Archelaus

Archelaus was the son whom Herod the Great named in his last will as heir to the throne (Josephus, Antiquities 17.188–195). Before he could sail to Rome to have the will confirmed, a protest in the temple at Passover ended with his troops killing about three thousand people (Josephus, Antiquities 17.200–218). Augustus gave him half of his father’s kingdom, with the lesser title of ethnarch and the promise of the crown if he governed well (Josephus, Antiquities 17.317–320); see the Death of Herod and the Division of His Kingdom. Matthew reports that Joseph, returning from Egypt, was afraid to settle in Judea when he heard that Archelaus reigned there (Matthew 2:22).

Josephus says that he deposed high priests, rebuilt the palace at Jericho, and married his brother’s widow against Jewish law. In the tenth year of his rule the leading men of Judea and Samaria accused him of cruelty before the emperor, who banished him to Vienne in Gaul (Josephus, Antiquities 17.339–344). Cassius Dio dates the sentence to AD 6 (Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.25.1, 55.27.6). His territory then passed under a Roman governor; see Judea Comes under Direct Roman Rule.