Editing Herod Agrippa (section)

===Regional ambitions and unexpected death===
[[File:Agrippa I.jpg|285px|thumb|right|Coin minted by Herod Agrippa]]
[[Gaius Vibius Marsus]], the governor of Syria who succeeded Petronius, was much less favorable to Agrippa I.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.88">{{harvsp|Hadas-Lebel|2009|p=88}}.</ref> He sent a series of letters to Claudius to express his fears of Agrippa I's rising power, reflecting the jealousy of the prince's Roman compatriots in the region.<ref name="Goodman 2009, p.115" /> For his part, Agrippa I repeatedly asked the emperor to dismiss Marsus.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.90">{{harvsp|Hadas-Lebel|2009|p=90}}.</ref>

Marsus interrupted, on the orders of Claudius,<ref name="Goodman 2009, p.115" /> the fortification of Jerusalem and tempered the regional diplomatic ambitions of Agrippa I. Indeed, Agrippa I invited to Tiberias Herod of Chalcis as well as three princes who had been his companions in Rome, [[Antiochus IV of Commagene|Antiochos of Commagene]], [[Cotys IX|Cotys of Lesser Armenia]] and [[Polemon II of Pontus|Polemon]], [[Kingdom of Pontus|king of Pontus]].<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.88" /> Marsus argued the possibility of a conspiracy. Although it is unlikely that Agrippa I considered breaking with his close Roman protectors and familiars,<ref name="Goodman 2009, p.115" /> the kings were enjoined to return to their respective kingdoms without delay.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.89">{{harvsp|Hadas-Lebel|2009|p=89}}.</ref>
[[File:Yad Avshalom Panorama 7 (6979564688).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Tomb of Absalom (western facade), with the entrance to the Cave of Jehoshaphat (left) behind it; the tomb is dated to the 1st century AD. In a 2013 conference, Professor [[Gabriel Barkay]] suggested that it could be the tomb of Agrippa I, based in part on the similarity to Herod the Great's newly discovered tomb at [[Herodium]].]]
[[File:Herodium from above 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Tomb of Herod the Great at Herodium]]
Agrippa I died unexpectedly in 44, after only three years of reign over Judaea, during the games of Caesarea in honor of the emperor. Patronizing the games, he appeared there in dazzling silver finery in front of the crowd who acclaimed him and compared him to a god, a blasphemous remark for a Jew against which the king did not then protest. Some of his contemporaries read as a divine punishment for this blasphemy the cause of his death which occurred shortly after:<ref name="Goodman 2009, p.116" /> according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]] which appears in the [[New Testament]], an angel, come at the time of the declarations of the people who compared him to a god, struck him, and he was devoured by worms (Acts 12:20–23).<ref>[[Alfred Kuen]], Bible d'étude Semeur (édition 2018, 26450 Charols, Excelis, septembre 2017, 2300 p. (ISBN 978-2-7550-0329-1), "Au même instant, un ange du Seigneur vint le frapper parce qu'il n'avait pas rendu à Dieu l'honneur qui lui est dû. Rongé par les vers, il expira." Actes des Apôtres 12 verset 23, page 1794</ref><ref name="Goodman 2009, p.106" /><ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|12}}</ref> Two days later, he was seized with violent abdominal pains and died after five days of agony, at age 53.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.89" /> According to Josephus, before he died he scolded his friends for flattering him, and he accepted his imminent death in a state of [[Repentance in Judaism|teshuva]].<ref>{{Cite Josephus|J.|AJ|19.8.2|per=1}}</ref> The precise causes of his death are unknown, but from that time on rumors of poisoning circulated.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.89" /> Several researchers believe that the poisoning by the Romans worried about his excessive political ambitions is likely,<ref name="Mimouni 2012, p.409" /> even that it was a personal initiative of Marsus to attenuate the hostility of the neighboring Syrian populations.<ref name="Hadas-Lebel 2009, p.89" />

The reign of Agrippa I thus did not last long enough to be able to significantly outline its political orientation.<ref name="Mimouni 2012, p.409" /> Nevertheless, the hopes of regained sovereignty aroused among the Jews of Judea by his accession did not disappear with his death and were probably part of the causes that led to the [[First Jewish–Roman War|Jewish revolt]] which broke out some 20 years later.<ref name="Schwartz 1990, p. 175">{{harvsp|Schwartz|1990|p=175}}.</ref>