Did Jesus in Any of His Parables Make Allusion to Historical Characters?

He is thought by some to have done so in the parable of the talents (Matt 25). Dean Farrar points this out as follows: "It is the only instance in which we can connect a parable of the Gospel with historical events. The man who goes into another country to seek a kingdom is Archelaus, son of Herod the Great. Left heir of the chief part of Herod's kingdom by the last will of his father, altered within five days of his death, Archelaus had to travel to Rome to obtain from the Emperor Augustus the confirmation of his heritage. (During his absence he had to leave the kingdom under commission to his kinsmen and servants, some of whom were wise and faithful, and others much the reverse. The circumstances of the succession of Archelaus would be recalled to Christ's memory as he passed the magnificent palace which the tyrant had built at Jericho. Archelaus was absent at Rome for some months. Jesus calls him a 'hard man.' The grasping character of Archelaus made him unpopular from the first, and the hatred felt for him was increased by his deadly cruelties. The event to which our Lord here distinctly refers had occurred in his own infancy."

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