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The accounts of Syllaeus, the vizier of the Nabataean king Obodas II, come from chroniclers who sided with his enemies, but they are likely to be essentially accurate. For example, the Greek geographer Strabo blamed him for the loss-making failure of his friend Aelius Gallus' campaign to southern Arabia around 25/24 BC. Syllaeus is said to have led the Romans over unnecessarily arduous routes, which is quite conceivable, since the Nabataeans naturally wanted to make it as difficult as possible for the Romans to gain access to their own area of interest. For more on this, see below.
Around 14 BC Syllaeus asked Herod for the hand of his sister Salome, which failed among other things because he refused the demanded conversion to Judaism. Afterwards he supported opponents of Herod and slandered him to the Roman emperor Augustus.
After the death of Obodas II, Syllaeus claimed the rulership of Nabataea and conspired in Rome against the pretender to the throne, but the emperor did not give him the crown. After Syllaeus' intrigues against Herod and the new Nabataean king Aretas IV were exposed, he was beheaded in Rome in 6 BC.