Queen Salome I – The monstrous image of King Herod the Great’s sister




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Salome I was the queen regnant of Iamnia, Azotus, and Phasaelis. She was the sister of King Herod the Great of Judea. Chroniclers have often depicted her as “the female counterpart of her brother in her unbridled passions, her intellectual capacity, her ambition, and her ruthlessness.”[1] In the chronicles, she plots the deaths of her sister-in-law, her husbands, and her nephews. Yet, modern-day historians are actually questioning whether she was actually as wicked as the chroniclers made her out to be.[2] Most of the information about her comes from the chronicler, Nicolaus.[3] He became her enemy because she favoured a candidate that he opposed as the next King of Judea.[4] Thus, Nicolaus was the first to blacken her reputation.[5] Did Queen Salome I deserve her negative reputation?

Queen Salome I of Iamnia, Azotus, and Phasaelis was born circa 57 B.C.E.[6] Her parents were Antipater the Idumaean and Cypros. She had two brothers, Phasael and Herod. When Herod became King of Judea in 37 B.C.E., he married a Hasmonean princess named Mariamne. It was said that Queen Salome was jealous of Queen Mariamne I because her mother was a princess while her mother was a commoner.[7] Therefore, Salome hated Queen Mariamne I with a passion and secretly wished for her death.[8]

Salome married Joseph, her uncle. They had no children. It was during her marriage to Joseph that Salome discovered an opportunity to try to kill Queen Mariamne I.[9] When King Herod was summoned by Mark Antony to Laodicea regarding the matter of the death of the High Priest of Jerusalem named Aristobulus, he left his beloved wife in the care of Joseph.[10] When King Herod returned, Salome accused Queen Mariamne I of having an affair with her husband.[11] King Herod executed Joseph (which left Salome a widow), but he eventually forgave his wife.[12] Thus, Salome’s efforts to kill Queen Mariamne I failed.

In 30 B.C.E., Salome found a second opportunity to try to kill Queen Mariamne I. When King Herod left for Rhodes to meet with Emperor Augustus, he left Queen Mariamne I in the protection of the Iturean named Sohemus.[13] When King Herod returned to Judea, Salome accused Queen Mariamne I of plotting to assassinate him and having an affair with Sohemus.[14] King Herod executed Sohemus but imprisoned Queen Mariamne I.[15] Salome was not happy with Queen Mariamne I’s imprisonment and desired her execution.[16] She convinced her brother to execute her by persuading him that there would be a public revolt against him if he kept his wife imprisoned.[17] Thus, Queen Mariamne I was executed in 29 B.C.E. King Herod would regret his decision to execute her for the rest of his life.[18]

Salome married for the second time to Kostobar, the Governor of Idumea.[19] Salome bore him two children, Antipater and Berenice. Salome’s marriage to Kostobar was very unhappy, and they often quarrelled.[20] She violated Jewish law by divorcing him.[21] After her divorce, she accused Kostobar of treason.[22] King Herod executed him.[23]

Salome fell passionately in love with the young and handsome, Syllaeus (the prime minister of the King of Arabia).[24] However, he refused to marry her because he had no wish to convert to Judaism for fear of being stoned in his homeland.[25] Despite being rejected, Salome was still determined to marry him.[26] Through the intervention of Empress Livia in Rome, Salome finally abandoned all thoughts of marrying Syllaeus.[27] King Herod arranged for her to marry his friend, Alexus.[28] She remained married to him until her death in 10 C.E.[29]

King Herod arranged for Salome’s children to marry two of his children whom he had with Queen Mariamne I.[30] It was said that Salome disliked the idea of her children marrying the offspring of the woman she hated.[31] However, she had no choice but to submit to her brother’s wishes.[32] Her son, Antipater, married Princess Cypros. Berenice married Prince Aristobulus. Princess Berenice bore him five children. They were King Herod Agrippa I, King Herod V of Chalcis, Princess Herodias (who would be infamous for her role in the beheading of John the Baptist), Princess Mariamne, and Prince Aristobulus.

Salome hated Queen Mariamne I’s sons and plotted to eliminate them.[33] She ordered her daughter, Princess Berenice, to spy on her husband, Prince Aristobulus.[34] Then, she accused Prince Alexander and Prince Aristobulus of treason.[35] Eventually, King Herod listened to his sister’s accusations.[36] He executed them in 7 B.C.E. After the execution of Queen Mariamne I’s sons, Salome decided to eliminate Queen Doris’s son, Prince Antipater, who was the heir apparent.[37] In 4 B.C.E., Salome revealed to King Herod of Queen Doris’s assassination attempt to place Prince Antipater on the throne.[38] King Herod executed Prince Antipater a few weeks before his death and banished Queen Doris.[39]

In 4 B.C.E., King Herod died. On his deathbed, King Herod ordered the executions of many Jewish nobles.[40] However, Salome freed these nobles.[41] Because of her pardon of the Jewish nobles, she won the respect of the people.[42] Salome was praised for her heroic deeds.[43]

