Herod I was the Jewish emperor of Judea from about 37 to 4 BC. Herod I was known as a cruel ruler. He killed many of his political opponents. According to the New Testament, when Jesus (the “new king”) was born, there were wise men from the East following the light of a strange star to come to Him.
While pᴀssing through Herod I’s capital, these Magi stopped by the royal palace to inquire about the “newborn king” of the Jews. Upon hearing this question, Herod I was worried that his royal power would be lost to the “newborn king” as the Magi had said, so he pretended to entertain the Magi and told them that if they found the new king, they should stop by to let him know when they returned. In fact, Herod I planned that if he heard about the “new king”, he would send someone to kill him immediately to avoid future trouble.
Having discovered Herod I’s plot, after meeting Jesus, the Magi took a different route to avoid revealing the information. Not knowing exactly who the new king was, Herod I decided it was better to kill by mistake than to miss out. The emperor ordered the killing of all newborn boys under the age of 2 in the Bethlehem area, where Jesus was born. However, Jesus’ family escaped because they had heard the news beforehand. They fled to Egypt and only returned after Herod I died in Jericho.
Portrait of Emperor Herod I.
The burial place of Emperor Herod I seems to be a difficult question for history to answer. In the 1860s, Felicien de Saulcy (a French explorer) and his expedition searched for the tomb of Herod I on the islands in the center of Herodium Lower.
Image of Emperor Herod I in a painting by Giuseppe Fattori in 1856.
In 1983, a research team led by Dolphin Lambert (a geophysicist) used sonar and radar to penetrate the cliffs inside the tallest towers on the mountain top because he thought that inside there were hidden secrets of the tomb of Emperor Herod I. However, the search was also fruitless and what Dolphin Lambert gave was not convincing enough.
Tomb of Emperor Herod I at the Herodium mountain fortress area.
After more than 30 years of searching, in 2007, archaeologist Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University (Jerusalem) announced that he had found the resting place of Herod I. The tomb is located in the Herodium mountain fortress area, south of Jerusalem. Herod I built Herodium in the very area where he won a victory over his enemy, the ancient Parthians, around 40 BC.
Gate to the tomb.
In April 2007, his team discovered hundreds of red limestone fragments buried in the mountainside. At the fortress site, archaeologists found a limestone sarcophagus that had been broken into pieces. When reᴀssembled, the sarcophagus would have been 2.5 meters long. Archaeologists discovered elaborate carvings in the broken pieces of the sarcophagus. They also found an ancient staircase built for the funeral procession of Herod I. The staircase was described in detail by the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, and it was this account that led Professor Netzer’s team to the burial site at the top of the hill.
The 2.5m long coffin was pieced together from intricate rose-printed fragments.
The royal coffin was handcrafted from smooth square white stones.
The walls of the tomb are elaborately decorated.
Additionally, no human bones were found at the excavation site. Professor Netzer suggests that they may have been removed by rebellious Jews fighting against Rome between AD 66 and 72.
Although the tomb was smashed and empty, Netzer and his colleagues continued digging in the hope of finding jewelry or other valuable archaeological objects.
Many believe that the body of the brutal emperor Herod I is buried in a secret room somewhere in the tower.
