Alexander of Judaea

Alexander of Judaea (Gr. Ἀλέξανδρος, died c. 49 BCE), otherwise known as Alexander II or Alexander Maccabeus, was the eldest son of Aristobulus II, king of Judaea.¹ Alexander married his cousin Alexandra Maccabeus, daughter of his uncle, Hyrcanus II.² Their grandfather was Alexander Jannaeus, the second eldest son of John Hyrcanus.³ Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander and Alexandra, was Herod the Great's second wife and queen of the Jewish kingdom.

Life

Alexander was taken prisoner, with his father, Aristobulus II, and his brother Antigonus II Mattathias, by the Roman general Pompey, after the capture of Jerusalem in 63 BCE. But they were able to escape his captors as they were being conveyed to Rome.⁴

In 57 BCE, he appeared in Judaea, Upon arrival, he rallied support among discontented Jews and quickly amassed an army reportedly comprising 10,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, according to Josephus.⁵ He seized control of Jerusalem, forcing his uncle, Hyrcanus II to flee the city, and assumed command of the Temple Guard. Hyrcanus (with whom Alexander's father Aristobulus II had clashed) requested for aid from , the Roman of Syria. brought a large army against Alexander, and sent one of his cavalry commanders, the young in his first military command, with a body of troops in advance. In a decisive battle near Jerusalem, Alexander was soundly defeated, and took refuge in the fortress of Alexandrium. Through the mediation of his mother, he was permitted to depart, on the condition of surrendering all the fortresses still in his power. Alexander was sent back to Rome as a captive, while was restored to Jerusalem with the support of the Romans and retained control over the Temple Guard.