- Agrippa I
- (10 BC–AD 44)Tetrarch of Batanea and Galilee 37–41 ; king of Judea 41–4. Agrippa was the grandson of HEROD and his Hasmonean wife MARIAMNE, through their son Aristobulus. He grew up with the young princes of the emperor’s family in Rome, and became something of a playboy, usually in debt.When Caligula succeeded to the imperial throne, he appointed his friend Agrippa as king of the north-eastern territories of Trachonitis and Gaulanitis, of which his uncle PHILIP had been the tetrarch. In 39 BC he was also given the tetrarchy of his banished uncle ANTIPAS, consisting of Galilee, and Perea in Transjordan.Soon after, Caligula was murdered, and Agrippa gave his support to the claims of Claudius, who became the new emperor. In AD 41 Claudius recognized Agrippa as king also of Judea and Samaria, and signed a treaty with him. During the next three years, Agrippa gained popular support from his subjects, and his rule was peaceful and beneficial. However, the New Testament is less sympathetic to him. In the Acts of the Apostles, he is accused of acting harshly towards the early Christians, having James the son of Zebedee executed and Peter imprisoned.In AD 44 Agrippa died suddenly in Caesarea, maybe by poison, and Judea was once more placed under a Roman procurator. He was the last important Jewish monarch before the independence of Judea was wiped out by the Romans in AD 70.
Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament. Joan Comay . 2012.