Herod the Great—King of Judea from 40 BCE to 4 BCE. Although he wore a royal crown, he was subordinate to Rome, whose armed force brought him to the throne. Suspicious, power-hungry, and cruel, he destroyed everyone he saw as a danger to himself—spared neither close nor beloved people, including his wife and two sons. Learning about the birth of Jesus Christ and fearing him, Herod killed 14,000 Bethlehem infants, hoping to among them to destroy the Baby as well—but soon he died himself, devoured alive by worms.