Herod (Tetrarch living at the time of the New Testament)

Several different rulers named Herod appear across the New Testament, all from the same Roman-appointed dynasty. Herod the Great, king when Jesus was born, ordered the massacre of infant boys in Bethlehem after failing to trick the magi into revealing the child's location. His son Herod Antipas ruled Galilee during Jesus's ministry, beheaded John the Baptist for condemning his marriage, and briefly interrogated Jesus before his crucifixion. A grandson, Herod Agrippa the First, executed the apostle James and imprisoned Peter, and Agrippa's own son, Herod Agrippa the Second, later heard Paul's defense before his final voyage to Rome. Josephus records the same dynasty in detail outside the Bible, confirming their reigns and building projects, including Herod the Great's expansion of the Jerusalem temple.