Alexander Jannaeus

Alexander Jannaeus was a Hasmonean king and high priest of Judaea who ruled from 103 to 76 BCE. He inherited a kingdom created by earlier Hasmonean expansion and pursued further territorial conquest along the Mediterranean coast and east of the Jordan, while his reign was also marked by bitter internal conflict between the monarchy and opponents associated with the Pharisees.

Alexander Jannaeus also held the offices or ranks of King and High Priest of Judaea. Alexander Jannaeus was a Hasmonean king and high priest whose territorial expansion was accompanied by civil conflict in Judaea.

Angela Hunt’s Jerusalem’s Queen brings Alexander Jannaeus into the story through his marriage to Salome Alexandra. The novel follows Salome from a politically arranged marriage into the heart of Hasmonean rule, where Alexander’s ambitions, religious position and increasingly violent politics force her to learn how royal power works before she eventually becomes queen in her own right.