How did the king Herod show his loyalty to the roman government?

Answer 1

It would be useful if you specified which Herod. There were several Herods in the Herodian dynasty. Judea had been turned into a client state of the Romans before the Herodian dynasty.

Herod the Great was the son of a non-Jewish from outside Judea. His father was a high ranking official of Hyrcanus II, the King of Judea. Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew, usurped the throne with the help of the Persians. Herod fled to Rome and asked the Romans to help him. The Roman senate appointed him he "King of the Jews." He went back to Judea to take the kingdom from Antigonus. Three years later he captured Jerusalem with the help of the Romans and executed Antigonus. Later, he was able to prove to Augustus, the first Roman emperor, his loyalty to Rome mainly by respecting the agreements he had with the Romans. He had been allowed to govern as he pleased as long as he maintained peace and stability, refrained from engaging in unauthorized activities outside of his kingdom and actively supported Roman activities in Judea. Herod by introduced Roman trophies in the Temple and erected a golden eagle (a Roman symbol) over its entrance, which offended many Jews.

The Romans made the son king Herod the Great, Herod Archelaus, the client king of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea (biblical Edom, it was south of Judea) from 4 BC to 6 AD. This was referred to as the tetrarchy of Judea. Archelaus was judged incompetent by Augustus who annexed the area as a province of the Roman Empire under rule of a prefect.

Herod's other son Herod Antipas was appointed as client king of Galilee from 4 AD to 39 AD. He was responsible for building projects and the construction of his capital Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, which was named after emperor Tiberius. The the city later became a rabbinic centre. He arrested John the Baptist and then executed him because he was critical of him. He got involved in a war over territory on the border with Nabatea which was disastrous for him. Tiberius ordered a Roman counter-offensive which abandoned on his death in 37 AD. In 39 AD he was accused by his nephew Agrippa I of conspiracy against the new Roman emperor Caligula, who sent him into exile in Gaul. He was also held responsible for Jesus Christ's death. Pontius Pilate initially handed Jesus over to him, but he sent him back to Pilate's court.

Herod Agrippa, also known as Agrippa was portrayed in different manners. The Jews had a favourable opinion of him, and the Christians disapproved of him.

Herod Agrippa II or Agrippa II was the last of the Herodian kings. He was educated at the court of emperor Claudius who then gave him the right of superintending the Temple in Jerusalem and appointing its high priests. He spent large sums in embellishing Jerusalem and Berytus. His partiality towards Berytus and the capriciousness of his dealing with the high priests made him unpopular. There was a rebellion and he was expelled from Jerusalem. During the First Jewish-Roman War of 66-73, he sent 2,000 men, archers and cavalry, to support Vespasian's war effort, showing his devotion to the Romans. He accompanied the other Roman commander, Titus, on some of his campaign and was wounded. After this war, he went to Rome and he was made praetor and given more territory.