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Raised With Royalty

Herod Agrippa I was born in 10 B.C., the son of Aristobulus and Bernice, and therefore he was the blood relative (grandson) of Herod the Great, through Aristobulus.

The Jewish king Herod the Great had many sons and one of them was Aristobulus. However, the prince and the king were not on speaking terms; after two trials before the Roman emperor Augustus, Herod had his son executed in 7 B.C. Aristobulus' son Agrippa was spared at the age of 4.

Aristobulus was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne, and Bernice was the daughter of Herod's sister Salome and Costobarus. Agrippa was the brother of Herodias and went to school in Rome, but he lived a careless and extravagant life, especially after his mother Bernice's death.

See Herodian Chart

The boy was only three years old -he was born in 11- and was sent to Rome, where he received a Roman education with the princes of the ruling dynasty, the Julio-Claudians. Among his companions were the later emperors Caligula and Claudius.

When Agrippa was young, he and his mother were sent to Rome, where he received a Roman education with the princes of the ruling dynasty, the Julio-Claudians. Among his companions were the later emperors Caligula and Claudius. He grew up with Claudius (who later became Caesar) who was the same age as Agrippa, and Drusus who was the son of Tiberius and a bit older. At the imperial court he built relationships which were to prove detrimental for him later in life, not only with Claudius and Drusus, but also with Antonia, the wife of the elder Drusus (Tiberius' brother), and others.