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Kingdom of Chalkis
The Kingdom of Chalkis in Coele Syria was established during the collapse of the Seleukid Empire (c. 85 B.C.) by Ptolemaios son of Mennaios (also called Ptolemy I), an Ituraean Arab dynast. In 64 B.C., Ptolemaios bribed Pompey the Great to forego annexing his kingdom and was allowed to rule as Tetrarch. In 40 B.C., Ptolemaios was succeeded by his son Lysanias, who foolishly supported Mattathias Antigonos against Herod the Great and the Romans, resulting in his execution in 36 B.C. Mark Antony gave the kingdom to Cleopatra VII. She leased the kingdom to Zenodoros, who may have been a son of Lysanias. After Cleopatra's suicide in 30 B.C., Augustus allowed Zenodoros to rule as Tetrarch. In 23 B.C., after complaints from Chalkis' neighbors, Augustus deposed Zenodoros and gave his lands to Herod the Great. After Herod's death, Chalkis appears to have been made part of the Roman province of Syria, but may have been ruled by Herodian tetrarchs. In 37 A.D., Caligula allowed Herod of Chalcis to rule with the title basileus (king). He was succeeded by Herod Agrippa II in 48 A.D., who was in turn succeeded by Aristobulus of Chalcis in 53 A.D. After the death of Aristobulus of Chalcus in 92 A.D., Chalkis became part of the Roman province of Syria.