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ALEXANDRA*
Wife of the first Hasmonean to call himself king, Aristobulus (reigned 104–103 BC), and then of his brother Alexander Janneus (103–76 BC), probably through a “levirate” marriage. (Under certain circumstances a Jew was under obligation to marry his deceased brother’s widow.) When Janneus died, Salome Alexandra became queen in accordance with her second husband’s will. She was the only Jewish woman to rule as queen in the kingdom of Judah apart from the usurper Athaliah (841–835 BC). Janneus had advised his wife to make peace with the Pharisees who had rebelled against him. She took that advice, being the sister of a famous Pharisaic leader, Simon ben Shetach. Salome Alexandra reigned for almost a decade (76–67 BC), a peaceful period during which the Pharisees won considerable power and were first admitted to the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish assembly. By the time of Christ, the Pharisees had about equaled the Sadducees in power in the Sanhedrin. See Hasmonean.