Queen Salome Alexandra

When her husband Aristobulus I died, Queen Salome Alexandra—also known simply as just Alexandra or Salina, Shelamzion in Hebrew—married his brother Alexander Janneus (Yannai), whom she released from prison and elevated to be king. After his reign of twenty-seven years, Janneus died following a protracted illness and left the kingdom to her. She ruled from 76 to 67 BCE and thereby postponed a succession struggle between their sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, until after her death. She was the last queen of Judaea and the last ruler of ancient Judaea to die as the ruler of an independent kingdom.

Most of what we know about Salome Alexandra is from the writings of Josephus, but she is also mentioned in rabbinic literature (see “Queen Shelamzion”) and is alluded to in the Dead Sea Scrolls. According to Josephus, on his deathbed Janneus advised his wife to cede limited power to his adversaries the Pharisees, given their popularity, and thus win over the masses. In this way, she became queen but remained a pawn of the Pharisees.