King Herod ‘the Great’, Sulla, and Antiochus IV ‘Epiphanes’

 

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

 

 

“… it was Herod’s lot to play a role corresponding to that of Sulla

in the parallel Roman revolution”.

 

Martin Braun

 

Somewhere in his New Chronology, Anatoly Fomenko muses - as I seem to recall, at least - on who the dictator Sulla may have been in Fomenko’s parallel revised universe.

And I have wondered the same.

And I had liked the idea as suggested by Fomenko, based on the name only, that Sulla of Roman folklore may have been King Saul. But Fomenko had admitted to not having been able to add much more to it than that.

And nor have I been able to. There does not appear to be a fit between Saul and Sulla.

 

More promising, it seems, would be a comparison of Sulla with Herod ‘the Great’.

This would also include who I believe to be an alter ego of Herod’s:

 

Antiochus 'Epiphanes' and Herod 'the Great'

 

https://www.academia.edu/36241105/Antiochus_Epiphanes_and_Herod_the_Great

 

Antiochus 'Epiphanes' and Herod 'the Great'. Part Two: ‘The King’ of Daniel 11

 

https://www.academia.edu/36262347/Antiochus_Epiphanes_and_Herod_the_Great._Part_Two_The_King_of_Daniel_11

 

the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV ‘Epiphanes’ – hence the inclusion of that name also in my title.

 

In his 1958 article, “King Herod as Oriental Monarch: Ancient History and the Modern British Mind”, Martin Braun had pointed out several likenesses between Sulla and Herod: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/king-herod-as-oriental-monarchancient-history-and-the-modern-british-mind/

 

…. Maybe one of these days we shall be given a revaluation of Sulla in which his cruelty will appear balanced or even outweighed by his many good points as a political realist.

 

There is much food for thought in this connection in a recent book, The Life and Times of Herod the Great, by Stewart Perowne.¹ For Herod (d. 4 B.C.E.) [sic] was a sort of Palestinian Sulla, in that he restored and kept order among the Jews for some thirty years through a regime of stick-and-carrot. An expert at Realpolitik, he combined the role of conquering adventurer with that of time-serving diplomatist, of Sulla Bonaparte with that of Talleyrand. Besides, there is to his credit a massive achievement as administrator and builder, as colonizer and protector of frontiers, as promoter of trade and international intercourse. Since the scales today are in any case heavily weighted against his Jewish subjects—the Gibbonian tradition that Judaism is a virulent form of religious exclusiveness having been reinforced or replaced of late by the Toynbeean charge of national fanaticism—Herod is in a position now to cut a pretty fine figure. For has not nationalism come to be regarded as the arch-heresy of mankind? And in an age that puts a premium on administrative efficiency and material welfare, when the dread of anarchy leads men to bow before any tough-minded autocrat, Herod will indeed seem to deserve his cognomen of “great”.

….

Whatever we may think of Herod as a king and a man, there can be no question but that his forceful intervention in the destinies of the Jews had such far-reaching consequences as to place him among the most important historical personages of his time.

To appreciate this, Herod’s career must be seen in the context of the great Jewish revolution which, sparked off by Antiochus Epiphanes (the Seleucid king of Syria whose attempt to Hellenize the Jews provoked the Maccabean revolt) and culminating in the destruction of the Second Commonwealth, not only entailed the transmutation of the Jews into a Diaspora nation, but also paved the way for the acceptance of a Judaic form of religion by the whole Mediterranean world. In this movement it was Herod’s lot to play a role corresponding to that of Sulla in the parallel Roman revolution.

 

What he, like Sulla, meant to achieve was the restoration and perfection of a system that had broken down: the kind of Hellenistic monarchy aimed at by the Hasmoneans. Yet in undermining the twin pillars of the theocratic establishment—High Priesthood and Sanhedrin—and in applying utterly ruthless coercive methods, he unwittingly created the conditions which led to the speedy annihilation of his own life work by the disruptive forces which he had but temporarily tamed or driven underground. Herod’s political failure thus constitutes a classic instance of what Hegel called the “cunning of Reason.”

….

 

 

Further to this, here is a stunning comparison of Sulla, ‘Epiphanes’, and Herod:

Lectures on the history of Rome (from the earliest times to the ..., Volume 2, p. 392), edited by Leonhard Schmitz:

 

[Sulla] retired to Puteoli, where he is said I to have been attacked by phthiriasis, the most disgusting of diseases: his body was covered with ulcers out of which vermin grew. I believe that the fact of his having had this disease cannot be denied; and he deserved such a punishment. It occurs chiefly in the case of tyrants, such as … king … Herod, Antiochus Epiphanes …. Sulla wasted away from this disease; but he died in consequence of an accident. ….

