Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

March 9, 2023

The Jewish Queen Who Tried to Stop the Revolt That Led to the Second Temple’s Destruction

Berenice beyond her many marriages.

Born in 28 CE to Herod Agrippa—the penultimate king of Judea and the grandson of Herod the Great of New Testament fame—Berenice of Cilicia was descended from the Hasmoneans on her maternal line. Her multiple marriages, and her love affair with the Roman emperor-to-be Titus, were recorded by various Latin sources and inspired a number of 17th- and 18th-century European novels, plays, and operas, cementing her reputation as something of a jezebel. Drawing on a recent work by the Israeli scholar Tal Ilan, Amit Naor offers a different perspective on this Jewish queen:

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