Philip the Tetrarch

Son of Herod the Great and ruler of part of his father's kingdom

Tiberius featured on a coin struck by Philip the Tetrarch The tetrarchy of Philip (4 BCE - 34 CE) as given to him following the death of his father, Herod the Great: Iturea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Batanea, and Auranitis

Philip the Tetrarch (c. 26 BCE - 34 CE), sometimes called Herod Philip II by modern writers (see "Naming convention") was the son of Herod the Great and his fifth wife, Cleopatra of Jerusalem. As a Tetrarch, he ruled over the northeast part of his father's kingdom between 4 BCE and 34 CE after Herod's death. He was a half-brother of Herod Antipas and Herod Archelaus. He is not the same person as Herod II, whom some writers call Herod Philip I.

## Territory

[edit]

Philip ruled territories which the Gospel of Luke lists as Iturea and Trachonitis[1] and Flavius Josephus lists as Gaulanitis, Trachonitis and Paneas[2] as well as Batanea, Trachonitis, Auranitis, and "a certain part of what is called the House of Zenodorus".[3] The city of Caesarea Philippi served as the capital of his tetrarchy.

## Marriage and dynasty

[edit]

Philip married his niece Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Herod II (sometimes called Herod Philip I, and also a member of the Herodian dynasty). This Salome appears in the Bible in connection with the beheading of John the Baptist. However, there would have been a great difference in their ages: Salome was born in ~14 CE, at which time Herod Philip was 39 years old. The gospels of Matthew and Mark state that the Herodias whom Herod Antipas married was the wife of Antipas' brother "Philip", a fact supported by Josephus, who indicated she was the wife of Herod II (a.k.a. Philip I).

It is possible that the 'Salome' he was married to was a half-sister by that same name, a daughter of Herod the Great and his 8th wife Elpis. This sibling Salome was born c. 14 BCE, and so only five years younger than Herod Philip (a more realistic age gap). But this would also be the only known occurrence of the children of Herod the Great intermarrying, even if from different mothers. Marriage to first cousins and uncles, however, was relatively common in the so-called Herodian dynasty.

It is known that Philip the Tetrarch rebuilt the city of Caesarea Philippi, calling it by his own name to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the sea-coast, which was the seat of the Roman government.

## Naming convention

[edit]

There is no contemporary evidence for Philip the Tetrarch's use of the name "Herod Philip" (Greek: Ἡρώδης Φίλιππος, Hērōdēs Philippos) as a dynastic title, as did occur with his brothers Herod Antipas and Herod Archelaus. Herod II is sometimes called "Herod Philip I" (because both the Gospel of Matthew[4] and Gospel of Mark[5] call the husband of Herodias "Philip"), and then Philip the Tetrarch is called "Herod Philip II".[6][7] Kokkinos says, "The stubborn insistence of many theologians in referring to Herod III as 'Herod Philip' is without any value...No illusory Herod Philip ever existed."[7][pp. 223–233]; [266] Philip the Tetrarch, "unlike his brothers, did not use Herod as a dynastic name."[8] Philip's half-brothers, Archelaus and Antipas, had adopted the name of Herod, "presumably" for a dynastic claim from Herod the Great.[9][page needed][clarification needed]

## Family tree of the Herodian dynasty

[edit]

Main article: Herodian dynasty

There are three princes by the name Phasael in the Herodian dynasty, all three mentioned by Josephus in "War" (BJ) and "Antiquities" (AJ):[10]

* Phasael I, son of Antipater and Cypros (BJ 1.181; AJ 14.121)[10]
* Phasael II, son of Phasael I (BJ 1.266; AJ 17.196)[10]
* Phasael III, son of Herod the Great (BJ 1.181; AJ 14.121)[10] and father of Cypros/Kypros, wife of Agrippa I[11]

| | | | | | | | Antipater the Idumaean
procurator of Judea

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | 1.Doris
2.Mariamne I
3.Mariamne II
4.Malthace| | Herod I the Great
king of Judea| | 5.Cleopatra of Jerusalem
6.Pallas
7.Phaidra
8.Elpis| | Phasael
governor of Jerusalem

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
(1) Antipater
heir of Judaea| | (2) Alexander I
prince of Judea| | (2) Aristobulus IV
prince of Judea| | (3) Herod II Philip
prince of Judea| | (4) Herod Archelaus
ethnarch of Judea, Idumea| | (4) Herod Antipas
tetrarch of Galilea & Perea| | (5) Philip the Tetrarch
of Iturea & Trachonitis
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Tigranes V of Armenia| | Alexander II
prince of Judea| | Herod Agrippa I
king of Judea| | Herod V
ruler of Chalcis| | Aristobulus Minor

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Tigranes VI of Armenia| | Herod Agrippa II
king of Judea| | Aristobulus
ruler of Chalcis
| | | | | | |
| | | | Gaius Julius Alexander
ruler of Cilicia
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |
| | | | Gaius Julius Agrippa
quaestor of Asia| | Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus
proconsul of Asia
| | | | | | |
| | | | Lucius Julius Gainius Fabius Agrippa
gymnasiarch

## See also

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* Herodian dynasty
* Herodian kingdom
* List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Luke 3:1
2. ^ "Flavius Josephus, Anitquities XVII., 8 : 1".
3. ^ "Flavius Josephus, Anitquities XVII., 11 : 4".
4. ^ Matthew 14:3
5. ^ Mark 6:17
6. ^ Note: It is an example of the great difficulty in establishing the relationships of various holders of the same name in the same area or family - especially in the Herodian dynasty.
7. ^ a b Kokkinos (1998).
8. ^ Bowman & al., eds. (2001 [1996]). Refers to him throughout as Philip, or Philip the Tetrarch.
9. ^ Bury & al., eds. (1965 or before)
10. ^ a b c d Norris, Jérôme (26 April 2017). "A woman's Hismaic inscription from the Wādī Ramm desert: AMJ 2/J.14202 (Amman Museum)". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 28 (1): 90–109. doi:10.1111/aae.12086. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
11. ^ "Phasaelus". The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. 26 April 2017. pp. 90–109. Retrieved 24 April 2024 - via BibleGateway.com.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Vol. 10: The Augustan empire, 44 B.C.–A.D. 70. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. `{{cite book}}`: `|work=` ignored (help)
* J. B. Bury; S.A. Cook; F.E. Adcock; M.P. Charlesworth; N.H. Baynes, eds. (1965) [latest reprint]. ~.
* Bowman, Alan K.; Champlin, Edward; Lintott, Andrew, eds. (2001) [1996]. ~. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521264308. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
* Kokkinos, Nikos (1998). "The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse". Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Supplement Series. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press: 236–240.

## External links

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* Philip the Tetrarch entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* Herod Philip II biographical entry

Philip the Tetrarch

House of Herod

Died: 34 AD

Preceded by

King Herod I

|  Tetrarch of Batanea
4 BC - 34 AD  | Vacant

Title next held by

King Agrippa I

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