Son of: Shetah
The daughter of a prominent Pharisaic family, Alexandra was the wife of the Hasmonean king Aristobulus I. On Aristobulus' death (103 B.C.E.), she helped liberate his brother, Alexander Jannaeus, from prison, enabling him to become king, and soon married him. She used her influence as queen to help the Pharisees but was later forced to acquiesce as Jannaeus brutally suppressed them in favor of the Sadduucean nobility.
At the end of his life, Jannaeus willed the government to Alexandra. She managed to secure Pharisaic support for the continued Hasmonean monarchy and again brought the Pharisees to prominence in government. She is credited with helping them to lay the foundations of nationwide educational and judicial reform.
Alexander Jannaeus at first busied himself with military issues and allowed his queen a major role in the nation's internal affairs, especially with regard to religion. She removed the Sadducees from positions of leadership in the Sanhedrin and installed Pharisaic scholars in their place. She is said to have been instrumental in encouraging the introduction of synagogue schools in many towns to teach young children the Torah.
After Alexander Jannaeus concluded his military campaigns, he began to undermine Alexandra's support of the Pharisaic party. Like other Hasmonean rulers, he held the position of high priest as well as king, and brutally suppressed a Pharisaic rebellion to his religious policy. Some 800 Pharisaic teachers were put to death together with their families, and Salome's brother, Shimon ben Shetach, was forced to flee for his life.
Despite this, Salome's marriage to Jannaeus appears to have endured this crisis. On his deathbed he is believed to have repented of his sins and recognized her wisdom, entrusting the government to her.
One of Salome Alexandra's first acts as reigning queen was to open negotiations with the leaders of the Pharisees. Having been given assurances as to her future policy, they agreed to give Alexander Jannaeus' remains the burial due to a monarch. 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 her eldest son, Hyrcanus II a follower of the Pharisees, as high priest. Gradually she and Hyrcanus pushed the Sadducees out of every important office and returned the Pharisees to the important positions of influence. Education was also placed in the hands of Pharisaic teachers, with a major result of this reform being an increase in literacy and religious knowledge among the young together with a broadening of the Jewish sense of scriptural authority.
When the Pharisees turned violently toward the Sadducees, the Sadducees petitioned the queen for protection. Alexandra, who desired to avoid all party conflict, removed the Sadducees from Jerusalem, assigning them several fortified towns for their residence.
The last days of her reign were tumultuous, as Aristobulus II, in league with the Sadducees, endeavored to seize the government. Her death saved her from the embarrassment of being dethroned by her own child.
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