 Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.Herod also appears in the Christian Gospel of Matthew as the ruler of Judea who orders the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of the birth of Jesus, although a majority of Herod biographers do not believe this event to have occurred.Despite his successes, including singlehandedly forging a new aristocracy from practically nothing, he has still garnered criticism from various historians.