10. Herod the Great, King of Judea, ordered the executions of two of his sons after he feared they were conspiring to murder and seize his throne
Herod I, also known as Herod the Great, reigned as the King of Judea from 37 BCE until his death in 4 BCE. A client king under Roman authority rather than a sovereign in his own right, Herod backed Antony against Augustus before successfully appeasing the triumphant emperor and demonstrating his loyalty. Overseeing a significant architectural expansion of his domain, including the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima, fortresses at Masada and Herodium, and the Second Temple in Jerusalem, Herod’s reign was equally marked by an immensely authoritarian and repressive tone.
In 9 BCE, Herod once again became a figure of questionable standing with Augustus as a result of his poor fortunes in the war against the Nabateans. As a result, Herod, growing increasingly paranoid in his old age, feared the Roman Emperor might seek to replace him with one of his sons. Accusing two of his sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, of high treason in 8 BCE, Herod won permission to prosecute the pair. Tried and found guilty in Beirut, Alexander and Aristobulus were executed in 7 BCE. Herod’s replacement successor, Antipater, was later executed in 4 BCE, leading Augustus to remark: “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son”.