A^rippa II. AKuilar, Diego
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
d'
Those tninsfiTs took ])l!i(i- probably in the years 53 til. and llivis enabled him to inseribe ilie.se two years on liis eoins as the dates of the bejihining"'of Lis reign ("Wiener Nuniisniatisehe Zeit.
and
CopiHT
t'i)ln
(Frnm
of Agripim II., lOlb year. " ColDS of the Jews.")
Mfti]i)i;ii,
In the stam|)in<; of these eoins lie showed no consideration whatever for the reliurious scrajjles of the Jews. Kearly all of them bear the names and effigies of the reigning emjieror (lOtli year, sometimes his own also), and even heathen emblems (lltli year). He abused the right to appoint and remove the high priests, and in hisseleelions rarely took the litness of the Coins of Agrippa. appointeeintoeoiisideralinn. He lived inconstant strife and (luurrel with the At one time he eneroaehed on their privpriests. ileges by ordering the Leviles to assume garments similar to those of the priests (see Bilehler, "Die Priester u. der Cultus." p. 144). At another time he added a watch-tower to the Herodian palace in JeruSiilem. which permitted him to see into the Temple courts; but in defiance the priests raised the Temple wall. He gratitied his desire for the erection of he.iutiful buildings, es])eciaUy in his capital. Ca'sarea Phi-
272
ture of Jolajiata. as to deliberately invite Vespasian his army to his capital, to celebrate the occasion of the con(|Uest of the Jews. The drunken festivities and unrestrained debauchery that ensued lasted for three weeks. He then joined the conquerors iu their victorious march onwaril. As a reward for this valuable aid against his own brethren the Hoiimns spared his beautiful city. Tiberias. On receipt of the news of the downfall of Nero, Vespasian sent his ,son Titus, accompanied by Agrijipa, to Italy to pay homage to the new emperor. While on their journey the tidings reached them that the new emperor had already birn niiir<lere(l; Titus turned back, but Agrippa continued his journey to Rome (" 15. J." iv. !•. ^ 2). He left liomeonly when he heard that Vespasian hail been to the imperial throne (Tacitus. "Hist."ii. exalted HI), and joined Titus, to whom Ves|)asian had entrusted the continuation of the war. and remained with him until the destruction of the Temple (Tacitus, "Hist." V. 1). In coml)ensation for this new aid against the Jews, Vespa-
and
sian enlarged his dominions " IJibliotheca," I'holiiis, cod.
- i3),
and conferred u|)ou him, in the year 7.j,
(
the rank of prctor(DioCassius, Ixvi.
Of little
Copper Coin of AiJrippa II 14lh year, under Vespasian. (From
MsiJ,!en,
- '
Coins of the
'•)
J,
1.)).
his religions life very
that
])raiseworthy
is
It is can be mentioned. true that he insisted that the heathen princes who '
wooed
his
handsome
sister
should undergo circumcision ("Ant." ... 7. ^§ 1, 3), and that once, sulTering from a revulsion of feeling, lie shed tears before the assembled conCharacter, gregation on t he reading of he jiassilge Deut. xvii. l.ViJOtseeToscf., Sotah.vii. But the'people I.'): Ver. Sotah. 2',': Bab. Sotah. 7. 8). hated him for his arbitrary treatment of the liigh)iriesthood. and tor the adoption of the heathen emlilemson his coins. He certainly never desired to emt
brace Christianity, for the utterance attributed to him in Acts. -xxvi. 2^. is evidently to be taken as a jest. His privati' life seems to have been anything but Tu- worst of reiiorts wen' current at creditable. home, as well as in Rome, concerning his relations with his beautiful but profligate sister Berenice, Copper Coin of Agrippa (From MaiMen, " Coins of
II.,
11th year.
the Jews,")
which he adorned withmagniticent edifices, and which, in order to flatter Nero, he called Xeronias ("Ant." x.. 9, § 4). He led a lordly life, devoid of care, without a thought for the unhappy destiny of his people, who were inevitalily hastening toward Unlike his father, whom their national downfall. lie otherwise emulated in all things, he abandoned all attempt to secure political independence for the Jews from their Roman master. When the final struggle broke out he Siiw safety and .salvation for his people only in blind submission to the emperor, and employed" his biilliant elociuencc to warn the inflamed leaders against extremes, and counseled the return, so far as possible, to calmness lipjii.
Joins the and
deliberation.
But
his
wonis were
Bomans.
without avail(" I?. J.'Mi. 10. s;^ 4. .5); he barely escaped from Jerusalem with his From that time he stood unreservedly on the life. side of the Romans, and even assisted them with his troops.
He
actually went so far. after the cap-
afterward the mistress of Titus ("Ant." ... 7, §3; Juvenal, " Satires," vi.
He
l.")3).
died childless
surviving thedownof .Judea only a few
(10(1),
fall
(h'cades. historian,
him
for
the
Jose]ilius.
was indebted to numerous correc-
tionsand additions. Probably Agri])pa gave him Copper Coin of ,prippa II.. year, with .sfenatus] these for the purpose of ('[onsultuin]. justifying and defending iiis ow"n acts (" Vita," § G'>: comiiare Eusebius, "Hist. It'll ti
Eccl. "
iii.
With him the
!)).
race of
Herod ends.
X
U., vll. Bini.ioc.RAPiiY Joseplius, ^iif. xix.. xx.; Idem. B. on inscriptions led. Nifse, see index* -t'^«!. xxv. i:i ir^ .^f</. SVC Sfhiirer in IlilL'.-nfi-l.l's /.' itsilirift flir mKinisi)iii(tUche rhrithMlU, IS7:i. pp. -4S, >..,. :/., it, DuiImiIi. I'ah'ist. I'fl-.vii. l-'l ct sni.: MiiiKltssilirill. XiX. tW rt saj.. rai rt ,viv;.. XX. I3(t KirwaM.Jnsfphu. ill (iiitihlci ». .v. in Vnhilltiiixi zu «'/.
f
ilrn Piiiii iiiiii. Breslaii. 1S77; (ii-.itz. Grxrii.il. Jinliii. iii. 4th Auripiia (Uebrew), 2d ed., 14 ct ncq.; Lilxiwltz, Herod ed.. Tork, 1898.
and
New
M.
Bit.
