Herod, known as Herod the Great c.74-4BC
Ruler of Palestine in Roman times

The second son of the Idumaean chieftain, Antipater, procurator of Judea, he owed his initial appointment as Governor of Galilee (47BC) to Julius Caesar, his elevation to the kingship of Judea (37BC) to Mark Antony, and his retention in that post after Actium (31BC) to Augustus. He was a loyal Roman client king who ruthlessly kept all his subjects in check, but he also founded cities and fortresses and did much to develop the economic potential of his kingdom. He had 10 wives and 14 children, and life at his court was marked by constant and bloody in-fighting between the members of his family. His undoubted cruelty is shown in the Gospel account of the slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem (the Massacre of the Innocents).