Herod the Great, an Arab as King of the Jews. Ironically, one of the most important figures in Jewish history was an Arab. Born to an Idumaean father and a Nabataean mother, Herod was a great king and is particularly known for the rebuilding of the Great Temple of Jerusalem.
- The Idumeans were Judaized Arabs and were among the many Arab groups present in the East at that time. The Idumaean ostraca reflect that the Arabs of Edom were an integral part of the sedentary population, deeply ingrained in agricultural life.
- This is also attested in Hellenistic literary sources where the designation of “Arab” had clear ethnic connotations. In fact, the impressions are that Idumean Arabs, the people of Herod’s father, were the overwhelming majority of the population of southern Palestine.
Despite of his significant gestures to the Jews, including the enlargement of the Temple, Herod wasn’t appreciated and was seen as a stranger because of his origins.
Shahîd, Irfan. Rome and the Arabs. p. 43-44, 145, Graf, David Franck. Arabs in Syria: demogaphy and epigraphy. p. 331-333
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