Herod III

HEROD III

(c. 28 BCE - ?) ¹

Son of King Herod and his fifth wife, Mariamme II.

Mariamme was the daughter of Simon, a son of Boethus of Alexandria. Simon was appointed High Priest of Jerusalem by Herod the Great.

When King Herod conquered Judaea he eliminated any potential opponents to his rule, including the then high priests of Jerusalem. The vacancies were filled by the Boethus family, Herod's marriage to Simon's daughter Mariamme was a means of bestowing patronage to (and therefore control over) the high priesthood.

LIFE

There is very little known about the life of Herod III.

His marriage to Herodias I was arranged by King Herod. The betrothal probably took place when Herodias was about 8 in 8/7 BCE, and the marriage c. 1 BCE when Herodias came of marriage age. Herod III would be about 27.

He was mentioned in an early will of King Herod's, but cut out in King Herod's will of CE 7. He did not inherit any part of the kingdom.

Herodias divorced him (date unknown).²

INFLUENCE

Herod III would have lost status when he did not inherit any part of his father's kingdom. He may also have been affected by the decline in status of the Boethus family when the Romans took direct control of Judaea in CE 6 and began to appoint high priests from the rival Ananus family. However he would still have been very influential in Jerusalem. As the son of a high priest and a Herodian prince he would have been a prominent figure.

In his Legatio ad Gaium Philo of Alexandria refers to four of King Herod's sons who during the time of Pilate "enjoyed prestige and rank equal to that of kings". One of these would be Antipas, the tetrarch of the Galilee and Perea, and another Philip, the tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis. (Assuming that Philo was referring to the period prior to Philip's death in CE 33.)

Of King Herod's other known sons only Herod III, Herod IV (by his wife Cleopatra), and Phasael III (by his wife Pallas) could still be alive. Of Herod IV and Phasael nothing has come down to us. Herod IV was the elder brother of Philip, and as his younger brother was awarded the tetrarchy of Iturea and Trachonitis following King Herod's death, Herod IV may have died before then. It is therefore likely that Herod III was included in Philo's four prestigious Herodian princes.³

NOTES

1.	Unless otherwise stated all dates and numerical identifiers (e.g. Herod III, IV, etc.) follow those proposed in The Herodian Dynasty N. Kokkinos, 1998, Sheffield Academic Press.

2.	We do not know if this was initiated by Herodias or whether the divorce and Herodias' subsequent marriage were ordered by Herod.

3.	See Kokkinos 1998 p 195. This assumes that Philo is using the term 'son' accurately, and not as a general term for living male descendants which would include grandchildren. If this is the case then it would be necessary to consider Agrippa I and Herod of Chalcis.