Berenike (mother of Agrippa)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berenike (* after 33 BC in Jerusalem ; † before 23 AD in Rome ), the mother of the Jewish king Agrippa I , was a niece of Herod the Great and the grandmother of the beloved of the same name of the Roman emperor Titus .

origin

Berenike's parents (marriage: around 34/33 BC) were - as the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus reports - Salome , the influential sister of Herod the Great, and Kostobaros , Salome's second husband. After Salome had turned away from him, Kostobaros became 28/27 BC. Executed by Herod for alleged involvement in a subversive conspiracy.

Marriage to Aristobulus

Berenike married around 18/17 BC BC (around 15 to 16 years old) her cousin Aristobulus , one of the sons of Herod the Great and Mariamne . The following children were born from the marriage: Agrippa, Herod, Mariamne and Herodias. Agrippa later became King of Judea as Agrippa I. Herod was King of Chalcis. Mariamne was married to her uncle Archelaus , a son of Herod the Great. After the death of his father, he was appointed the main heir to the ethnarch of Judea by the emperor Augustus . Herodias was in second marriage the wife of in the New Testament mentioned Tetrarch Herod Antipas . She is also said to have been the main operator of the beheading of John the Baptist .

Berenike's marriage with Prince Aristobulus, in whose veins the blood of the Hasmonean kings flowed, is said - as Flavius ​​Josephus relates - to have suffered greatly from the aristocratic arrogance of Aristobulus, who looked down on his wife and the Idumaean branch of the family with contempt. Berenike reported these details of her married life apparently faithfully to her mother Salome, who thereby developed a grudge against her son-in-law and from this motivation actively supported the intrigues of Herod's eldest son, Antipater , against Aristobulus, which aimed at his overthrow. As a result of these intrigues, Berenike's husband Aristobulus, like his brother Alexander, was killed in 7 BC because of alleged plans for a coup. Accused by his own father and eventually executed.

Marriage to Theudion

In the second marriage, Berenike joined 6 BC. With Theudion, who was a brother of Doris, the first wife of Herod the Great, and thus a maternal uncle of Antipater, the eldest son of Herod. At that time, Antipater was at the top of the list of possible heirs to the throne. After a short time Berenike also lost this second husband, as Theudion was associated with a conspiracy of the Antipater against his father Herod and was carried away by his fall. Flavius ​​Josephus is silent about the exact sentence, but one must assume that Theudion, like Antipater, 5 BC. Was executed.

Moves to Rome

After the death of Herod the Great 4 BC The widow Berenike, now around 29 to 30 years old, accompanied the husband of their daughter Mariamne, Archelaus, who was destined to succeed Herod, to Rome , where the Emperor asked Augustus for confirmation of his inheritance claims , together with her mother Salome Emperor was appointed Ethnarch of Judea .

Berenike then did not return to Judea, but settled entirely in Rome, where she enjoyed the favor of the imperial court. Her son Agrippa I grew up here, too, who was brought up together with Drusus the Younger , the son of Tiberius , and the later Emperor Claudius , and was thus able to establish and maintain influential contacts with the imperial court from an early age. Berenike made friends in particular with Antonia , the wife of the elder Drusus .

death

Berenike's exact date of death is unknown. However, she must have died before 23 AD, because Flavius ​​Josephus reports that her son Agrippa I only dared to give himself up to his extravagance after her death, whereby he died with the death of Drusus in 23 AD Lost access to Emperor Tiberius, who out of grief did not want to see friends of his deceased son. Antonia's affection for Berenike proved itself after her death in the form of the generous financial support that Antonia gave to the heavily indebted Agrippa and which saved him from bankruptcy in 36 AD.

literature

  • Linda-Marie Günther : Herod the Great. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2005.
  • Gerhard Prause : Herod the Great. The correction of a legend. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1990.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Josephus, Ant. 18, 5, 94; 16, 1, 2 and 1, 4; 16, 1, 7 and 16, 3; Bell. Jud. 1, 23, 1 and 1, 24, 3.
  2. ↑ Josephus, Ant. 17, 1, 1 and Bell Jud. 1, 28, 1.
  3. ↑ Josephus, Ant. 17, 4, 2 and Bell. Jud. 1, 30, 5.
  4. ^ Josephus, Ant. 17, 9, 3 and Bell. Jud. 2, 2, 1.
  5. ↑ Strabo, Earth Description, 16, p. 765; Josephus, Ant. 18, 6, 1-6.

See also

personal data
SURNAME Berenike
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of Salome
DATE OF BIRTH around 33 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Jerusalem
DATE OF DEATH before 23
Place of death Rome