Category:Alexandra the Hasmonean (subject)
Alexandra the Hasmonean was a member of the House of Hasmoneus.
- This page is edited by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan
Overview
Alexandra was the daughter of John Hyrcanus II. She was named after her grandmother, Queen Salome Alexandra.
Alexandra married her cousin, Alexander of Judea, the elder son of her uncle (and now also father-in law), Aristobulus II. The couple had a daughter, Mariamne and a son Aristobulus III.
In 49 BCE Alexandra's husband Alexander was executed by the Roman governor of Syria Scipio, but this only enhanced her political role as one of a surviving senior leaders of the House of Hasmoneus.
Since 42 BCE, when Herod entered Jerusalem in triumph, Alexandra championed an alliance with the House of Herod, hoping thus to avoid the ruin of her house, especially after the death of Antigonus and the exile of her father John Hyrcanus II.
When Herod became the king of Judea after defeating the Parthians, it seemed that Alexandra's plans and hopes could become true. In 37 BCE her daughter Mariamne became the wife of Herod the Great, in 36 BCE her father John Hyrcanus II was invited back to Jerusalem, and in 35 BCE she successfully challenged Herod and had her son Aristobulus III appointed High Priest. Herod the Great however had no intention of sharing his power. He publicly charged Alexandra with conspiracy and instigated the murder of Aristobulus III only a few months after his appointment in 35 BCE. In 30 BCE he executed John Hyrcanus II and in 29 BCE the same fate came to Alexandra's daughter and Herod's wife Mariamne. Alexandra was forced to publicly humiliate herself by denouncing her own daughter.
Alexandra now concentrated all her remaining hopes in her two grandchildren, Aristobulus IV and Alexandros. The succession to Herod was a merciless fight for survival. In 7 BCE Alexandra and her two grandchildren were also executed. However, Alexandra's great-grandchildren (Herod of Chalcis, Herod Agrippa, Herodias) and great-great-grandchildren (Berenice, Herod Agrippa II, Drusilla, Salome) would play an important role in Jewish history.
Alexandra the Hasmonean, the granddaughter of Queen Salome Alexandra, was a powerful actor in the complicated relations between the Hasmoneans and the Herodians. As all the women of the House of Hasmoneus she was an important public figure that influenced the generations to come.
Alexandra the Hasmonean in ancient sources
- Alexandra the Hasmonean (sources) -- survey of ancient sources
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External links
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