 

So perhaps did Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Maccabees 9:7):

 

“Moreover being filled with pride, breathing out fire in his rage against the Jews, and commanding the matter to be hastened, it happened as [Antiochus] was going with violence that he fell from the chariot, so that his limbs were much pained by a grievous bruising of the body”.

 

Part Two:

Add to the mix Gaius Maximianus Galerius

 

 

“Galerius, who had instigated the persecution, was the most zealous minister of it; the persecution raged with most fury in the provinces subject to his rule, and he continued it for several years after Diocletian's abdication, so that it might with more propriety be called the Galerian persecution”.

 

Great Men and Famous Women

 

 

 

 

The career of Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus, or just Galerius (c. 300 AD, conventional dating), follows a pattern remarkably similar to that of Antiochus IV ‘Epiphanes’ and Herod ‘the Great’. The latter ‘two’ I have identified as one in Part One of this series: https://www.academia.edu/36332492/King_Herod_the_Great_Sulla_and_Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes This pattern can be perceived from the succinct account of the emperor Galerius as written by Diane Severance and Dan Graves: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/emperor-galerius-issues-edict-of-toleration-11629640.html

 

     

 

Emperor Galerius Issues Edict of Toleration

….

 

Sometimes when a person nears death and stares into the face of eternity, he or she becomes more religious or makes moral changes, perhaps hoping to influence his or her future beyond the grave. That seems to have been the case with Roman Emperor Galerius when he issued an Edict of Toleration on this day, April 30, 311.

 

Galerius was the son of a Greek shepherd who became a Roman soldier. He rose in power and authority to become a junior ruler with Diocletian. When Emperor Diocletian began his great persecution of Christians in 303, Galerius instigated the action, convincing Diocletian that Christians were dangerous enemies of the empire.

 

Galerius himself issued another edict in 304 requiring everyone in the empire to sacrifice to the gods of the empire on pain of death or forced labor. Persecutors imprisoned churchmen, destroyed precious Bible manuscripts, and executed hundreds of Christians.

 

When Diocletian abdicated, Galerius became senior emperor in 305. He continued his cruel persecution, which was so widespread and intense that it became known as the great persecution. However, Christianity simply would not go away. Even Galerius recognized the impossibility of snuffing out the illegal religion.

 

Then he became ill. A Christian writer named Lactantius said that Galerius' body rotted and was eaten by maggots while he writhed in agony. Apparently Galerius' conscience connected his persecution of Christians with his present misery. He seems to have seen his illness as a judgment from the Christian God. At any rate, his edict mentioned only Christians.

 

The edict began by justifying his murder. "Amongst our other measures for the advantage of the Empire, we have hitherto endeavored to bring all things into conformity with the ancient laws and public order of the Romans. We have been especially anxious that even the Christians, who have abandoned the religion of their ancestors, should return to reason."

 

Noting that some Christians had betrayed their faith out of fear while others endured torture, Galerius decided illogically that "we, with our wonted clemency, have judged it wise to extend a pardon even to these men and permit them once more to become Christians and reestablish their places of meeting..."

Galerius added that "...it should be the duty of the Christians, in view of our clemency [mercy], to pray to their god for our welfare, for that of the Empire, and for their own, so that the Empire may remain intact in all its parts, and that they themselves may live safely in their habitations."

 

Prayer seems to be the point of the edict. Galerius wanted Christian prayers. Did he hope for a miracle? If so, he was disappointed. He died a week after issuing the edict.

….

 

Remarkably similarly, Antiochus IV expressed a cunning ‘tolerance’ and ‘generosity’ towards the Jews he had so ruthlessly persecuted before, as narrated in 2 Maccabees 9, though his initially intention had been to destroy them all (v. 4): “So he ordered his chariot driver not to stop until they reached Jerusalem. With great arrogance he said, ‘I will turn Jerusalem into a graveyard full of Jews’. But he did not know that he was heading straight for God's judgment”.

