c. 36 AD

The execution of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas

Josephus recounts that the tetrarch Herod Antipas seized and executed John. He calls John a righteous man who taught the Jews virtue and justice. John also taught the washing of the body for consecration rather than for the remission of sins.

Herod feared that John's enormous influence over the people might lead to unrest. So he had him executed at the fortress of Machaerus. Herod later suffered a military defeat by the Arab king Aretas. Many Jews regarded it as just divine punishment for this execution.