Archelaus

Archelaus inherited the ethnarchy of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea after the death of his father, Herod the Great. His reign began with a bloodbath during Passover, which gave him a reputation for being even more cruel and unpredictable than his progenitor. Due to his oppressive rule, Joseph—warned in a dream by an angel and knowing that Archelaus was reigning in place of his father—decided not to return to Judea with the child Jesus. Instead of Judea, the Holy Family withdrew to the region of Galilee, settling in Nazareth. The brief and turbulent reign of Archelaus lasted only ten years before the Jews and Samaritans themselves complained to Emperor Augustus, who deposed him and banished him to Gaul. His figure historically explains the reason for Jesus' upbringing in the north of Israel and marks the transition of Judea to a province under direct Roman governors.