A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Alexandra, Queen of Judea

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ALEXANDRA,

Queen of Judea, widow and successor of Alexander Jannæus, a wise and virtuous princess, who, contrary to the example of her husband, studied to please her subjects, and preserved peace and prosperity during her reign of seven years. She died in the seventy-third year of her age, B. C. 70. She was the mother of Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, and the latter years of her reign were disturbed by the attempt of her younger son, Aristobulus, to obtain the sovereignty, as he had been exasperated by the favour his mother showed to the sect of the Pharisees, and the authority she allowed them.