ALESSANDRO IANNO

ALEXANDER JANNAEUS. — Hasmonean king (see ASMONEANS). Son of John Hyrcanus II, he received the high priesthood and supreme authority from the widow of his brother Aristobulus I (103 BC), Alexander Salome (see), who later became his wife. A. is the Hellenized form; Jannaeus is the abbreviation of the Hebrew name Ionathan. He reigned from 103 to 76 BC and was the first Hasmonean prince to assume the title of king. A bold and enterprising man, driven by a lust for power and conquest, he alienated the Pharisees because, not being of Davidic descent, he had taken the title of king and, disregarding his high priestly office, had married a widow contrary to the Law. The enmity turned into a bitter struggle when A., in the Temple, was pelted with cedar wood. In that incident his wrath cost six thousand lives. The revolt flared up after a crushing defeat suffered by A. in Transjordan; it lasted six years and caused fifty thousand deaths. The Pharisees rejected the peace offer made by A., impressed by their stubbornness, and had recourse to the Seleucid king Demetrius III Eucaerus, who defeated A. Six thousand Pharisees went over to A.’s side, judging his faults more tolerable than foreign interference, but the revolt continued. Eight hundred men were surrounded; their wives and children were slaughtered before their eyes while A. was feasting. After further campaigns and three years of illness, A. died in 76 BC while besieging a fortress, advising his wife to make peace with the Pharisees.