He was the "King of the Jews," a master builder whose architectural fingerprints still mark the landscape of modern Israel, and a man so paranoid he murdered his own wife and sons. But when you look into the historical record of exactly how did Herod died, the story shifts from political thriller to a scene straight out of a medical horror movie. It wasn't a quick assassin’s blade or a peaceful passing in his sleep. Herod the Great’s exit from the world stage in 4 BCE was a slow, public, and incredibly gruesome collapse that ancient historians described with a mix of fascination and absolute revulsion.
History is messy. Honestly, most people think of Herod only in the context of the biblical "Massacre of the Innocents," but the reality of his final days is documented with startling detail by Flavius Josephus, a Roman-Jewish historian who didn't exactly have a reason to play nice with Herod's memory. Josephus paints a picture of a man rotting from the inside out while desperately trying to cling to a throne that was already slipping through his fingers.
The Symptoms That Confounded the Ancient World
If you’d walked into the royal palace at Jericho during the spring of 4 BCE, the smell probably would have hit you first. Herod was suffering. This wasn't just old age or a bit of a cough. Josephus describes a "fire" that felt like it was burning in his entrails, an insatiable hunger that couldn't be satisfied, and—this is where it gets really dark—ulcerated colon issues and "putrefaction" of his private parts that produced worms.
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Think about that for a second.
We are talking about a king who controlled one of the most strategic territories in the Roman Empire, yet he was reduced to a state of physical degradation that was seen as a divine curse. His breath was reportedly so foul that people couldn't stand to be near him. He had constant convulsions. His skin was perpetually itchy. It’s the kind of death that makes you realize all the gold in the world can't buy a dignified exit when your biology decides to revolt.
Was it "Herod’s Evil"?
For centuries, doctors and historians have looked at these accounts and tried to apply modern diagnostic labels to them. In 2002, a clinical pathological conference at the University of Maryland School of Medicine actually tackled this exact question. Dr. Jan Hirschmann suggested that the primary cause of Herod's death was likely chronic kidney disease complicated by Fournier’s gangrene.
Fournier's gangrene is a necrotizing infection of the soft tissue—basically, flesh-eating bacteria. It explains the "worms" and the "putrefaction" Josephus wrote about. If you combine that with the itching and the internal burning associated with uremia (when kidneys fail and waste builds up in the blood), the historical account starts to look a lot less like religious propaganda and a lot more like a very accurate medical chart.
A Failed Escape to the Hot Springs
Herod wasn't the type to just lie down and wait for the end. He was a fighter. Even as his body failed, he sought out the famous thermal baths of Callirrhoe, located on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. He hoped the mineral-rich waters would soothe the "fire" in his gut.
It was a disaster.
His physicians tried a radical treatment: they lowered the King of Judea into a vat of warm oil. According to the records, Herod’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted. His servants started screaming, thinking he was dead. He eventually came to, but he realized the "cure" was useless. He gave up on the baths and retreated to Jericho. This wasn't just a medical failure; it was a psychological breaking point. He knew he was done.
The Last Will and a Bitter Legacy
The way how did Herod died is inextricably linked to how he lived—violently and with a total lack of trust. In his final days, he revised his will for the sixth time. He was so terrified that the Jewish people would celebrate his death instead of mourning him that he supposedly came up with a truly psychopathic plan.
He ordered the most distinguished men from every village in Judea to be rounded up and locked in the Hippodrome at Jericho. His command to his sister Salome was simple: the moment I breathe my last, have the soldiers slaughter every one of them. That way, he reasoned, there would be genuine weeping across the nation on the day of his funeral.
Thankfully, Salome had more sense (and a bit more mercy) than her brother. Once Herod actually passed, she released the prisoners and told them to go home.
The Suicide Attempt and the Final Breath
Five days before he finally succumbed, Herod actually tried to kill himself. He was in so much pain while paring an apple that he tried to stab himself with the knife. His cousin Achiabus rushed him and stopped the blade. The palace erupted in a wail of grief—partly because people thought the king had actually died, and partly out of pure chaos.
His son Antipater, who was currently in prison for plotting against Herod, heard the commotion and thought his father was finally dead. He tried to bribe the jailer to let him out so he could take the throne. When Herod heard about this—from his deathbed, mind you—he found one last burst of energy to scream. He ordered his guards to kill Antipater immediately.
He died five days later.
Examining the Evidence: Why Historians Still Debate the Date
There is a huge academic tug-of-war over the timing of when Herod died. For a long time, the consensus was 4 BCE because Josephus mentions a lunar eclipse occurred shortly before the king passed away. Astronomers can pinpoint an eclipse in March of 4 BCE.
However, some scholars, like Andrew Steinmann, argue for 1 BCE. Why? Because the 4 BCE timeline is incredibly tight. It requires Herod to do a massive amount of traveling, bath-visiting, and prisoner-ordering in just a few weeks between the eclipse and Passover. If you look at the 1 BCE eclipse, the timeline breathes a bit more.
But whether it was 4 BCE or 1 BCE, the "how" remains the same: a systemic, agonizing collapse of his internal organs that turned the "Great" builder into a cautionary tale about the limits of power.
Why the Manner of His Death Matters Today
Understanding how did Herod died isn't just about morbid curiosity. It’s about understanding the transition of power in the Roman East. When Herod died, his kingdom was split between his three surviving sons: Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip. This "Tetrarchy" created the political landscape that would define the region for the next century.
Moreover, the sheer brutality of his end served as a narrative device for ancient writers. To them, a "bad" death—one filled with stench, worms, and madness—was proof of a "bad" life. It was the ultimate divine judgment.
If you're looking to dive deeper into this period of history, here are the most reliable ways to verify the details of Herod's demise:
- Read "The Jewish War" by Flavius Josephus. Specifically, Book I, Chapter 33. It’s the primary source for almost everything we know about Herod's physical symptoms.
- Consult the 2002 University of Maryland School of Medicine report. They provide the most comprehensive modern medical analysis of the accounts.
- Visit the Herodium. This is the massive fortress-palace south of Jerusalem where Herod was eventually buried. In 2007, archaeologist Ehud Netzer finally discovered the remains of Herod’s sarcophagus there, confirming that the king was indeed given the massive, expensive funeral Josephus described.
- Compare the Lunar Eclipses. Use NASA’s eclipse database to look at the March 13, 4 BCE eclipse versus the December 29, 1 BCE event to see why historians are so divided on the exact year.
Herod’s death was as grand and terrifying as his reign. He built the Second Temple and the fortress of Masada, but in the end, he was just a man defeated by his own biology.
Next Steps for History Enthusiasts
To get a full picture of Herod's final days, start by cross-referencing Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews (Book 17) with the archaeological findings from the Herodium excavation. This comparison shows a fascinating overlap between the "crazy" descriptions in historical texts and the very real, physical evidence of his massive tomb. Understanding the geography of his final journey—from the Jericho palace to the Callirrhoe springs and back—provides a vivid sense of the desperation that defined the end of his era.