Salome Alexandra, also Shlomtzion, Shelamzion (Ancient Greek: Σαλώμη Ἀλεξάνδρα; Hebrew: שְׁלוֹמְצִיּוֹן, Šəlōmṣīyyōn, "peace of Zion"; 141–67 BC), was a regnant queen of Judea, one of only three women in Jewish historical tradition to rule over the country, the other two being Deborah and Athaliah. The wife of Aristobulus I, and afterward of Alexander Jannaeus, she was also the last ruler of Judea to die as the sovereign of an independent kingdom. Her nine-year reign has been described as a "golden age" of Hasmonean history.
Josephus does not use the Hebrew name of Shlomzion (Salome), referring only to her Greek name, "Alexandra" (Ἀλεξάνδρα). This is the only known Greek name among Hasmonean women. Salome's granddaughters also bore this name. Rabbinic literature, however, never uses the name Alexandra for her, instead referring to her with various Semitic names. The Dead Sea Scrolls have identified Alexandra as "Shlomzion" (שלמציון) in several texts, including 4Q331 and 4Q332.
Salome Alexandra's personal genealogy is not given by Josephus, nor does it appear in any of the Books of the Maccabees. Rabbinical sources designate the rabbi Simeon ben Shetach as her brother, making her the daughter of Shetah as well. Salome Alexandra's oldest son by Alexander Jannaeus was Hyrcanus II who fought his younger brother Aristobulus II in 73 BC over the Jewish High Priesthood. After enlisting the help of Nabataean king Aretas III, bribing Roman officials (including Scaurus), and gaining the favour of Pompey, Hyrcanus II was eventually successful in gaining that position.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Salome Alexandra was instrumental in arranging the assassination of her brother-in-law, Antigonus, by convincing her husband (Aristobulus I) that the former was plotting against him. Upon the death of Aristobulus I in 103 BC, she freed his half-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, Alexandra seemed to have wielded only slight political influence, as evidenced by the hostile attitude of the king to the Pharisees.
Josephus does not explicitly state Alexandra held any political authority before her reign. However, a passage about the Herodian dynasty in Antiquities of the Jews, where Josephus describes Antipas, the grandfather of Herod the Great, gaining political power when "King Alexander and his wife (= Alexandra) made him general of all Idumaea", suggests that Alexandra had some sort of power in Judea even before she inherited the kingdom.
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 Alexander had openly broken with the Pharisees. Alexandra does not seem to have been able to prevent the persecution of that sect by her husband.
According to archaeologist Kenneth Atkinson, "There are also some passages in the Talmud that say, during her husband's reign, that she protected Pharisees and hid Pharisees from his wrath." Nevertheless, the married life of the royal pair seems to have ended cordially; on his deathbed Alexander entrusted the government, not to his sons, but to his wife, with the advice to make peace with the Pharisees.
Salome Alexandra's 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 honors due to a monarch. In so doing, 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.
Salome Alexandra received the reins of government (76 or 75 BC) at Jannaeus' camp before Ragaba, and concealed the king's death until its fortress had fallen, in order that the siege might be maintained. She succeeded for a time in de-escalating the internal conflicts in the kingdom that existed at the time of Alexander's death, and she managed to secure assent to a Hasmonean monarchy from the Pharisees, who had suffered under Alexander.
The Pharisees were now not only tolerated, but were allowed to flourish. Salome Alexandra installed her eldest son, Hyrcanus II as High Priest. Hyrcanus II was wholly supportive of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin was reorganized according to their wishes, becoming a supreme court for the administration of justice and religious matters, the guidance of which was placed in the hands of the Pharisees.
The Sadducees petitioned Salome Alexandra for protection against the ruling party. To avoid all party conflict, she removed the Sadducees from Jerusalem, assigning certain fortified towns for their residence.
Salome Alexandra expanded the army and provisioned fortresses so that neighbouring monarchs were deterred by the protected towns along the Judean frontier. She also sent her son Aristobulus II with an army to besiege Damascus, then beleaguered by Ptolemy Mennaeus. The expedition reportedly achieved little.
The last days of Salome Alexandra's reign were tumultuous. Her son, Aristobulus, endeavoured to seize the government, and succeeded her after her death.
Rabbinical sources refer in glowing terms to the prosperity which Judea enjoyed under Salome Alexandra. The Talmud (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 rewards of obedience to the Law, and what piety could achieve.
"Shlomtzion" (Hebrew: שלומציון) is sometimes used as a female first name in contemporary Israel. Among others, the well-known Israeli writer Amos Kenan gave the name to his daughter.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, a major street in Jerusalem was called Princess Mary Street, after the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. After the creation of Israel, the street was renamed "Queen Shlomzion Street," to commemorate the Jewish queen. Such street names exist also in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan.
In the 1977 Knesset elections Ariel Sharon accepted the advice of Kenan to name his new political party "Shlomtzion" (it later merged with the Likud).
Israeli zoologists carefully observing the leopards of the Judean Desert bestowed the name "Shlomtzion" on a female leopard whose life, mating, and offspring were the subject of intensive, years-long study. In 1996, her body was found in Tze'elim Stream, having died of old age.
According to some versions of the Toledoth Yeshu, a medieval alternative-Christian life of Jesus, Salome is connected with Jesus of Nazareth, placing the death of Jesus 150 years earlier.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Louis Ginzberg (1901–1906). "Alexandra". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
General info from Wikipedia.org