Hasmonean queen, and widow of Alexander Janneaus, who ruled Judea for nine years from 76-67 BC. Though her reign cannot be remembered as having accomplished much it was something that she, as a woman in a highly patriarchal society, should have held onto her reign for so long. In this, she was greatly helped, first, by the Pharisees, a group though hated by her husband, who had, nonetheless, advised her as he was dying, to take them into her councel, and, second, by her Idumean adviser, Antipater . In the last years of her life she made arrangement for her elder son, John Hyrcanus (II), to succeed her on the throne. This naturally made her younger but more down-to-earth, ambitious and hot-tempered son, Aristobulus (II), greatly unhappy. This led, after Alexandra's death, to open conflict, on a national scale, between the two brothers. By this time, however, the Romans were stretching their hegemonic arms into the East. Caught in a fit with no way for one brother to gain an upper hand over the other, both sides turned to the Romans for help. So it was that Pompey received an invitation to Jerusalem. With genius for political craftmanship and diplomatic skills, Antipater won the Romans to Hyrcanus's side. But it was a empty victory for Hyrcanus. Antipater was not so much interested in what Hyrcanus could accomplish with power in his hand as what he was with what Hyrcanus could do for his own family; his son would become Herod the Great.
Further Reading :
Josephus, Jewish Wars, I.5. tells the story of Alexandra Salome.
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