Herod the Great (c. 72 BCE – 4 BCE) is remembered as a king of Judea under Roman rule. Appointed king by the Romans, he reigned from 37 to 4 BCE and is famous for his grand building projects, including the renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem. Politically adept, but also known for his cruelty, he had several members of his own family executed for fear of conspiracy. In Christian tradition, he is best known for the Massacre of the Innocents, an episode recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, in which he allegedly had children killed in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the baby Jesus.
