Herod's son, ruler of Judea, Samaria and Idumea
Archelaus
Active
4 BCE – 6 CE
A particularly ineffective ruler, he so outraged those he ruled that Augustus sent him into exile in Gaul; after him Rome administered Judea directly.
What the sources say
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3 statements
After Herod died, three sons shared out the kingdom. Archelaus received Judea, Samaria and Idumea and ruled from 4 BCE to 6 CE; Herod Antipas got Galilee and Perea, to the north, from 4 BCE to 39 CE; Herod Philip got the Golan, in the far north, from 4 BCE to 33 or 34 CE. Archelaus governed so badly that Augustus exiled him to Gaul; his brothers did better.
Roman backing explains why the Herodians lasted over a hundred years, but it may also explain why so many subjects rejected them. Moreover, every failure, like that of Archelaus, forced Rome to take closer control, which made the tension worse.
With Archelaus removed, Rome sent its own administrators to Judea, low-ranking officials titled prefect and later procurator. Cruel, corrupt and contemptuous of Jewish tradition, they made the friction worse. The book's timeline dates the start of this direct rule to 6 CE.