In King Herod’s will, Salome was made the queen regnant of Iamnia, Azotus, and Phasaelis.[44] Even though Salome was the queen regnant, she did not administer the kingdoms personally. Instead, she left the administration in the hands of the governors. Prince Herod Archelaus and Prince Herod Antipas (King Herod’s sons whom he had with Queen Malthace) were left with the best territories of the kingdom: Samaria, Judea, and Idumaea.[45] 

Prince Herod Archelaus and Prince Herod Antipas quarrelled over the kingship of Judea. This led them to plead their case to Emperor Augustus and forced the Jewish elite to choose sides.[46] Queen Salome went to Rome to support Prince Herod Antipas.[47] However, she made an enemy of the chronicler, Nicolaus, who supported Prince Herod Archelaus.[48] He has portrayed her as the monstrous and ruthless queen that has been notorious for millennia.[49]

Emperor Augustus decided that Judea would not have a king.[50] Instead, he declared Prince Herod Archelaus the ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.[51] Emperor Augustus then declared Prince Herod Antipas the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea.[52] After the settlement of King Herod’s will, Queen Salome remained in Rome with her children and grandchildren.[53] She maintained a friendship with Empress Livia.[54] Queen Salome died in 10 C.E. In her will, she left her kingdoms to Empress Livia.[55]

The story of Queen Salome I of Iamnia, Azotus, and Phasaelis is hard to separate fact from fiction when a bitter enemy spreads her initial story. Therefore, her role in the deaths of Queen Mariamne I, her husbands, and her nephews is still unclear.[56] During her lifetime, she was loved by the Jewish people. She was even acclaimed as a hero for freeing the Jewish nobles. Thus, she may not have been as wicked as the chroniclers depicted her.[57] Perhaps with more scholarship, the truth about this queen may one day be revealed.

Sources:

Gottheil, R. & Krauss, S. (1906). “Mariamne”. The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 22, 2022 from https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10415-mariamne.

Hizmi, H. (2016). The Toparchy of Salome, Sister of King Herod, and its Towns: Archelais, Phasaelis, and Livias. Judea and Samaria Studies26(2):137-170.

Ilan, Tal. (31 December 1999). “Salome.” Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Jewish Women’s Archive. Retrieved. on December 22, 2022 from https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/salome.

Macurdy, G. H. (1937). Vassal-queens and Some contemporary Women in the Roman Empire. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.

Malamat, A. (1976). A History of the Jewish People. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press.

Milwitzky, W. (1906). “Alexandra”. The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 22, 2022 from https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1165-alexandra.

Smith, M. H. (n.d.). “Salome I (died 10 CE)”. Virtual Religion Network. Retrieved on December 22, 2022 from https://virtualreligion.net/iho/salome_1.html.


[1] Macurdy, p. 69

[2] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[3] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[4] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[5] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[6] Hizmi, 2016

[7] Smith, n.d., “Salome I [died 10 CE]”

[8] Smith, n.d., “Salome I [died 10 CE]”

[9] Macurdy, 1937

[10] Macurdy, 1937

[11] Macurdy, 1937

[12] Gottheil and Krauss, 1906, “Mariamne”

[13] Gottheil and Krauss, 1906, “Mariamne”

[14] Gottheil and Krauss, 1906, “Mariamne”

[15] Gottheil and Krauss, 1906, “Mariamne”

[16] Macurdy, 1937

[17] Gottheil and Krauss, 1906, “Mariamne”

[18] Milwitzky, 1906, “Alexandra”

[19] Macurdy, 1937

[20] Macurdy, 1937

[21] Macurdy, 1937

[22] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[23] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[24] Macurdy, 1937

[25] Macurdy, 1937

[26] Macurdy, 1937

[27] Macurdy, 1937

[28] Macurdy, 1937

[29] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[30] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[31] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[32] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[33] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[34] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[35] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[36] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[37] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[38] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[39] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[40] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[41] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[42] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[43] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[44] Hizmi, 2016

[45] Malamat, 1976

[46] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[47] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[48] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[49] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[50] Malamat, 1976

[51] Malamat, 1976

[52] Macurdy, 1937

[53] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[54] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[55] Hizmi, 2016

[56] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”

[57] Ilan, 31 December 1999, “Salome”






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About Lauralee Jacks 211 Articles
I am a former elementary teacher in Tennessee. I have a bachelor’s degree in Liberal and Civic Studies from St. Mary’s College of California, a master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the College of Saint Mary. Because my family are from East Asia, I have a passion for historical Chinese and Korean television shows. I always wanted to separate fact from fiction in dramas. Writing articles from History of Royal Women gives me a chance to dig deeper and explore these royal women as they might have been in real life. Also, it gives me a chance to look at the history and culture of where my family originated. I love researching East Asian royalty because they rarely get enough attention in the West often being overshadowed by European royalty. I find these royal women to be just as fascinating and their stories deserve to be told. Thus, I am excited to write for History of Royal Women!

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