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THUS Judæa seemed to be sinking more and more into the form of a Roman province, while Herod rivalled the other vassal kings of Rome in subservience to the master of the world. It was a saying that Cæsar assigned to him the next place in his favour to Agrippa, while Agrippa esteemed Herod higher than all his friends, except Augustus107. The three vied with one another in mutual courtesies, and whenever either Cæsar or Agrippa visited the Eastern provinces, the Jewish king was sure to be first to pay his homage, and to assist with his personal support and advice.

In return for these attentions the Roman emperor was profuse in his concessions. When Herod sent his two elder sons by Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus, to Rome for their education, he received them into his palace and treated them with the utmost care and distinction108. Moreover, besides the large addition he had already made to Herod’s territories, he now conceded to him the district east of the Lake of Gennesaret, known as Trachonitis, with Batanæa and Auranitis, and afterwards appointed him procurator of the province of Syria, and with such authority, that his colleagues in command could take no step without his concurrence109. At the same time a tetrarchy was conferred on his brother Pheroras, and in memory of these concessions, Herod erected a splendid temple of white marble at Paneas, near the sources of the Jordan, and dedicated it to his benefactor110.