The Hasmonean Kingdom

Salome Alexandra (139–67 BCE), (Hebrew שלומציון Shelomtzion or ShlomTzion) was the only Jewish regnant queen, with the exception of the usurper Athaliah. The wife of Aristobulus I, and afterward of Alexander Jannaeus,^[1] she was the last ruler to die as head of a fully independent Jewish state in Israel, until the formation of the modern State of Israel, and was a member of the Hasmonean Dynasty. Salome, Salomea or Salomé can refer to: // Salome Alexandra (ruled 76-67 BCE), Queen of Judea Salome, (c. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x691, 27 KB) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x691, 27 KB) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... (Redirected from 139 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC - 130s BC - 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC Years: 144 BC 143 BC 142 BC 141 BC 140 BC - 139 BC... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC - 60s BC - 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC Years: 72 BC 71 BC 70 BC 69 BC 68 BC 67 BC 66 BC 65 BC 64... Hebrew redirects here. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Athaliah (Hebrew Atalyahu (עתליה), God is exalted) was the queen of Judah during the reign of King Jehoram, and later became sole ruler of Judah for five years. ... Aristobulus (reigned 104-103 BC) was a king of the Hebrew Hasmonean Dynasty, and the eldest of the five sons of King John Hyrcanus. ... Coin of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC). ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books...

On Aristobulus' death (103 BCE), Aristobulus' wife liberated his brother Alexander Jannaeus, who had been held in prison. During the reign of Alexander, who (according to the historian Josephus) apparently married her shortly after his accession,^[2] Alexandra seemed to have wielded only slight political influence, as evidenced by the hostile attitude of the king to the Pharisees. (Redirected from 103 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC - 100s BC - 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC Years: 108 BC 107 BC 106 BC 105 BC 104 BC - 103 BC... A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal... The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate, from a root related to the Aramaic wordas upharsin (and divided) in the writing on the wall in Daniel 5:25. ...

Alexandra received the reins of government (76 or 75 BCE) at Jannaeus' camp before Ragaba, and concealed the king's death until the fortress had fallen, in order that the rigor of the siege might be maintained. She succeeded for a time in quieting the vexatious internal dissensions of the kingdom that existed at the time of Alexander's death; and she did this peacefully and without detriment to the political relations of the Jewish state to the outside world. Alexandra managed to secure assent to a Hasmonean monarchy from the Pharisees, who had suffered intense misery under Alexander and became Judea's ruling class. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC - 70s BC - 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC Years: 81 BC 80 BC 79 BC 78 BC 77 BC - 76 BC - 75 BC 74 BC 73... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC - 70s BC - 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC Years: 80 BC 79 BC 78 BC 77 BC 76 BC - 75 BC - 74 BC 73 BC 72...

Her political ability

The frequent visits to the palace of the chief of the Pharisaic party, Simeon ben Shetach, who was said to be the queen's brother must have occurred in the early years of Alexander's reign, before he had openly broken with the Pharisees. Alexandra does not seem to have been able to prevent the cruel persecution of that sect by her husband; nevertheless the married life of the royal pair seems to have ended cordially: and on his deathbed Alexander entrusted the government, not to his sons, but to his wife. Simeon ben Shetach or Shimon ben Shetach (c. ...

Her next concern was to open negotiations with the leaders of the Pharisees, whose places of concealment she knew. Having been given assurances as to her future policy, they declared themselves ready to give Alexander's remains the obsequies due to a monarch. By this step she avoided any public affront to the dead king, which, owing to the embitterment of the people, would certainly have found expression at the interment. This might have been attended with dangerous results to the Hasmonean dynasty; Alexandra managed to secure assent to a Hasmonean monarchy from the Pharisees. The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books...

Reestablishment of the Sanhedrin

The Pharisees, who had suffered intense misery under Alexander, now became not only a tolerated section of the community, but actually the ruling class. Alexandra installed as high priest her eldest son, Hyrcanus II a man wholly after the heart of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin was reorganized according to their wishes. This body had hitherto been, as it were, a "house of lords," the members of which belonged to the aristocracy; but it lost all significance when a powerful monarch was at the helm. From this time it became a "supreme court" for the administration of justice and religious matters, the guidance of which was placed in the hands of the Pharisees. The term High Priest may refer to particular individuals who hold the office of ruler-priest in local regional or ethnic contexts. ... Hyrcanus II was the Jewish High Priest from about 79 to 40 BCE. He was the eldest son of Alexander Jannæus and Alexandra Salome. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be challenged. ...

Her internal and external policy

That the Pharisees, now that the control of affairs was in their hands, did not treat the Sadducees any too gently is very probable; an example is the execution of Diogenes of Judea, by whose advice King Alexander had 800 Pharisees nailed on the cross. The Sadducees were moved to petition the queen for protection against the ruling party. Alexandra, who desired to avoid all party conflict, removed the Sadducees from Jerusalem, assigning certain fortified towns for their residence. The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate, from a root related to the Aramaic wordas upharsin (and divided) in the writing on the wall in Daniel 5:25. ... The sect of the Sadducees (or Zadokites and other variants) - which may have originated as a political party - was founded in the 2nd century BC and ceased to exist sometime == after the 1st century AD. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but... Diogenes was a soldier, possibly a Greek or Hellenized mercenary, in the service of the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE). ... The sect of the Sadducees (or Zadokites and other variants) - which may have originated as a political party - was founded in the 2nd century BC and ceased to exist sometime == after the 1st century AD. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but...

