Herod Antipas

Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1stcentury ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch . He is best known today for accounts in the New Testament of his role in events that led to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.

Early in his reign, Antipas had married the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea. However, on a visit to Rome he stayed with his halfbrother Herod II and there fell in love with his wife, Herodias, , and the two agreed to marry, after Herod Antipas had divorced his wife. Aretas daughter learned of the plan and asked permission to travel to the frontier fortress of Machaerus, whence Nabatean forces escorted her to her father. With his daughter now safe in his custody, Aretas now could declare war on Herod. It is generally agreed that the war, in which Herod was defeated, occurred in 36, a year before the death of the emperor Tiberius. A point of contention today is how long before this date Herods marriage to Herodias took place. Some surmise that the marriage of Antipas and Herodias took place shortly before the war in about the year 34, after the death of Philip, but others have pointed to Josephus Jewish Antiquities Book 18, chapter 5, paragraphcomment that Herodias divorced hers

Source: Wikipedia