338 Tlie First Jewish Shekels. 



the Syrian anchor, the bunch of grapes, etc. The death of 

 Herod, which, actually, occurred in the same year as the birth 

 of Christ, would appear to have happened four years before, 

 according to the commonly accepted Christian era ; and it is 

 assumed that he may have been urged to the slaughter of the 

 children of Bethlehem, recorded by St. Matthew (but not men- 

 tioned by Josephus, or any other contemporary historian) by the 

 last pangs of the painful and irritating disease of which he died. 

 This has been assumed, because such an act of gratuitous 

 cruelty appears inconsistent and consequently improbable ; but 

 when it is considered how many of his own children he put to 

 death, in consequence of idle suspicions and jealousies, he 

 seems to have been fully capable of such an act, if he had deemed 

 it politically advisable — an estimate of his character widely 

 prevalent in his own day, as we learn from the well-known 

 exclamation of Augustus, when he heard of the political murders 

 of Herod's two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, who had been 

 brought up at the Court of Home — cc Better to be the hog of 

 Herod than his son," said the emperor — Melius est Herodis esse 

 porcum quam filium. 



By the Will of Herod vast sums in money, and gold vases 

 and jewels of great value, were bequeathed to Augustus, 

 and his territories were divided between his sons, Archelaus 

 and Antipas. Each claiming the whole dominions of their 

 father, both proceeded to Italy to lay their claims before 

 the Roman Emperor, who confirmed in all its main features 

 the will of Herod, giving the tetrarchies of Galilee and Peraea 

 to Antipas, while Archelau sbecame ethnarch of Judaea, with a 

 promise of the eventual title of king. After a reign of ten years, 

 however, Antigonus was convicted of cruelty and deposed "by 

 Augustus, a.d. 7, and died in exile at Vienne, in Gaul. He 

 issued small coins similar in general character to those of his 

 father. The most usual have the prow of a vessel, the Syrian 

 anchor, or a helmet, and a Greek inscription round the type. 

 The name is generally abbreviated, as IIPO, and the title of 

 ethnarch as E©N. After his expulsion Judasa was made a 

 Eoman province, and Annius Rufus appointed imperial 

 governor. 



The Roman procurator, Copponius, had already issued a 

 provincial coinage for the use of Judasa, bearing date the year 

 8 1 , after the Bal ble of Actium, and coins of the same class were 

 most probably struck by Annius Rufus, as ascertained by the 

 dato, A. TH (for Av/ca/3a<; To). The Romans, in their eastern 

 provinces, dated their public records, and the coinage, from the 

 Battle of Ac! in in, which first placed Egypt and the regions of 

 Asia bordering on the Mediterranean directly under the im- 

 perial government. That event took place in the year 31 B.C. ; 



