Quote:I believe that Herod did die in 4 BCE and I base this on the Passover Slaughter of 4 BCE.
This is also answered in the material I cited before. Here's a snippet from Chapter 10 The War That No One Can Find:
And when the revolt broke out after the 3000 Jews were massacred in the temple during Passover, and since the event had messianic overtones to it, Rome flexed its legionary muscles to quell the uprising. Since the Jews in Parthia would have known what was going on in Judaea, and with Parthia a rival of Rome anyway, this was no time for Rome to be resting on its laurels. With the Jews in revolt, it was an indispensable time for Rome to take action and to get their armed forces to full strength. In such a situation, the security of the eastern provinces if not the Empire itself was at stake.
One of the principal reasons Rome gave Herod the kingship was to make him a bulwark against the Parthians. 3 While Herod was alive he did just that. But now, with Herod dead and his kingdom in rebellion, with the full armed forces of the Romans in Syria fighting to overcome it, and with only the client kings of Cappadocia, Pontus and Commagene protecting the frontiers with Parthia, it was no time for Rome to be discharging professionally trained legionaries from the armed services. But note this. If this War of Varus took place in the summer and autumn of 4 B.C.E. as scholars have felt up to now, a most unlikely state of affairs was then happening in the Roman military. We have the plain statement of Augustus himself that he had been steadily discharging many of his soldiers and giving them handsome bonuses from 7 to 2 B.C.E. 4 Within that six year period, there were no major wars involving Roman troops while this continual discharging of soldiers was going on. And though Augustus tells us that there was a temporary respite from the discharging in 5 B.C.E., from 4 B.C.E. on to and including 2 B.C.E. the demobilization of the Roman army continued unabated. Rome fought no wars from 7 to 2 B.C.E.
No Roman/Jewish War from 7 to 2 B.C.E
Professor Syme describes the discharging of these soldiers at this period as evidence that peace and security was then found throughout the Empire. “The titulature of the ruler [Augustus] registers no fresh imperatorial salutation for many years after he was acclaimed ‘imp.XIV’ in 8 B.C.E.” 5 Salutations such as these were given to the emperors when the Romans had secured victories in war. But none were given to Augustus from 8 B.C.E. up to and including 2 B.C.E. So peaceful was this period that Syme describes the third closing of the temple doors of the god Janus to this time. This was a sign that peace was then secure throughout the Empire. And with the steady demobilization of the legionaries from 7 to 2 B.C.E. (with the exception of 5 B.C.E.), it surely indicates a time of peace and harmony within the Empire.
Now for a difficulty. Scholars today who place Herod’s death in early 4 B.C.E. are also required to place The War of Varus in the summer of 4 B.C.E. right in the middle of this Augustan peace. They have had to do so because of their erroneous selection of the March 13, 4 B.C.E. eclipse of the Moon as that associated with the death of Herod. But this is nonsense and this makes the Roman records three years out of phase with reality. Herod actually died in January, 1 B.C.E. This means that The War of Varus took place in the summer and autumn of that year. Look at what this means and how sensible the historical records now become. Augustus steadily discharged his legionaries from 7 to 2 B.C.E., and there was peace throughout the whole Empire during that period of time. But with the Palestinian war breaking out in the spring of 1 B.C., the demobilization of the legions had to stop. The Romans from then on mustered their armed forces and reserves for war. The same thing happened with the United States when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The United States government quit discharging military men (even lengthening the stay of those scheduled to be discharged) and called up the reserves to fight a significant war in the volatile Middle East. The similarities are most interesting.
Correctly Dating the War of Varus
The War of Varus actually broke out in Palestine in 1 B.C.E. And at that very time, the Roman records show that the Armenians in the northeastern section of the Empire also began to stir up rebellion. While this was happening, the Parthians further east also in 1 B.C.E. maneuvered to take advantage of the deteriorating military situation in Rome’s eastern provinces. Understanding that The War of Varus was in 1 B.C.E. can make these known activities of the Armenians and the Parthians understandable.
There was another prime reason why we can know that The War of Varus was in 1 B.C.E. When significant conflicts took place outside the official boundaries of the Empire such as the war just after Herod’s death, it was customary for the emperor to be awarded an “imperial acclamation” if victory were achieved by Rome. And, as Professor Syme has noted, Roman records show that Augustus did in fact receive such an “acclamation” (his fourteenth) in 8 B.C.E., but not another until C.E. 1. If Varus’ war occurred in 4 B.C.E., as scholars have wanted to believe, why was there not an “acclamation” in 4 or 3 B.C.E.? That victory over the Jews had all the earmarks for gaining such an award for Augustus. But if that war and victory were in 1 B.C.E. (as actually was the case) then an “acclamation XV” in the following year of C.E. 1 becomes perfectly reasonable. Professor Barnes has made it clear that the war which gave Augustus his “acclamation XV” in C.E. 1 to 2 must have occurred sometime between June, 2 B.C.E. and C.E. 1. 6 The dating of The War of Varus to the summer of 1 B.C.E. fits the historical scenario perfectly. Augustus’ acclamation XV was actually given to him for Varus’ victory over the Jewish rebellion.
Indeed, there is far more to it than that. When the proper chronology is recognized, more historical material can be understood about Roman affairs in the eastern provinces. Let us look at the matter closely....
3 Josephus, War I.284–285.
4 Res Gestae, 16.
5 Sir Ronald Syme, The Crisis of 2 B.C., 3.
6 T. Barnes, The Journal of Roman Studies (1974). 23.
"All that openeth the matrix is mine" -Exodus 34.19a