Herod the Great
74 BCE – 5 BCE Judean Roman client king of Judea, builder
Roman client king of Judea, a prolific and ruthless builder who greatly expanded the Second Temple.
- Religion
- Judaism (of Idumean descent)
- Affiliations
- Herodian dynasty, Roman client state
Herod the Great was a Roman client king who ruled Judea from about 37 to 4 BCE. Of Idumean descent, he won and held power through Roman backing and a mix of political skill and violence, including the killing of rivals and members of his own family. He was one of the ancient world's great builders, constructing the port city of Caesarea, the desert fortress of Masada, and above all a massive expansion of the Second Temple and its platform in Jerusalem, of which the Western Wall is a surviving remnant. He is a well-documented historical figure, chiefly through the historian Josephus. Christian tradition also associates him with the nativity story, a connection scholars treat with caution.
In the timeline
- 20 BCE Herod the Great Expands the Temple the client king who ordered the expansion
- 19 BCE Herod Rebuilds the Temple the builder
- 4 BCE The Nativity mentioned
- 6 Judea Becomes a Roman Province the client king whose dynasty preceded direct Roman rule