Josippon

While sitting on the throne, she called the masters of the Pharisees and gave them authority over all the people. She sent for and brought the masters of the Pharisees from every place whither they had fled in the days of her father-in-law, Hyrcanus, and in the days of her husband, Alexander; she released all the prisoners from prison; and she obeyed the Torah teaching of the masters of the Pharisees, which her father-in-law Hyrcanus and her husband Alexander had disobeyed.

When the queen saw that her two sons were beginning to mature, she gave the priesthood to Hyrcanus, for Hyrcanus was meek and humble, and she made Aristobulus, her younger son, general of the army, for he was a handsome lad, strong in hand and light of foot; she appointed him as head of the Sadducees to be general of the army. The queen sent to all the kings whom her father-in-law, Hyrcanus, and her husband, Alexander, had conquered, and she took their sons as hostage. The queen ruled in peace and quiet, and there was neither adversity nor trouble in her days; and all the kings surrounding her sent offerings of gold and silver annually to the queen, all her days.

There was peace and truth in the days of Alexandra; only the masters of the Pharisees inspired controversies and strife with the Sadducee chiefs. The Pharisee masters came with her son Hyrcanus and spoke to the queen: "Long live the queen. Be strong and mighty forever! Give into our hands Alexander's Sadducee counselors who advised him to crucify the eight hundred Pharisee masters whom your husband, Alexander, crucified." She said to them: "Do unto them as you see fit!" The Pharisee masters went and killed Diogenes, the Sadducee chief, and, along with him, they killed many others.

The Sadducee chiefs came with Aristobulus, her younger son, and spoke to her: "Sacred Queen, forget not all the trouble that our leaders suffered in the days of your husband, Alexander, and all the trouble that we suffered with him and the great and terrible battles that we fought serving with him, how we put our lives on the line for his sake, how we had no concern for ourselves for the sake of his life, and how we fought his wars to save him from those who sought his life. Now why should we die like sheep led to slaughter, having committed no sin or iniquity, while you elevate the enemies of your husband, Alexander, and humiliate those who loved him? When you humiliate us, your enemies, and Aretas, king of Arabia, those who were afraid of our valor and our wars will rejoice. For if someone had brought up our names before Aretas and before your enemies, they would have shaken in fear and trembling throughout their settlements, even from sight of our faces. Heaven forbid that we should rebel against you or raise a hand against your commands, for you are queen and mistress. But you should know that we shall not bear the yoke of our enemies the Pharisee masters, and we shall not die like sheep led to slaughter at their hand. If it pleases you, we shall leave Jerusalem for the other cities of Judah and live in humility, and we shall no longer see the evil befalling our people." They gave their voice to weeping, and the queen, too, wept before them.

Aristobulus opened his mouth and spoke to his mother, uttering curses and maledictions, speaking all his mind to her. The queen, like a woman, did not know what to do, so she said to them: "Leave Jerusalem, choose for yourselves cities from among the cities of Judah, and dwell in them: do not live in Jerusalem with Pharisee masters, for they are your enemies." And they did so. The Sadducee chiefs left Jerusalem along with veteran warriors and took cities for themselves, dwelling in them for fear of the Pharisee masters.

In those days, Damascus rebelled, for Ptolemy, called Minaeus, rebelled there by not paying the tax to the queen as he was supposed to. The queen sent her son Aristobulus with an army of the people who supported the Pharisee masters, for the army of the Sadducees and the Hasidim was not with them; they went forth from Jerusalem and went to Damascus, returning in utter disgrace.

At that time, Tigran (Tigranes), king of Armenia, went forth with three hundred thousand dressed in armor and an immense horde, to invade the land of Yehudah. The queen and the people were exceedingly afraid of Tigranes; she sent messengers to greet him and a gift, and they found him fighting at Acco, that is, Ptolemais. Tigranes was pleased by the messengers and the gift and asked for the peace of the queen; he praised her and blessed her and made a pact with the queen's messengers.

At that time, it was reported to Tigranes that Lucullus, general of the Romans, pursued Mithridat (Mithridates) but failed to catch him, for he took refuge in the mountains of Persia, so Lucullus returned and invaded Armenia. When Tigranes heard this, he hurried and went to Armenia to deliver his land and save her from Lucullus. Tigranes said: "It is better for us to protect our land than to covet a foreign land."

In those days, Queen Alexandra fell ill with the sickness from which she would die. Aristobulus saw that his mother's death was drawing nigh. He left his wife and sons in Jerusalem, along with his wife's family, to be of assistance to him in the city, and taking one servant with him, he left Jerusalem at night and went to the cities of Yehudah where the Sadducees, his father's allies, lived. At the beginning of his flight, he came to Giv'ah (Gabatha), a place where his friend Galestes, a valiant Sadducee, dwelt, and he accompanied him from Giv'ah to muster the Sadducee army.

The queen was told that her son Aristobulus had fled and that he was going to muster an army. Again, they came and told her: "Aristobulus has captured twenty-two cities in fifteen days." Then the queen and the entire nation of Yehudah were struck by fear and terror, for all the rest of the inhabitants of the cities fell in with him to help him. The queen ordered to seize Aristobulus's wife and his sons and all his wife's family, placing them under the guard of the watches of the Temple, lest they attempt to flee.

After this, the mighty and strong arm of the warriors of the Sadducees and Hasidim, veterans of the army of Yehudah, increased exceedingly, and, joining Aristobulus, they assembled on the field, blowing the ram's horn and giving a signal to war, for a great multitude from Mount Lebanon and from the Galilee and from all the land under the rule of Israel were gathered to him. Hyrcanus and the Pharisee elders trembled. And the queen, too, was greatly afraid of her son Aristobulus; she was struck by worry and then became ill with the sickness of which she died.

The Pharisee elders came before the queen and with them her elder son, Hyrcanus, and they said to her: "It would be a great sin for us to do anything without your advice as long as you are still alive, sacred queen, for your son Aristobulus has frightened us greatly, because he comes against us mightily to wipe out our name and kill his elder brother. So now, sacred queen, give your counsel and your aid." The queen answered and said: "Away with you, leave me alone, for my soul is sore weary, for I am on the threshold of eternal life and about to return my soul unto the King who gave it. And you, do what you wish. Here is gold and silver for you and many treasures; here is an army of warriors in my palace. Do as you will, for I cannot advise you in this matter as I am going the way of all flesh." As she uttered some such words, she ended her life, and she died and was gathered to her people.

The days that she ruled were nine years, and all her days were seventy-three years. She was a woman who weakened her nature, and she neither sinned nor rebelled against her God, for wisdom and understanding and cleverness were in her. Out of her great wisdom, she, from time to time, knew the future, but she was not wise in elevating her husband's enemies and humiliating his friends and allies. Therefore, after her death, there arose in her house tribulations and sorrows, and wars burst. But in her days, the land was quiet, for she did not covet another land. She just preserved well the lands of the nations that her husband, Alexander, and her father-in-law, Hyrcanus, had conquered, restoring them to Israel; those did not escape her grasp until the day of her death. Here ends the record of Queen Alexandra.