Herod the Great, who ruled Judea as a Roman vassal from 40 to 4 BCE, is primarily known today from the New Testament and Christian art, which portray him as a brutal tyrant. He doesn’t come off much better in the Talmud, in the writings of Josephus, or in other Jewish sources. Yet Herod, who was of Edomite and Arab ancestry and dubious Jewishness, saved Judea from foreign invasion, renovated the Temple (building what is now the Western Wall), and maintained an uneasy modus vivendi with the Pharisees. Antonio Piñero writes:
Having at first received the blessing of Rome, the independent Jewish kingdom [created by the Maccabean revolt] increasingly felt the pressure of the Roman republic’s expansion into the region. When Judea became its vassal state in 63 BCE, Rome found a willing collaborator in the form of Herod’s father Antipater, who was made procurator—financial governor—of the new province.
Divided over whether to fight the Romans or join them, civil war broke out among the [ruling] Hasmonean dynasty [established earlier by Judah the Maccabee]. Antipater’s son Herod appealed to Rome for aid, and was appointed king of Judea in 40 BCE. . . . With Roman help King Herod retook the city in 37 BCE, from where he developed excellent relations with high-ranking imperial figures, including Mark Antony.
[After defeating Mark Antony in the Roman civil war that followed], Octavian demanded an audience with Herod. Fearing for his life, the Judean king swore allegiance to Octavian [soon to be styled the Emperor Augustus], who confirmed Herod’s place as king. . . .
In the eyes of his pious, Jewish subjects, however, Herod’s loyalty to the pagan Romans and admiration of Hellenistic style smacked of treachery. He had been put on the throne of Judea only after considerable Jewish blood had been shed by Roman forces. . . .Worst of all, Herod rode roughshod over the customs and laws of the Jewish religion.
Read more on National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/11-12/king-herod-judaea-holy-land-rome-new-testament/