Philip the Tetrarch

Tetrarchy (Judea)

The Tetrarchy of Judea was formed following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, when his kingdom was divided between his sons as an inheritance...

(sometimes called Herod Philip II by modern writers) was son of 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 fifth wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem

Cleopatra of Jerusalem

Cleopatra of Jerusalem was a woman who lived in the 1st century BC during the Roman Empire. She is remembered as one of the wives of King of Judea Herod the Great.There is a possibility that Cleopatra could have been a daughter of a local noble from Jerusalem...

 and half-brother of Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas

Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...

 and Herod Archelaus

Herod Archelaus

Herod Archelaus was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea from 4 BC to 6 AD. He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, the brother of Herod Antipas, and the half-brother of Herod Philip I....

 (not to be confused with Herod II

Herod II

Herod II was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest . For a brief period he was his father's heir...

, whom some writers call Herod Philip I.)

Philip inherited the northeast part of his father's kingdom, which includes Iturea and Trachonitis as mentioned briefly in the Bible by Luke (3:1) or Gaulonitis, and Trachonitis, and Paneas as noted by Flavius Josephus. Augustus Caesar made his own division of Herod's kingdom, giving one half to Archelaus

Herod Archelaus

Herod Archelaus was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea from 4 BC to 6 AD. He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, the brother of Herod Antipas, and the half-brother of Herod Philip I....

, while dividing the other half into two, to Antipas

Herod Antipas

Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...

 and Philip. Batanea, with Trachonitis, as well as Auranitis, with a certain part of what was called the House of Zenodorus, paid the tribute of one hundred talents to Philip.

He married his niece Salome

Salome

Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...

, the daughter of Herodias

Herodias

Herodias was a Jewish princess of the Herodian Dynasty. Asteroid 546 Herodias is named after her.-Family relationships:*Daughter of Aristobulus IV...

 and was a member of the Herodian dynasty sometimes called Herod Philip I, but also known as Herod II

Herod II

Herod II was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest . For a brief period he was his father's heir...

, or sometimes Philip of Rome. This Salome appears in the Bible in connection with the execution of John the Baptist

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...

. The evangelist Mark (6:17) and Matthew (14:3) write that Philip was her father, which seems an odd mistake until one realizes that the older half-brother of Philip the Tetrarch (Herod Philip II) is also sometimes named Herod Philip - Herod Philip I. 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.

There is no contemporary evidence for Philip the Tetrarch's use of the name 'Herod Philip' as a dynastic title, as occurred with his brothers Herod Antipas and Herod Archelaus; however, his birth name was Philip ben Herod. 'Herod Philip I' is better known as Herod II

Herod II

Herod II was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest . For a brief period he was his father's heir...

. 'Herod Philip II is better known as Philip the Tetrarch. 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. (see Kokkinos says (p 223) “The stubborn existence of many theologians in referring to Herod III as ‘Herod Philip’ is without any value” (233), and again on p. 266, “No illusory Herod Philip ever existed”. The Cambridge Ancient History Vol.10, says that Philip the Tetrarch, “unlike his brothers, did not use Herod as a dynastic name”, and refers to him throughout as Philip, or Philip the Tetrarch. The predecessor CAH had already stated that Philip’s half-brothers Archelaus and Antipas had adopted the name of Herod, "presumably" for a dynastic claim from Herod the Great.