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Herod Antipas: Profile & Biography of Herod Antipas

By Austin Cline, About.com

Who was Herod Antipas?:
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great and one of his wives, Malthace. Antipas became tetrarch of Gaililee and Perea on the death of his father in 4 BCE. Once his brother Archelaus was deposed, he acquired the dynastic name Herod.
When did Herod Antipas live?:
Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee from 4 BCE through 39 CE, roughly the years that Jesus would have been active.
Where did Herod Antipas live?:
Herod Antipas made his capital in Tiberias, a new city he founded in honor of and named after the ,emperor Tiberius. One of the reasons why Herodian dynasty did as well as it did was because they knew how to keep their Roman masters happy.
What did Herod Antipas do?:
Herod Antipas tried to be as successful as his father, Herod the Great, but he wasn’t. He attempted to get emperor Caligula to turn territory over to him from his friend, Agrippa I, but while in Rome Agrippa brought charges against him and Herod was banished to Gaul.
Why was Herod Antipas important?:
Herod Antipas is probably best known for having imprisoned and executed John the Baptist. John reportedly condemned Herod’s marriage to Herodias, his niece and wife of his brother Herod Philip. This angered her and, at her instigation, Herod Antipas had him thrown in jail. What exactly happened is unclear because the accounts in the gospels and Josephus are different, and these are the only two sources for the claim that John the Baptist even existed.

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