Herod Archelaus
Ethnarch of Samaria/Judea/Idumea from 4 BC to 6 AD
Herod Archelaus (Ancient Greek: Ἡρῴδης Ἀρχέλαος, Hērōidēs Archelaos; 23 BC – c. AD 18) was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa, for nine years (c. 4 BC to AD 6). As a ruler, he was part of what's known as the Herodian tetrarchy, created after the death of Herod the Great. Herod Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, brother of Herod Antipas, and half-brother of Herod II. Archelaus (a name meaning "leading the people") came to power after the death of his father Herod the Great in 4 BC, and ruled over one-half of the territorial dominion of his father. Archelaus was removed by the Roman emperor Augustus when Judaea province was formed under direct Roman rule, at the time of the Census of Quirinius.
Biography
Josephus writes that Herod the Great (father of Archelaus) was in Jericho at the time of his death. Just prior to his final trip to Jericho, he was deeply involved in a religious conflagration. Herod had placed a golden eagle over the Temple entrance, a symbol which was perceived as blasphemous. The eagle was chopped down with axes. Two teachers and approximately 40 other youths were arrested for this act and immolated. Herod defended his works and went on to attack his predecessors, the Hasmoneans; he also killed all male lineal successors of the Hasmoneans.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q244345. VIAF identifies the subject as 37720107. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Herod Archelaus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.