Aristobulus Minor or Aristobulus the Younger (flourished 1st century BC and 1st century AD, died after 44) was a prince from the

Herodian Dynasty The Herodian dynasty was a royal dynasty of Idumaean (Edomite) descent, ruling the Herodian Kingdom of Judea and later the Herodian Tetrarchy as a vassal state of the Roman Empire. The Herodian dynasty began with Herod the Great, who assume ...

. He was of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish,

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Le ...

and

Edom 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 eas ...

ite ancestry. He was the youngest son born to prince

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 Hasmone ...

and princess Berenice of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...

. His parents were first cousins and thus Aristobulus was a grandson to

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client state, client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian Kingdom of Judea, Herodian kingdom. He ...

. When growing up, he was educated along with his eldest brothers,

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 l ...

and Herod of Chalcis in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, along with future Roman Emperor Claudius. Claudius and Aristobulus became friends and he became in high favor with the future emperor. Claudius and Aristobulus had sent letters to each other. Aristobulus lived at enmity with Agrippa I. Aristobulus denounced Agrippa I and forced him to leave from the protection of Flaccus, the

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

of Syria. Agrippa I was charged with bribing the Damascenes to support their cause with the Proconsul against the

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast ...

ians. Aristobulus married Iotapa, a Syrian Princess from the

Royal family of Emesa The Emesene (or Emesan) dynasty, also called the Sampsigeramids or the Sampsigerami or the House of Sampsigeramus ( ar, آل شمسيغرام, translit=ʾĀl Šamsīġirām), were a Roman client dynasty of Arab priest-kings known to have ruled b ...

and daughter of King

Sampsiceramus II Sampsiceramus II ( arc, 𐡔𐡌𐡔𐡂𐡓𐡌, Šamšigeram, grc, Γάϊος Ἰούλιος Σαμσιγέραμος, Gaius Julius Sampsigeramus; died 42 AD) was a Priest King of Emesa who reigned from 14 to 42 AD. Biography Sampsiceramus I ...

and Queen Iotapa who ruled Emesa from 14-42. This marriage for Aristobulus was a promising marriage in dynastic terms. Iotapa and Aristobulus chose to live as private citizens in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Iotapa and Aristobulus had a daughter called Iotapa, who was deaf and mute. Apart from their daughter, they had no further descendants. In the reign of Emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanic ...

37-41, Aristobulus had opposed the emperor in setting up statues of himself in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

. He survived his brother Agrippa I, who died in 44.

Family tree

Sources

*- * *{{Jewish Encyclopedia, title=Aristobulus, no-prescript=1, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1771-aristobulus, author1=Richard Gottheil, author2=H. G. Enelow 1st-century BCE Jews 1st-century Jews Herodian dynasty Emesene dynasty