Antipater the Idumaean, also known as Antipas, as was his father and his grandson Herod Antipas, was the founder of the Herodean dynasty and father of Herod the Great. He was a half-Arab, Hellenized client of Pompey. Antipater came from Idumaea, the then-current name for the land of Edom of the Hebrew Bible, which lay southeast of Judea, between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Herod Antipas (born 20 BC) was an ancient leader (Tetrarch) of Galilee and Peraea. ... Herod I, also known as Herod the Great was a Roman client-king of Judaea. ... Pompey is also a common nickname for the English City of Portsmouth. ... Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm), a word meaning red, is both a location and a person featured in the Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible. ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided between Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. ... The Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea The Dead Sea (Arabic البحر الميت,Hebrew ים המלח) is the lowest exposed point on the Earths surface. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez(west), Gulf of Aqaba(east) viewed from Space Shuttle STS-40. ...

Antipater was married to Cypros, a Nabataean noblewoman. His genealogy was more a matter of public relations than confirmed history: although some list Antipater as descending from the Jewish remnant that returned from the Babylonian Captivity, it is more likely he was an Edomite. Idumeans had been forcibly converted to Judaism, so both Antipater and Herod the Great were of the Jewish faith, but were resented by the observant and nationalist Jews of Judea for their non-Jewish and Arab ancestry, their Hellenized culture, and their collusion with the Roman occupiers. Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans, a people of ancient Arabia, whose settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the border-land between Syria and Arabia from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... Main article: Jew Jewish religion Etymology of Jew  · Who is a Jew? Jewish leadership  · Jewish culture Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi (German and E. Europe) Mizrahi (Arab and Oriental) Sephardi (Iberian) Temani (Yemenite)  · Beta Israel Jewish populations Germany  · France  · Latin America Britain  · Famous Jews by country Jewish languages Hebrew: (Biblical / Modern... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... Herod I, also known as Herod the Great was a Roman client-king of Judaea. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ...

Antipater laid the foundation for Herod's ascension to the throne of Judea partly through his activities in the court of the Hasmoneans, the heirs of the Maccabees, who were the hereditary leaders of the Jews, and partly by currying favor with the Romans, who made him the first Roman procurator of Judea. Antipater and Cypros had four sons: Phasael, Herod, Joseph, and Pheroras. They also had a daughter, Salome, one of several Salomes among the Herodians. The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BC to 37 BC was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BC. Origin of the Hasmonean dynasty The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is... The Maccabees were a Jewish family who fought against the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty, who was succeeded by his infant son Antiochus V Eupator. ... A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. ... Herod I, also known as Herod the Great was a Roman client-king of Judaea. ... Salome can refer to: Salomé, the daughter of Herodias, unnamed in the New Testament, who, in around AD 30, at Herodias bidding, asked for John the Baptists head on a platter (see Matthew, Chapter 14). ...

Antipater was a wealthy man, and was favored by his fellow Idumeans. Josephus – from whom the details of Judean politics in this period are derived – described him as seditious in his nature. Antipater insinuated himself into the party of Hyrcanus II in his contest for power with his brother Aristobulus; both were Hasmonean princes. Their father, Alexander, had made Antipater general of all of Judea, for he had a rapport with the Arabians. Hyrcanus succeeded his mother as ruler, but bowed out in favor of his younger brother, Aristobulus. But Antipater continued to support Hyrcanus, and he advised Hyrcanus to put himself under the protection of the Arabian King Aretas III in Petra. Together they would attack Aristobulus in Jerusalem. Pompey put down the trouble, and made Hyrcanus the ethnarch of Judea. Antipater remained in charge of affairs of the state. Josephus (ca. ... Hyrcanus II was the Jewish High Priest from about 79 to 40 BCE. He was the eldest son of Alexander Jannæus and Alexandra Salome. ... Aristobulus (reigned 104-103 BC) was a king of the Hebrew Hasmonean Dynasty, and the eldest of the five sons of King John Hyrcanus. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب Ê»arab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... The Treasury at Petra Petra (from petrus, rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. ... Jerusalem (31°46′ N 35°14′ E; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... Pompey is also a common nickname for the English City of Portsmouth. ... The title of Ethnarch was used in the Roman east to refer to rulers of vassal kingdoms who did not rise to the level of Kings. ...

The Roman province of Judea in Syria was split, and Idumaea was eventually given to Antipater to govern. These divisions would later be seats of power for the Herodean descendants of Antipater. When Caesar defeated Pompey, Antipater aided Caesar in Alexandria, and was made chief minister of Judea, with the right to collect taxes. Antipater eventually made his son, Phasael, governor of Jerusalem, and Herod became governor of Galilee. After the assassination of Caesar, Antipater was forced to side with Cassius against Marc Antony. The pro-Roman politics of Antipater led to his increasing unpopularity among the devout, non-Hellenized Jews, and he was poisoned. Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided between Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. ... Bust of Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (Classical Latin: IMP·C·IVLIVS·CAESAR·DIVVS¹) (b. ... Pompey is also a common nickname for the English City of Portsmouth. ... Galilee (Hebrew hagalil הגליל, Arabic al-jaleel الجليل), meaning circuit, is a large area overlappping with much of the North District of Israel. ... Gaius Cassius Longinus may be: Cassius, who helped assassinate Julius Caesar Gaius Cassius Longinus, a 1st century jurist Categories: Ancient Romans ... Bust of Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N¹) (c. ...

The diplomacy and artful politics of Antipater, as well as his insinuation into the Hasmonean court, paved the way for the rise of his son Herod the Great, who used this position to marry the Hasmonean princess Mariamne, endear himself to Rome, and usurp the Judean throne, to become king of Judea under Roman influence. Mariamne was the wife of Herod the Great and the last heir to the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea, whom he put to death on suspicion of her unfaithfulness. ...

Note: The number of Antipaters, Antipases, Herods, Philips, Marys, Josephs, Salomes, etc., at this time in history, makes differentiating among them quite a challenge.

References

• Josephus, Flavius. William Whistom, translator. (2003) The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, Updated Edition(17th printing). The Antiquities of the Jews.The Wars of the Jews. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 1-56563-167-6
• Eisenman, Robert, 1997. James, the Brother of Jesus. Political background of Judea.