In the bible the king who was ruling Bethleham was king Herod.
herod did it so that no one could overthrow him in his throne
Herod the Great wanted to kill Jesus. When Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt, Herod had no authority there. Even if he could have sent men into Egypt to kill Jesus, they probably could not have found the family.
They met with Herod, who tried to extract information from them to kill Jesus. --Matthew chapter2
King Herod had heard that another King was born; and since there could only be one king he though Jesus had come to depose him. So he wanted to kill Jesus before Jesus could take the kingdom away from him.
King Herod had soldiers kill every baby under the age of 2 in Bethlehem.
Herod the Great attempted to kill Jesus as a baby, for fear this 'king' was a threat to his rulership, as was prophesied at Jeremiah 31:15 and Hosea 11:1. (Matthew 2:1-18)
According to the Bible, Herod ordered the killing of all male infants in Bethlehem, an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents. The exact number of babies killed is not specified in historical records, but it is believed to have been a relatively small number due to Bethlehem's size at the time.
King Herod ordered the killing of all children aged two or under, in the hope that he would kill the future king of the Jews.
King Herod's decree, often referred to in the context of the biblical narrative, was an order to kill all male infants in Bethlehem. This was an attempt to eliminate the newborn Jesus, whom he viewed as a threat to his rule after hearing of the prophecy of a new king. This event is known as the Massacre of the Innocents and is documented in the Gospel of Matthew.
Supposedly in Bethlehem initially; unfortunately there is not documentation of a town named Bethlehem in any historical records. Then they lived for a time in Egypt, then Nazareth before he went on the road full time.
Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with Jesus, so Africa.