Queen Berenice

Berenice, queen of Chalcis, a tiny kingdom in the mountains of Lebanon, was a great-granddaughter of Herod the Great, daughter of King Agrippa I, and sister of King Herod Agrippa II. Berenice became queen of Chalcis after her marriage to her father’s brother, Herod of Chalcis. She retained the title after her husband’s death and continued to rule over the kingdom with her brother, Agrippa II, with whom she was rumored to have an incestuous relationship. She later married Polemo, king of Cilicia, but ultimately left him. Berenice was present in Jerusalem during the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE) and according to Roman historians began a love affair with the future emperor Titus. For the larger context of Berenice’s interactions with the Roman procurators Festius and Florus in the years leading up to the First Jewish Revolt, see “Roman Corruption” and “The First Flames of War.”

Berenice is mentioned several times in Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War and also figures in his autobiography, Life of Josephus, which mentions her support for Josephus’ enemy Justus of Tiberius. Berenice also appears in the Acts of the Apostles and in the writings of Suetonius, Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Juvenal, and Quintilian, and she is mentioned in inscriptions from Qalaat Faqra, Beirut, and Athens.