Herod, King of Judea
73 - 4 BCE
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Appointed by Rome as King of Judea, where Jesus’s towns of birth (Bethlehem) and childhood (Nazareth) were located. Son of Antipater, also a ruler of Judea. Lifelong friend of Mark Antony; favorite of Julius Caesar. Grandfather of Salome and father of Herod II, who had John the Baptist beheaded. Herod considered himself a patron of pagans and protector of Jews.
Matteo di Giovanni, The Magi before Herod, c. 1490
When civil war broke out in Palestine in 40 BCE, the Roman senate named Herod as king of Judea; heavily armed by Rome, he was the unchallenged ruler of Judea, from the age of 36 until his death in 4 BCE. In subsequent years, Herod consolidated power by remarrying a more politically advantageous wife, securing oversight and profits of copper mines in Cyprus, and expanding Judea into present-day Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. He transformed the region by constructing immense fortresses and palaces and the Temple Mount, of which the Western Wall remains in Jerusalem.
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As Herod grew older, it's likely his increasing cruelty owed to his mental deterioration, augmented by paranoia stoked by his family. As a result, he murdered his wife, step sons, brother- and mother-in-law, among other extended family members. He eventually murdered his firstborn son and ordered the slaying of all babies in Bethlehem upon hearing of Jesus' imminent rise.
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