What is Herod the Great?
[[File:HerodtheGreat2.jpg |thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Image of Herod the Great}}]] '''Herod I''' ({{circa}} 74/73 [[BCE]] – 4 BCE/1 CE), also known as '''Herod the Great''', was the [[King]] of [[Judea]] from 37 to 4 BC.<ref name=Livius>{{cite web |url=http://www.livius.org/articles/person/herod-the-great/ |title=Herod the Great |publisher=Livius.org |access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> At the time Judea was a [[client state]] of [[Roman Empire|Rome]].<ref name=CartwrightAHE>{{cite web |url=http://www.ancient.eu/Herod_the_Great/ |title=Herod the Great |author=Mark Cartwright |date=September 12, 2016 |publisher=Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited |access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> During his 33 year [[reign]], Herod was an excellent [[leader]]. But he is most famous for the [[Bible]] account of his killing the boys of [[Bethlehem]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/matthew/2-16.htm|title=Matthew 2:16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.|website=biblehub.com|access-date=2017-12-07}}</ref> While this [[:en:Massacre_of_the_Innocents|massacre of innocents]] is not confirmed by other historical records, Herod did murder countless [[rival]]s, a [[Parent-in-law|mother-in-law]], a wife and three of his sons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/travel/herod-the-greats-israel.html?_r=0 |title=Herod the Great’s Israel |author=David Laskin |date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> == Rise to power == Herod was born about 73–75 BC.<ref name=Livius/> He was the son of [[Antipater the Idumaean]] and his wife Cyprus, the daughter of an [[Arab people|Arabian]] [[Sheikh|sheik]].<ref name=Livius/> Both Herod's [[grandfather]] and his father were political officials in Judea. Both had close ties to the Romans. When Antipater came to the aid of [[Julius Caesar]] after the [[Battle of Phars