When Pompey the Great took Palestine in 63 BCE, Herod’s father Antipater aligned with Rome and sent Herod, a boy of ten, to live with his uncle in Petra (the capital of Nabataea). He spent several years there. When Herod was sixteen he met Marc Antony, who recognized and admired the boy’s outstanding abilities. The two became lifelong friends. Through Antony he met Julius Caesar, who also became fond of Antipater’s family. In 47 BCE Antipater arranged to have Caesar appoint Herod governor of Galilee.