Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero and the Judean Client Kings: Herod Agrippa II and the End of the Herodian Dynasty
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Nero's big foreign policy moves — Armenia, Parthia, the Jewish Revolt — but one figure who slips through the cracks is the last of the Herodian client kings: Herod Agrippa II. He was the great-grandson of Herod the Great, and he spent most of Nero's reign walking a razor's edge between Roman authority and Jewish nationalism. Luna: So he was ruling alongside the Roman procurators? Lucas: Exactly. Agrippa II wasn't king over all Judea — he controlled a patchwork of territories that the Romans kept adjusting. Claudius had given him the kingdom of Chalcis in 48 AD, and then Nero, early in his reign, swapped him for the former tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias — basically parts of what's now southern Syria and Lebanon, plus some Galilean regions. He also got the right to appoint the Jewish high priest, which was a huge lever of power. Lucas: But here's the tension: Agrippa II was a Roman client, raised in Rome, fluent in Greek and Latin, deeply loyal to the empire. He even kept a palace in Rome. He was essentially a Roman aristocrat who happened to rule Jews. And that created constant friction with his own subjects. Luna: Did he ever try to bridge that gap? Lucas: He did, but it got harder as Nero's reign went on. In the early 60s, Agrippa II built a new wing on his palace in Caesarea Philippi — the city that Philip the Tetrarch had built — and he renamed it Neronias, in honor of Nero. That's the kind of flattery that kept him in good standing with the emperor, but it didn't play well back home. Lucas: Then there's his sister Berenice — she's a fascinating figure in her own right. She was a Herodian princess who married into the Syrian aristocracy, and she lived with Agrippa II for a while. Rumors flew that they had an incestuous relationship — Josephus mentions it, though he might be biased. Berenice later became the lover of the future emperor Titus. Luna: So the Herodian family was still deeply entwined with Roman power. Lucas: Completely. But the crunch came in 66 AD, with the outbreak of the Jewish Revolt. Agrippa II tried to stop it. He made a dramatic speech to the people of Jerusalem, trying to talk sense into them — he pointed out that the Romans were too powerful, that rebellion was suicide. Josephus preserves the speech in his Jewish War, and it's a remarkable document. Agrippa basically says: 'Look around the world — every nation has submitted to Rome. Why do you think you can win?' Luna: And it didn't work. Lucas: It didn't. The moderates were swept aside by the Zealots and the Sicarii. Agrippa II and Berenice barely escaped Jerusalem. After that, he threw his lot in fully with the Romans. He supplied troops to the Roman general Vespasian — who was Nero's appointee, by the way — and later to Titus. His cavalry fought at the siege of Jerusalem. Lucas: So here's this irony: Nero, the emperor often remembered as a madman, had installed a client king who was one of Rome's most loyal allies. And Agrippa II outlived Nero, survived the civil war of 68-69, and remained a Roman ally under the Flavians. But he also outlived his own usefulness. After the revolt was crushed, the Herodian kingdom was effectively dissolved. Agrippa II died around 100 AD, the last of his line. Luna: That's a much more nuanced picture of Nero's eastern policy than the usual 'fiddling while Rome burns' story. Lucas: It really is. And it connects to something we've talked about before — Nero's philhellenism. He liked to surround himself with Greek-speaking client kings and intellectuals. Agrippa II was fluent in Greek, he patronized Greek culture, he even sponsored games. He fit Nero's ideal of a civilized ruler. Lucas: Now, speaking of supporting things — if you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you might know that this show is entirely listener-supported. No ads, no sponsors. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through Buy Me a Coffee dot com slash Fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these. So if you've gotten something out of these conversations, that's where you can help keep them going. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And it keeps us free to explore these deep cuts without worrying about ad breaks. Lucas: Exactly. So back to Agrippa — one of the most telling incidents is when he tried to intervene on behalf of the Jewish high priest, Joseph ben Caiaphas? No, that's earlier. Actually, there's a story from around 64 AD when Agrippa II complained to Nero about the high priest he had appointed, Ishmael ben Fabus. Ishmael had gotten into a dispute with the priests over tithes, and Agrippa wanted him removed. Nero backed Agrippa, and Ishmael was sent to Rome as a hostage or prisoner. Luna: So Nero was micromanaging Judean religious appointments through Agrippa? Lucas: To some extent. But the real problem was the Roman procurators, especially Gessius Florus, who was appointed around 64 AD. Florus was brutal and corrupt — Josephus says he deliberately provoked the Jews to violence so he could loot the Temple treasury. Agrippa II tried to restrain him, but he had no authority over Florus. That's a key reason the revolt happened. Lucas: Agrippa II also minted coins with his own image and Greek inscriptions — and some with Nero's image, to show loyalty. And he issued coins with the year of Nero's reign. That's another way client kings signaled their allegiance. Luna: Did he ever visit Rome under Nero? Lucas: He likely did, though the sources are thin. We know he was in Rome during the reign of Claudius, and he probably returned under Nero. There's a tantalizing mention in the Talmud, actually — a story about Agrippa II reading the Torah in public and weeping when he reached a verse about kings being subject to the law. That story might be from his time in Rome, but it's hard to pin down. Luna: So he was trying to be both a good Jew and a good Roman. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes him so tragic. He genuinely wanted peace, but the forces on both sides — Jewish extremists and Roman opportunists — made it impossible. After the revolt, he retired to Rome, and the Herodian dynasty faded into history. But his story shows that Nero's client management was actually quite sophisticated, at least in the East. Lucas: One last thing — Agrippa II's sister Berenice had a famous love affair with Titus, the future emperor who destroyed Jerusalem. She even moved to Rome and lived with him for a while. But the Roman public hated her — she was a foreign queen, and they feared a new Cleopatra. Titus eventually had to send her away. So the Herodians remained controversial to the end. Luna: Fascinating. It makes you wonder how history would have been different if Agrippa II's advice had been heeded in 66 AD. Lucas: Indeed. But that's a counterfactual for another time. For now, we can at least remember Agrippa II as a man caught between worlds, doing his best to serve two masters — and failing both in the end.