00:00Music
00:01Let us now go to the northern part of Palestine, where Herod Antipas ruled as a tetrarch semi-independent of Rome.
00:23Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD, therefore practically the entire life of Jesus.
00:37And his reign could have lasted longer, had he not yielded to the advice of his wife Herodias,
00:43by getting Emperor Gallus, known by his nickname Caligula, to grant him the title of king,
00:52since the emperor ended up banishing him to Gaul.
00:58This long reign speaks well of Antipas.
01:01On the one hand, he was able to maintain a peaceful relationship with the Jewish people,
01:06It met the expectations of the Roman Empire,
01:09And like his father, he spent a good part of his reign enveloped in a relatively acceptable peace,
01:17to build cities and rebuild others that had been destroyed during the Hasmonean wars,
01:25or with the rise of Rome to power,
01:28or during the various uprisings that occurred after the death of Herod in 4 BC,
01:35when Archelaus was deposed in 6 AD,
01:41which continued during the census for tax purposes requested by Governor Quirinius of Syria,
01:48while the legal situation of Judea, which was without an active government, was being resolved.
01:56In short, we can say that Antipas could do whatever he wanted,
02:01as long as he paid tribute to Rome, obeyed the empire, and maintained peace within his country,
02:09and with the borders of the enemy lines.
02:12How far did this freedom or independence extend?
02:17It suffices to consider that Rome allowed Herod to mint his own coins,
02:23clear and definitive sign of such independence.
02:29Antipas was not entirely well-liked by the Jewish people,
02:33but he certainly treated them fairly and reasonably most of the time,
02:39which is why we are unaware of any attempted uprisings during his government.
02:45The people felt that their religious traditions,
02:50their means of livelihood and their own religion
02:53They were not at any risk under Herodian authority.
02:58Even in his building zeal, Herod employed many people,
03:03both when he rebuilt the city of Zephoros,
03:07which was its capital until 19 AD,
03:12such as when he moved his capital to the new city of Tiberias,
03:17in honor of Emperor Tiberius,
03:20although he committed the infamy, unacceptable to the Jews,
03:24to establish the city on an old cemetery.
03:27Now, among Antipas's duties was to guard the borders
03:34to prevent any attack that could affect Rome.
03:39The Navates were a nomadic people
03:41who frequently ventured into the empire's territory
03:46in order to expand its borders.
03:50Strategically,
03:52Antipas married the daughter of the Navatean king Aretas,
03:55But during a visit to his stepbrother,
03:58Herod fell in love with his wife and proposed marriage to her.
04:04Herodias, the wife of his half-brother,
04:06He accepted, and Antipas found himself obliged to dismiss the daughter of the Navatean king.
04:13So, when Herod lost the battle against the Navates,
04:17shortly after finishing with John, called the Baptist,
04:22People interpreted this defeat as just revenge against Antipas
04:28for having murdered a prophet of God.
04:31We know this last piece of information from Flavius Josephus,
04:35who argues that the reason Herod imprisoned John
04:40It was because he feared the preaching of the Baptist
04:44would provoke a popular uprising,
04:47something that Antipas had to avoid at all costs.
04:52This was the monarch's reason for arresting and executing the Baptist.
04:56That makes a lot of sense and it's very likely.
05:00Given Herod's sensitivities,
05:04although this view is not at odds with the view of the gospels
05:08which propose as a reason John's call to Herod's attention
05:13for having married his stepbrother's wife,
05:17which is not the same as the Philip who ruled the region
05:21further north in Palestine, but a different Herod.
05:27And finally, as we already mentioned,
05:30Antipas's life ended when, motivated by his wife,
05:34Herodias tried to obtain the title of king from Caligula.
05:39And in response he was sent into exile in Gaul,
05:44present-day France, where Herod died.
05:48Alright, brothers, that's all for today's class.
05:51I hope you enjoyed it.
05:53And as always, I look forward to seeing you at our next session.
05:56Until then, blessings.
05:58Thank you.
06:03Music
06:03Thanks for watching the video.
