JUDAEA, Herodians. Agrippa I, 37-43 CE. AE (Bronze, 21 mm, 8.05 g, 12 h), Caesarea Maritima, RY 7 = 42/3. [Β]ΑΣΙΛ[ΕΥΣ ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑΣ ΦΙΛΟΚΑΙΣΑ] Diademed and draped bust of Agrippa to right. Rev. [Κ]ΑΙΣΑΡ[ΙΑ Η ΠΡΟΣ ΤΩ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΩ ΛΙΜΕΝΙ / L Ζ] Tyche standing front, head to left, holding rudder in her right hand and cornucopiae in her left. RPC I 4985. TJC 126. Very rare. Some deposits, otherwise, fine.


When Agrippa I was just six years old, he was sent to Rome, where he soon became a trusted companion and close friend of Drusus Caesar, the son of Tiberius. The two availed themselves of all the luxury of the imperial court and were known as great spendthrifts. However, Drusus died unexpectedly in 23 CE, and the emperor Tiberius thereafter treated Agrippa with marked disdain. Agrippa left Rome to become the market overseer in the new Judaean capital of Tiberias, a post secured by his sister Herodias, the wife of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, but the position did not last. Tiring of Antipas’ poor treatment, he returned to Rome in 36 CE.

There he became friends with the heir apparent, Caligula, but once again angered Tiberius by saying he could not wait for Caligula to assume the throne. Tiberius, enraged by this slight, had Agrippa imprisoned, where he remained for six months until Caligula became emperor. Upon his accession, Caligula not only released Agrippa but elevated him to the rank of king, granting him the former territories of Philip and Lysanias.

Caligula later planned to install statues of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem. Agrippa, who was in Rome at the time, persuaded him to abandon the plan, but Caligula soon changed his mind again and ordered the statues erected. This would likely have caused serious unrest in Judaea, but Caligula was assassinated before his order reached the East.

Claudius, who succeeded Caligula, valued Agrippa’s services and, upon his accession, placed under his rule the remaining territories of Palestine—including Samaria, Judea, and Idumaea, which had formerly been governed by Archelaus. Agrippa returned home laden with honors, and although his reign after this expansion lasted only a few years (until 44 CE), the people enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity under his rule.