Philip the tetrarch

PHILIP THE TETRARCH

(c. 26 BCE - CE 33) ¹

Virtually everything we know about Philip comes from The Antiquites of the Jews by Flavius Josephus.

EARLY LIFE

Philip was the son of King Herod and his 7th wife Cleopatra.

King Herod died c. 4 BCE which led to a dispute over who should suceed him. The matter was settled by the emperor Augustus who divided Herod's kingdom between three of his sons. Antipas became tetrarch of the Galilee and Perea, Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Archelaus ethnarch of Judaea.

MARRIAGE

Salome

According to Josephus², Philip was married to Salome, the daughter of Herodias (Herodias I) and Herod (Herod III), the grandson of Simon the high priest. This is extremely unlikely.

Herodias I was born c. 15 BCE and Salome would have been born about 1 BCE at the earliest. Salome could not have been married before about CE 12 when Philip would have been about 38. This is not feasible.

1. Philip would not have waited so long before attending to his succession
2. His father King Herod would have arranged a marriage for Philip as Herod did for all his other sons
3. Augustus had passed a law that all male Roman citizens had to be married by age 25, and he would have expected a client prince such as Philip to conform with this when Philip was appointed tetrarch.

It seems likely that Philip was married, and that his wife's name was Salome, but Josephus was in error about Salome's origins.

Herodias I

Kokkinos has correctly deduced that Philip was the second husband of Herodias I. ³

The most likely scenario is that when Augustus made Philip tetrarch he arranged for the divorce of Philip from his first wife and his marriage to Herodias. Such dynastic arrangements were commonplace during the rule of Augustus. As Philip had never been designated an heir by King Herod it is possible that Philip's original marriage furthered some minor dynastic purpose of Herod which had become irrelevant or problematic after Herod's death. Augustus would also have been providing for the future of Herodias just as he did for her brothers Agrippa I and Herod V.

For more about Herodias see the article Herodias I.

CHILDREN

Josephus states that Philip died childless, but that may only be a deduction on Josephus' part because he was unaware of any offspring. However it is likely that Philip did not have any male heirs because after his death his territory was passed to Herodias' brother Agrippa I.

PHILIP AS TETRARCH OF ITUREA AND TRACHONITIS

According to Josephus⁴ Philip improved the city of Paneus near the source of the Jordan and renamed it Caesarea (Caesarea Philippi). He also raised the village of Bethsaida on Lake Gennesaritis (the Sea of Galilee) to the status of a city, renaming it Julias. The latter must have happened early in Philip's rule as Julia was banished by Augustus in 2 BCE.

Josephus paints a picture of Philip as a benign ruler, although this does not necessarily represent reality.

"In his conduct of the government he showed a moderate and easy-going disposition. Indeed, he spent all his time in the territory subject to him. When he went on circuit he had only a few select companions. The throne on which he sat when he gave judgement accompanied him wherever he went. And so, whenever anyone appealed to him for redress along the route, at once without a moment's delay the throne was set up wherever it might be. He took his seat and gave the case a hearing. He fixed penalties for those who were convicted and released those who had been unjustly accused." ⁵

AGRIPPA I AT PHILIP'S COURT

Agrippa I was the brother of Philip's wife Herodias. He had been brought up in Rome where he became friends with Drusus, the son of Tiberius, no doubt with the idea of acquiring patronage. On Drusus death in CE 23 he no longer had access to Tiberius and returned to Palestine.

Josephus states that Agrippa was appointed commisioner of markets by 'Herod the tetrarch' due to the influence of Herod's wife Herodias. Some time later Agrippa fell out with 'Herod' and decamped to Rome where he pursued a claim to Philip's territory.⁶

'Herod the tetrarch' is usually taken to mean Antipas, but this would leave a gap in Agrippa's life from about CE 23 to CE 34 when Herodias married Antipas. The logical conclusion is that Josephus is conflating two sources. The initial reference to 'Herod the tetrarch' refers to Philip who was also a tetrarch and is often referred to as 'Herod' by Josephus, and only the later reference to the quarrel relates to Antipas.

This being the case, Philip's court would have included Agrippa I and possibly also Agrippa's younger brother Herod V, later to become the ruler Herod of Chalcis.

Agrippa was a very ambitious man. He no doubt capitalized on his position and created a client network of his own in Philip's territory.

DEATH OF PHILIP

Philip died in CE 33. His territories were taken into Roman control and the income from them held on account until a succesor was nominated.

A year or so later Philip's widow Herodias married Antipas the tetrarch of the Galilee and Perea. It would be at that time Agrippa fell out with 'Herod' the husband of Herodias as reported by Josephus.

Philip's death led to a struggle for his territory between Antipas and Agrippa in which Agrippa was the eventual winner.

For more about the succession see article Herod the Tetrarch.

NOTES

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

2.	Antiquities XVIII 136-137

3.	Kokkinos, 1988, Chap 10. I follow the identification made by Kokkinos that Herodias was Philip's second husband and Antipas her third.

4.	Antiquities XVIII 28.

5.	Antiquities XVIII 106-107. Loeb translation.

6.	Antiquities XVIII 148-150.