Herod Archelaus was the first son of Herod the Great and the principal heir to the throne of Judea. After the death of his father, his brothers (Antipas and Philip), both made claims to the throne and Archelaus sailed to Rome to defend his birth right. The Emperor Augustus recognized that he should receive the largest portion of the inheritance, but he did not go as far as to name him king. Instead, Archelaus had to settle for the lesser title of “Ethnarch” which is equal to the governor of a specific region. His brothers, were merely made tetrarchs over other regions. Eventually, because of his tyranny, Archelaus was banished to Gaul in 6AD where he died several years later.
Archelaus is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew - “But when he (Joseph) heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Matthew 2v22-23.
Joseph obviously did not want to return to Bethlehem because of Archelaus' tyrannical reign and instead moved to Nazareth which was under the rule of Archelaus's brother Herod Antipas (The Herod who executed John the Baptist).
This Prutah coin of Herod Archelaus features the prow (front) of a Roman war galley complete with battering ram. This refers to his voyage to Rome reminding those who might challenge him that he had the backing of the Emperor. The reverse has the letters EΘN (Greek abbreviation: Ethnarch), surrounded by a wreath. The coin is 15mm and weighs 1.37grams.
