Hebrew Name: Alexander Yannai
When his eldest brother, Aristobulus, inherited the high priesthood from their father, Alexander was imprisoned together with other brothers and his mother for fear they would attempt to seize power. When Aristobulus died, his widow, Salome Alexandra, named Alexander as the successor, and the new high priest married her (his sister-in-law), in keeping with the Jewish rite of levirate.
Like his brother, Alexander was an avid supporter of the aristocratic priestly faction known as the Sadducees. Alexandra, however, came from a Pharisaic family, and so, at the beginning of his reign, Jannaeus halted the suppression of the Pharisees and devoted himself to military affairs.
The political history of Judea under Alexander is worth considering in four periods.
The first period extends from 103 until about the year 95. At the start of this time, Alexander took advantage of the dissensions inside the Ptolemaic kingdom and besieged one of the most impressive Ptolemaic strongholds on the Mediterranean coast: Ptolemais (Acco). Ptolemy Lathyrus, left Cyprus and invaded Judaea and defeated Alexander. However, Alexander was saved by Cleopatra's intervention. She launched a military campaign against Lathyrus, and forced him to retreat again to Cyprus. Freed from Lathyrus' threat, Alexander turned to Transjordan. He succeeded in conquering Gadara in Transjordan, and Amathus. When Cleopatra met her death and Lathyrus continued waging war against his brother Ptolemy Alexander, Alexander Jannaeus turned again to the Mediterranean coast, and succeeded in subduing Gaza. This led to his control of the entire coastal region from Mount Carmel in the north down to the Egyptian border (excepting of Ashkelon).
The second period ran from c. 95 to 88. Strengthened by his successes, Alexander assumed the title of king, claiming to be free of any other political power. However, his military policies may have angered the Jewish population and a civil war broke out, lasting six years and pitting Alexander against the Pharisees. Since the Pharisees were unable to defeat the king's army, they sought the help of the Seleucid overlord of Judea, Demetrius III, to come and fight against Alexander. Demetrius invaded Judaea and defeated Alexander near Shechem (89/88 B.C.). With Alexander weakened, the Nabateans forced him to relinquish the territories he previously conquered in Transjordan.
In the aftermath of his defeat, Alexander renounced the title of king. He spent the next three years fighting his Jewish opponents and recovering from his earlier defeat. After subduing their most powerful stronghold at Bethoma, he took his opponents prisoners, brought them back to Jerusalem and ordered eight hundred of them to be crucified.
The last period of his rule (84–76 B.C.) was the culmination of his power and of the territorial expansion of his kingdom. Both Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria were on their decline. Alexander got rid of his old enemies and felt free to recapture most of the territory east of Jordan, the Decapolis and Golan. New series of coins were struck bearing the title of king once again.
For the last three years of his life, Alexander Jannaeus suffered from the combined effects of alcoholism and malaria. He died while besieging Regev, a fortress east of Jordan. According to his will, the throne went to his widow. He left two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the former nominated high priest by Alexandra, until the civil war which erupted after the death of their mother (67 B.C.).
Artist Renderings
