Gaius Julius Agrippa was a Cilician Prince

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

 and the first born son of King Gaius Julius Alexander

Gaius Julius Alexander

Gaius Julius Alexander was a Herodian Prince that lived in the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire.Alexander was of Jewish, Nabataean, Edomite, Greek, Armenian and Persian ancestry. He was the son of the Herodian Prince, later King Tigranes VI of Armenia and his wife Opgalli...

 and Queen Julia Iotapa

Iotapa

Iotapa or Iotape also known as Iotapi was the name of various queens and princesses who lived in between the 2nd century BC, 1st century BC, 1st century and 2nd century. The name Iotapa or Iotape originally derives from the name Jotapa or Jotape, which was a name of Persian origin...

 of Cetis. He had two younger siblings: a brother called Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus

Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus

Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus was a Cilician Prince and second-born son to King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis. His eldest brother was Gaius Julius Agrippa and his younger sister was Julia Iotapa....

 and a sister called Julia Iotapa

Iotapa

Iotapa or Iotape also known as Iotapi was the name of various queens and princesses who lived in between the 2nd century BC, 1st century BC, 1st century and 2nd century. The name Iotapa or Iotape originally derives from the name Jotapa or Jotape, which was a name of Persian origin...

.

Surviving inscriptions on his family reveal that his family were related to important members of Asian, non-Jewish and Jewish aristocracy. He was of Jewish

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, Nabataean

Nabataeans

Thamudi3.jpgThe Nabataeans, also Nabateans , were ancient peoples of southern Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...

, Edomite

Edom

Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...

, Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

, Medes

Medes

The MedesThe Medes...

 and Persian origins

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

. His paternal grandparents were King Tigranes VI of Armenia

Tigranes VI of Armenia

Tigranes VI, also known as Tigran VI or by his Roman name Gaius Julius Tigranes was a Herodian Prince and served as a Roman Client King of Armenia in the 1st century....

 and his wife Opgalli. Through Tigranes, he was a descendant of King Archelaus of Cappadocia

Archelaus of Cappadocia

-Family & Early Life:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent. His full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the first born son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and Glaphyra. Archelaus’ father...

, King of Judea Herod the Great

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

 and his wife Mariamne

Mariamne (second wife of Herod)

Mariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus...

. Agrippa along with his family and paternal relatives were among the last known descendants of the Herodian Dynasty

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

. He was an apostate

Apostasy

Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...

 to Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

. It is unlikely that Agrippa attempted to exert influence on Judean Politics. His name indicates that the family connections from the Herodian Dynasty

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

 were not wholly broken. His maternal grandparents were King Antiochus IV of Commagene

Antiochus IV of Commagene

Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes , the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38-72 as a client king to the Roman Empire.-Life:Antiochus was a prince and son of Antiochus III of Commagene and his mother was Queen Iotapa of Commagene. The parents of Antiochus IV were full-blooded siblings, who...

 and Queen Julia Iotapa.

The Kingdom of Cetis was a small client state in the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. Cetis was a small region in Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

 that was previously ruled by his Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

n royal ancestors and Antiochus IV. The city in Cilicia Elaiussa Sebaste

Elaiussa Sebaste

Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste was an ancient Roman town located from Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia . Elaiussa, meaning olive, was founded in the 2nd century B.C...

 was a part of the Kingdom. When his parents married in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in 58, then Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

 crowned his parents as monarchs and gave them that region to rule. He was born, raised and educated in Cetis.

There is an honorific inscription dedicated to him as a ‘son of King Alexander’. In 94, Agrippa along with his brother Berenicianus entered the Roman Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

. Surviving inscriptions also reveal the career of Agrippa. Agrippa became and served as a Quaestor

Quaestor

A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....

 for the Roman Province of Asia. Before 109, Agrippa served as a Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

, before his father reached and served as a consul or suffect consul.

Agrippa married a Roman woman who belonged or was related to the Fabia (gens). From this marriage Agrippa had two sons, a younger Gaius Julius Agrippa and Lucius Julius Gainius Fabius Agrippa

Lucius Julius Gainius Fabius Agrippa

Lucius Julius Gainius Fabius Agrippa also known as Lucius Julius Agrippa was a considerable wealthy man who descended from royalty. He lived in the second half of the 1st century and first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire...

. A possible descendant from his family was the usurper

Usurper

Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...

 of the 3rd century

3rd century

The 3rd century was the period from 201 to 300 in the Christian/Common Era.In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, marking the beginning of Late Antiquity. In Persia, the Parthian Empire was succeeded by the Sassanid Empire....

 Jotapianus

Jotapianus

Marcus Fulvius Rufus Jotapianus or Jotapian, he was also known as Iotapianus or Iotapian. Jotapianus was an usurper in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab, around 249...

.

Sources

• http://www.roman-emperors.org/philarab.htm
• acsearch.info ancient coin search engine: Kings of Armenia
• Bash, Anthony (1997). Ambassadors for Christ: an exploration of ambassadorial language in the New Testament, Mohr Siebeck
• Roller, Duane W. (1998). The Building Program of Herod the Great, University of California Press, ISBN 0520209346