen to be of the party of his enemies ") and the views that the story is an apologetic device or a constructed fulfilment of prophesy.

The heresy, notwithstanding the severe measures taken against it, continued to spread in Gaul as well as in Hispania ; in 412 Lazarus, bishop of Aix-en-Provence, and Herod, bishop of Arles, were expelled from their sees on a charge of Manichaeism.

In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate not only agrees that Jesus did not conspire against Rome, but Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, also finds nothing treasonable in Jesus ' actions.

When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of " predestination ," he includes in it each person's free response to his grace: " In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

Hyrcanus ' incapacity and weakness were so manifest that, when he defended Herod against the Sanhedrin and before Mark Antony, the latter stripped Hyrcanus of his nominal political authority and his title, bestowing them both upon the accused.

The Jewish historian Josephus mentions the swift action of Varus against a messianic revolt in Judaea after the death of Rome's client king Herod the Great in 4 BC.

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

The leading men of the Jews became embittered toward the family and made accusations against them that brought Herod to trial before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish ruling body.

These were informed against, as belonging to the family of David, and Evocatus brought them before Domitian Caesar: for that emperor dreaded the advent of Christ, as Herod had done.

The controversy erupted after 135 A. D. As the Jewish Christians were banned from entering the city by the decree of Herod, and Emperor Hadrian enacted " repressive measures against Jewish religious practices ", the church swayed towards the influence of gentile born Christians and began to work differentiating themselves from Jewish traditions.

The Zealots were a " fourth sect ", founded by Judas of Galilee ( also called Judas of Gamala ) and Zadok the Pharisee in the year 6 against Quirinius ' tax reform, shortly after the Roman Empire declared what had most recently been the tetrarchy of Herod Archelaus to be a Roman province, and that they " agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions ; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord.

* Sharon Stone as Ellen (" The Lady "): The tournament's only female gunfighter has a personal vendetta against Herod for tricking her into killing her father, and finds an ally in Cort.

Many years later, a series of rebellions break out against the authority of Rome, so the Romans crucify many of the leaders and place Herod the Great on the throne of Judea.

Her second husband, Theudion ( brother of Herod I's first wife Doris, and thus uncle of Antipater ), was put to death for conspiring against Herod.