Zenodorus () was the ruler of a small principality in the vicinity of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

described by

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

as the "house of

Lysanias Lysanias was the ruler of a small realm on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus and in coins from c. 40 BC. There is also mention of a Lysanias in Luke's Gospel. Lysanias in Josephus Lysanias was the ...

", 23-20 BCE.

Biography

Though Josephus does not seem to know it, Zenodorus was actually the son of Lysanias, for a funerary inscription found at Heliopolis (

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

) was dedicated to "Zenodorus the son of Lysanias the tetrarch" (of

Iturea Iturea or Ituraea (, ''Itouraía'') is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Marsyas to the Anti-Lebanon Mountains in Syri ...

). He gained control, on lease we are told, of some of his father's territory (confiscated when his father had been executed by

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

), but it is not clear exactly what his territory was for Josephus only gives us information concerning areas south of Damascus (Ulatha and Paneas, both, we are told, west of Trachonitis), while the center of Lysanias's realm was north-west of Damascus. He may in fact have held the lease on his territories as far back as the time of his father's execution (36 BCE), doing the work of administering the region while initially paying rent to

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, though we only have Josephus's indications to follow.This is Emil Schuerer's conjecture, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Vol.1, Appendix 1. Coins minted during his reign describe Zenodorus as "tetrarch and high priest", a phrase also used on coins by his forebears. This indicates that for most of his possession of his father's lands, he was more than a lessee of the property. Josephus reports Zenodorus was not satisfied with his earnings so he became involved in acts of robbery in the

Trachonitis The Lajat (/ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Haura ...

region south-east of Damascus as well as against Damascus itself. The Damascenes turned to the Roman governor to relieve their sufferings, which led Augustus to give control of the Trachonitis to

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

, along with the task of bringing order to the area. Zenodorus went to Rome in an attempt to bring charges against Herod for the zealousness of his efforts in the Trachonitis, but returned, not having achieved anything. Starting to despair for his situation Zenodorus sold a part of his lands called Auranitis for fifty talents, though this land had been confiscated by Augustus and given to Herod! Next he instigated the inhabitants of Gadara to make charges against Herod before Augustus who had come to Syria, but Augustus stood by Herod and the unrest dissipated. Zenodorus's problems were finally resolved when he suffered a ruptured intestine and died soon afterwards in Antioch. Josephus's presentation of Zenodorus is rather negative and the interpretations he places on the events he describes may simply represent the propaganda of his major source for the period,

Nicolaus of Damascus Nicolaus of Damascus (Greek: , ''Nikolāos Damaskēnos''; Latin: ''Nicolaus Damascenus''; – after 4 AD) was a Greek historian, diplomat and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his ...

, an important functionary in the court of Herod the Great, who would have looked after Herod's best interests to the loss of Zenodorus.

Notes

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References

* Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 15.342-360. * Josephus, Jewish War, 1.398-400. * Wright, N.L. 2013: "Ituraean coinage in context." ''Numismatic Chronicle'' 173: 55-7
(available online)
1st-century BC monarchs in the Middle East 20 BC deaths Year of birth unknown Ancient Damascus