Herod the Great was king of Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and Idumea. He was the father of Herod Archelaus. [1] He was the father of Herod Antipas; he built the port of Caesarea; he died 4 B.C. [2] He was a native of Idumea. [3] The Maccabean palace was the usual residence of Herod the Great's family in Jerusalem. [4]
He ruled Judea under the distrust of the Jews, since Herod was not a Jew; in fact, although he professed his loyalty to the Hebrew ceremonial, he built many temples to foreign gods. [5]