Vv. 5-22:

 

In fact, as soon as he had said these words, the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an invisible but fatal blow. He was seized with sharp intestinal pains for which there was no relief— a fitting punishment for the man who had tortured others in so many terrible ways! But this in no way caused him to give up his pride. Instead he became more arrogant than ever, and breathing out fiery threats against the Jews, he gave orders to drive even faster. As a result he fell out of his chariot with such a thud that it made every bone in his body ache. His arrogant pride made him think he had the superhuman strength to make ocean waves obey him and to weigh high mountains on a pair of scales. But suddenly he fell flat on the ground and had to be carried off on a stretcher, a clear sign to everyone of God's power. Even the eyes of this godless man were crawling with worms and he lived in terrible pain and agony. The stink was so bad that his entire army was sickened, and no one was able to come close enough to carry him around. Yet only a short while before, he thought he could take hold of the stars.

Antiochus Makes a Promise to God

Antiochus was deeply depressed and suffered constant pain because of the punishment that God had brought on him, so he finally came to his senses and gave up his arrogant pride. Then, when he could no longer endure his own stink, he said,

It is right that all mortals should be subject to God and not think that they are his equal. The time of the Lord's mercy had come to an end for Antiochus, but this worthless man made the Lord a promise: ‘I once intended to level Jerusalem to the ground and make that holy city a graveyard full of Jews, he said,
but now I declare it a free city. I had planned to throw out the dead bodies of the Jews and their children for the wild animals and the birds to eat, for I did not consider them worth burying. But now I intend to grant them the same privileges as the citizens of Athens enjoy. I once looted the Temple and took its sacred utensils, but I will fill it with splendid gifts and with better utensils than before, and I will pay the cost of the sacrifices from my own resources. Besides all this, I will become a Jew myself and go wherever people live, telling them of God's power’.

Antiochus' Letter to the Jews

Antiochus was in despair and could find no relief from his pain, because God was punishing him as he deserved, so he wrote the following letter to the Jews:

‘King Antiochus to the Jews, my most distinguished subjects. Warm greetings and best wishes for your health and prosperity. I hope that you and your families are in good health and that all goes well with you. My hope is in God, and I remember with a deep sense of joy the respect and kindness that you have shown me. On my way home from Persia I fell violently ill, and so I thought it best to begin making plans for the general welfare of the people. I have not given up hopes of getting well; in fact I am fully confident that I will recover.

 

Common to both Antiochus and Galerius is the fiendish hatred towards those so cruelly persecuted for their allegedly false worship (cf. I Maccabees 1:41-43): “Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath”.

Then, with death looming (“… when a person nears death and stares into the face of eternity …”), forced to do a U=Turn and issue a decree (or letter) of tolerance towards the persecuted – though laced with blind arrogance (2 Maccabees 9:26): “Now I strongly urge each of you to keep in mind the good things that I have done for you, both individually and as a nation …”.

And, finally, the terrible, stinking death by worms. Lactantius tells of it in the case of Galerius: https://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/lactant/lactperf.html

 

And now, when Galerius was in the eighteenth year of his reign, God struck him with an incurable plague. A malignant ulcer formed itself low down in his secret parts, and spread by degrees. The physicians attempted to eradicate it, and healed up the place affected. But the sore, after having been skinned over, broke out again; a vein burst, and the blood flowed in such quantity as to endanger his life. The blood, however, was stopped, although with difficulty. The physicians had to undertake their operations anew, and at length they cicatrized the wound. In consequence of some slight motion of his body, Galerius received a hurt, and the blood streamed more abundantly than before. He grew emaciated, pallid, and feeble, and the bleeding then stanched. The ulcer began to be insensible to the remedies applied, and a gangrene seized all the neighbouring parts. It diffused itself the wider the more the corrupted flesh was cut away, and everything employed as the means of cure served but to aggravate the disease.

The masters of the healing art withdrew.

Then famous physicians were brought in from all quarters; but no human means had any success. Apollo and AEsculapius were besought importunately for remedies: Apollo did prescribe, and the distemper augmented. Already approaching to its deadly crisis, it had occupied the lower regions of his body: his bowels came out, and his whole seat putrefied. The luckless physicians, although without hope of overcoming the malady, ceased not to apply fomentations and administer medicines. The humours having been repelled, the distemper attacked his intestines, anti worms were generated in his body. The stench was so foul as to pervade not only the palace, but even the whole city; and no wonder, for by that time the passages from his bladder and bowels, having been devoured by the worms, became indiscriminate, and his body, with intolerable anguish, was dissolved into one mass of corruption. ….

 

sic transit gloria mundi

 

Cf. Judith 16:17-19