The namesake of his grandfather
was briefly governor of the temple in Jerusalem
after the death of his older brother, Agrippa I.
Herod III was married first to his
cousin, Mariamne [the daughter of Antipas'
sister, Olympias
& the son of Herod's brother Joseph],
& then to his niece, Berenice
[sister of Agrippa II]. The emperor Claudius
gave him the Syrian kingdom of Chalcis at the foot of Mt. Hermon in
the Lebanese mountains (ca. 42
CE). Though he never ruled Judea, he was granted
authority over the temple with the hereditary right to appoint high priests. After his death,
Claudius assigned his position & privileges to his nephew &
brother-in-law, Agrippa II.
References:
Josephus,
Antiquities
18.133-137,
277-279,
288;
19.338-341,
353-354;
20.13-16,
103-104,
145.
_____, War
1.552;
2.217,
221-223.
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