Herod Agrippa I
Herod Agrippa I and ( -10 Ave. JC / 44 ) is the last Jewish king of Judea from 41 to 44. He is the son of Aristobulus IV , a child of Herod I the Great and the Hasmonean Mariamne executed by order of his father, and Berenice , the daughter of Salome , Herod's sister.
Biography
His family is closely linked to the Roman imperial family, his grandmother is a friend of the empress Livia and her mother is protected by Antonia Minor , sister of Tiberius. He was raised in Rome with the children of the imperial family with Claude. He also became a close associate of young Caligula who was proclaimed emperor in 37. Caligula offered, in addition to the title of king, the territories of Herod Philip II , who died shortly before, tetrarch Gaulanitide , Batanea , Trachonitis and Auranitide , four territories north-east of Lake Tiberias. Going to take possession of his new kingdom, Agrippa is the target of jealousy of the Egyptians and the object, it passes through Alexandria , a masquerade reported by Philo , which gives rise to strong anti-Jewish riots.
At the same time, Caligula had wanted to erect his own statue in the Temple of Jerusalem. The project unworthy Jews and Agrippa wrote a letter (reported by Philo of Alexandria ) for the emperor when he tries to explain to Caligula content of Judaism. Caligula yield to this demand.
In 39 Agrippa also became king of Galilee and Perea.
Finally, in 41 , the favor of Emperor Claude , he may be, according to Flavius Josephus , helped reach the throne, gave him the kingship of Judea and Samaria. He reigns over the Land of Israel until his death. From 41, he appoints the chief priests , taking the prerogative of the Roman governors. He knows how to make himself popular by his humanity and modesty. It does not persecute those who criticized his impure origins (Idumean) which should have prohibited the monarchy, he reads the Torah at Temple, standing like everyone else, while the king was sitting reading it, he took among the faithful pilgrimage of Shavuot , all the anecdotes in the Talmud.
According to the Acts of the Apostles , he persecuted the early Church (Acts 12 1) to please the Jewish leaders, imprisoned Peter and beheaded Jacques , brother of John.
It also tries to link contacts with the other kings of the region and arranges a meeting with them in Galilee, that Marsus , legate of Rome in Syria prohibited because it sees the threat of an independent policy. He died in Caesarea, a little later, at 44, after only 4 years of rule over Judea, perhaps poisoned by Marsus. Rome did not recognize his son as king of Judea and appoint a procurator again, Cuspius Fadus to govern the province.
He is the father of Herod Agrippa II and Berenice.
Related article
Bibliography
- Mireille Hadas-Lebel , Rome, Judea and the Jews, Chapter VI, Caligula, Agrippa I and the Jews, A. & J. Picard, Paris, 2009 (ISBN 978.2.7084.0842.5)
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