Alexandra increased the size of the army and carefully provisioned the numerous fortified places so that neighbouring monarchs were duly impressed by the number of protected towns and castles which bordered the Palestinian frontier. As well, she did not abstain from actual warfare; she sent her son Aristobulus with an army to siege Damascus, then beleaguered by Ptolemy Menneus. The expedition was reportedly without result. Nevertheless the last days of her reign were tumultuous. Her son Aristobulus endeavored to seize the government and only her death saved her from the embarassment of being dethroned by her own child. Aristobulus II was a king of Judea from the Hasmonean Dynasty. ... Damascus at sunset Damascus ( translit: Also commonly: الشام ash-Shām) is the largest city of Syria and is also the capital. ...

In legend

Rabbinical legend still further magnifies the prosperity which Judea enjoyed under Alexandra. The Haggadah (Ta'anit, 23a; Sifra, ḤuḲḲat, i. 110) relates that during her rule, as a reward for her piety, rain fell only on Sabbath (Friday) nights; so that the working class suffered no loss of pay through the rain falling during their work-time. The fertility of the soil was so great that the grains of wheat grew as large as kidney-beans; oats as large as olives; and lentils as large as gold denarii. The sages collected specimens of these grains and preserved them to show future generations the reward of obedience to the Law.

[The name "Shalom Zion" is variously modified in rabbinical literature: see Krauss, "Lehnwörter" s.v.; it occurs also in inscriptions; see Lidzbarski, "Handbuch der Nord-Semitischen Epigraphik," s.v., and art. Alphabet in this vol., p. 443.]

References

1. ^ That Alexandra, the widow of Aristobulus I, was identical with the one who married his brother Alexander Jannaeus is nowhere explicitly stated by Josephus, who, it is generally inferred, took it for granted that the latter performed the levirate marriage prescribed by the law for the widow of a childless brother deceased.
2. ^ Josephus' statement (Jewish Antiquities xv. 6, § 3), that Hyrcanus II, Jannaeus' eldest son, was eighty years old when he was put to death by Herod, in 31 BCE, is probably erroneous, for that would set the year of his birth as 111 BCE, and Jannaeus himself was born in 125 BCE, so that he could have been but fourteen when Hyrcanus was born to him. It is difficult to understand how a thirteen-year-old boy married a widow of thirty. The statement, made by Josephus (Jewish Antiquities xiii. 11, §§ 1, 2), that during the reign of Aristobulus, Aristobulus' wife, presumably Salome Alexandra, brought about the death of the young prince Antigonus I, because she saw in him a rival of her husband, lacks additional confirmation.

A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal... A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal... Hyrcanus II was the Jewish High Priest from about 79 to 40 BCE. He was the eldest son of Alexander Jannæus and Alexandra Salome. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC - 30s BC - 20s BC 10s BC 0s 10s 20s Years: 36 BC 35 BC 34 BC 33 BC 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC 28 BC 27 BC... (Redirected from 111 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC - 110s BC - 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC Years: 116 BC 115 BC 114 BC 113 BC 112 BC - 111 BC... (Redirected from 125 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 130 BC 129 BC 128 BC 127 BC 126 BC - 125 BC... The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books... Aristobulus (reigned 104-103 BC) was a king of the Hebrew Hasmonean Dynasty, and the eldest of the five sons of King John Hyrcanus. ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) (140 BCE–37 BCE) [1], an autonomous Jewish state in ancient Judea, and its ruling Hasmonean dynasty were established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. The Kingdom was the only... Hyrcanus II was the Jewish High Priest from about 79 to 40 BCE. He was the eldest son of Alexander Jannæus and Alexandra Salome. ...

References

• Josephus, Ant. xiii. 11, § 12; 15, § 16;
• idem, B. J. i. 5;
• Heinrich Ewald, History of Israel, v. 392-394;
• Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. d. Juden, 2d ed., iii. 106, 117-129;
• Hitzig, Gesch. d. Volkes Israel, ii. 488-490;
• Emil Schürer, Geschichte i. 220, 229-233;
• Joseph Derenbourg, Essai sur l'Histoire et la Géographie de Palestine, pp. 102-111;
• Wellhausen, I. J. G. pp. 276, 280-285;
• F. W. Madden, Coins of the Jews, pp. 91, 92;
• Hugo Willrich, Judaica: Forschungen zur Hellenisch-Jüdischen Geschichte und Litteratur, 1900, pp. 74, 96.

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal... Georg Heinrich August von Ewald (November 16, 1803 - May 4, 1875) was a German orientalist and theologian. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Ferdinand Hitzig (June 23, 1807–January 22, 1875), was a German biblical critic. ... Emil Schürer (May 2, 1844 - April 30, 1910), German Protestant theologian, was born at Augsburg. ... Joseph Derenbourg, or Joseph Naftali Derenburg (21 August 1811 - 29 July 1895) was a Franco-German orientalist. ... Julius Wellhausen (May 17, 1844 - January 17, 1918), was a German biblical scholar and Orientalist. ... Sir Frederic Madden (February 16, 1801 - March 8, 1873), was an English palaeographer. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...