The Accession of Salome
He [Alexander Janneus] bequeathed the kingdom to his wife Alexandra, confident that the Jews would accept her authority more than anyone else’s, as her diametric contrast to his own brutality and the stand she took against his excesses had won her the affection of the people. And he was not wrong in his expectation: this frail woman consolidated…
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 Judea and the last ruler of ancient Judea 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 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.
Related Guide
The Rise and Decline of the Hasmonean Dynasty
After the Hasmonean Revolt, Jonathan and Simon establish a short-lived independent Judean kingdom, eventually brought down by a succession crisis and Roman intervention.
