Salome I (ca. 65 BCE – ca. 10 CE) was the sister of

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...

and the mother of

Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. ...

by her husband

Costobarus Costobarus (Greek: Κοστόβαρος) was an associate of Herod the Great (who made Costobarus governor of Idumea) and second husband of Herod's sister Salome I. He was also known as Costobar.{{cite book, last1=Flavius, first1=Josephus (93 CE), l ...

, governor of

Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...

. She was a nominal queen regnant of the

toparchy ''Toparchēs'' ( el, τοπάρχης, "place-ruler"), anglicized as toparch, is a Greek term for a governor or ruler of a district and was later applied to the territory where the toparch exercised his authority. In Byzantine times the term came t ...

of Iamnia, Azotus,

Phasaelis Fasayil or Fasa'il ( ar, فصايل) is a Palestinian village in the northeastern West Bank, a part of the Jericho Governorate, located northwest of Jericho and about southeast of Nablus. The closest Palestinian locality is Duma to the west. Th ...

from 4 BCE.

Life

She first married Joseph ( :fr:Joseph (iduméen)), whom she accused of familiarities with Mariamne, wife of Herod, and thus procured his death.Salome
entry in The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature by James Strong and John McClintock She had three children by her second husband

, Antipater IV (who married Cypros II, Herod's daughter by

Mariamne I Mariamne I (died 29 BCE), also called Mariamne the Hasmonean, was a Hasmonean princess and the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus III. Herod's fear of his rivals, the Hasmoneans, ...

), Berenice (who married first

Aristobulus IV Aristobulus IV (31–7 BC) was a prince of Judea from the Herodian dynasty, and was married to his cousin, Berenice, daughter of Costobarus and Salome I. He was the son of Herod the Great and his second wife, Mariamne I, the last of the Hasmon ...

, Herod's son by the same mother, and second Theudion, brother of Herod's first wife Doris) and an unnamed daughter (who married Alexas' son Alexas, the Temple Treasurer). Like her more famous granddaughter (and grandniece)

Herodias Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution. Family relat ...

, she divorced her husband in contravention of what

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

(''Jewish Antiquities'' 15.7.10) says were Jewish laws at the time:

"But some time afterward, when Salome happened to quarrel with Costobarus, she sent him a bill of divorce and dissolved her marriage with him, though this was not according to the Jewish laws; for with us it is lawful for a husband to do so; but a wife, if she departs from her husband, cannot of herself be married to another, unless her former husband put her away. However, Salome chose to follow not the law of her country, but the law of her authority, and so renounced her wedlock..."

After this she accused him of treason against Herod, who put him to death. Salome's third husband was Alexas ( :pl:Aleksas I). Berenice's children were

Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa (Roman name Marcus Julius Agrippa; born around 11–10 BC – in Caesarea), also known as Herod II or Agrippa I (), was a grandson of Herod the Great and King of Judea from AD 41 to 44. He was the father of Herod Agrippa II, the ...

, king of Judea,

Herod of Chalcis Herod of Chalcis (d. 48-49 CE), also known as Herod Pollio King of Chalcis, Herod V, and listed by the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' as Herod II, was a son of Aristobulus IV, and the grandson of Herod the Great, Roman client king of Judaea. He was th ...

and

Aristobulus Minor Aristobulus Minor or Aristobulus the Younger (flourished 1st century BC and 1st century AD, died after 44) was a prince from the Herodian Dynasty. He was of Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite ancestry. He was the youngest son born to prince Aristobul ...

, and

Mariamne III Mariamne III was a daughter of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. She had three brothers, Herod of Chalcis, Herod Agrippa I, and Aristobulus V, and one sister, Herodias. Some time after the death of her father in 7 BCE, Mariamne III was betrothe ...

(who may have been the first wife of her uncle,

Herod Archelaus Herod Archelaus (, ''Hērōidēs Archelaos''; 23 BC – ) was ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea and Jaffa, for a period of nine years (). He was the son of Herod the Great and Mal ...

, ethnarch of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...

). Salome I played a major background role in the court intrigues that plagued the royal family. She led Herod to execute his wife

and their two sons. She encouraged Herod to favor his first son

Antipater III Antipater II ( grc-gre, Ἀντίπατρος, Antípatros; c. 46 – 4 BC) was Herod the Great's first-born son, his only child by his first wife Doris. He was named after his paternal grandfather Antipater the Idumaean. He and his mother were ...

. She disobeyed Herod's last command to execute the Judean elders he had detained as soon as he died. Upon the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, she was given a

including the cities of Iamnia, Azotus,

, and 5000

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

e. The Roman emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

supplemented this with a royal habitation at Ascalon. While nominally queen of these areas, they were ultimately subject to the Judaean prefect. After Salome's death, Iamnia fell to Livia, the Roman empress, and then to her son

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

.Jewish Virtual Library. ''Jabneh''
/ref>

References

External links

Salome I
entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith * Hananya Hizmi
The Toparchy of Salome, Sister of King Herod, and its Towns: Archelais, Phasaelis, and Livias
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salome 01 65 BC births 10s deaths Herodian dynasty 1st-century BC Herodian rulers 1st-century Herodian rulers 1st-century BC women rulers 1st-century women rulers 1st-century BCE Jews 1st-century Jews Ancient Jewish women

Life

See also

References

External links