Israel – Archaeological Find King Herod’s Tomb

Jerusalem – Herod the Great, whose tomb archaeologists said Tuesday that have discovered at a location 15 kilometres south of Jerusalem, was the biblical king who according to Christian tradition slaughtered the new-born in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. To the Jews, he was the client king of Rome who ruled as a bloody tyrant, executing many of his subjects, his own wife and three sons among them.
But he was also known for his extensive building projects, such as the historical fortress of Masada on a hilltop overlooking the Dead Sea, the Roman port of Caesaria, on the Mediterranean coast south of Haifa, the Herodium fortress in the Judean desert where his tomb was discovered, and extensive renovations to the Second Biblical Temple in Jerusalem, which even today is sometimes known as “herod’s Temple”.
He was born, around 74 BC, into a wealthy and influential Edomite family which had been forcibly converted to Judaism. When the Romans intervened in a civil war in Judea, and the kingdom became a Roman protectorate, Herod, thanks to the influence of his father, was appointed governor of the Galilee.
When the Parthians invaded Judea in around 40 BC, Herod fled to Rome, where he was granted the title of “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate.
But he did not fully conquer his kingdom for another three or so years.
Although he had backed Mark Anthony in the former’s struggle with Octavian, later Augustus Caesar, Herod managed to convince Octavian he would henceforth support him.
Octavian responded by adding Samaria and the coast of Judea to Herod’s realm, and then later giving him control of Gaza and Jericho, which had been independent.
Although his building projects won him plaudits, he was not a popular ruler, feared by most and hated by Orthodox Jews for his Greek tastes, which were at complete variance with strict Hebraic tradition and custom.
He married ten times, and had at least 14 children.
Herod died in 4 BC, from an illness the contemporary historian Flavius Josephus described as “excruciating”. Some medical experts believed he succumbed to chronic kidney disease complicated by Fournier’s gangrene.

how could this be? the jews were not in “isreal” until 60 years ago. at least that’s what the farshtinkina arabs say.

as if this will make a difference.

Herod the Great arose from a wealthy, influential Idumaean family. The Idumaeans, successors to the Edomites of the Hebrew Bible, settled in Idumea, formerly known as Edom, in southern Judea. When the Maccabean John Hyrcanus conquered Idumea in 130–140 BC, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism.

King Herod identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by his contemporaries,[1] although according to Jewish law, he would not be considered as such.[2][not in citation given][original research?] This religious self-identification notwithstanding, the Herodians were to a large extent Hellenistic in culture, which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews.[3] He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, the Idumeans having been just converted to Judaism by John Hyrcanus, and was founder of the Herodian Dynasty. Herod’s mother was Cypros, a princess from Petra in Nabatea (now part of Jordan). The family rubbed shoulders with the greats in Rome, such as Pompey and Cassius, and in 47 BC his father was appointed Procurator over Judea, who then appointed his son governor of Galilee at the age of 25.

After his father was poisoned in 43 BC, allegedly by a tax collector, Herod had the murderer executed. After returning from a campaign, he was offered the betrothal to the teenage princess Mariamne (sometimes spelled Mariamme) from the former Hasmonean dynasty who were the titular rulers of Judaea. Although he was legally permitted to have more than one wife, he banished his first wife Doris and her 3-year-old son, also named Antipater, and married Mariamne (known as Mariamne I). In 40 BC Antigonos and the Parthians invaded Judea, and Herod fled Jerusalem to Rome for the first time. There he was elected “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate[4] however, Herod did not fully conquer Judea until 37 BC. He ruled for 34 years.