Editing Hasmonean dynasty (section)

===Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BC)===
[[Image:JanaeusCoinPhoto.jpg|thumb|Coin of Alexander Jannaeus, BCE 103-76]]
[[File:Fortress8185.JPG|thumb|The remains of the [[Sartaba]] fortress built by [[Alexander Jannaeus]]]]
Aristobulus' brothers were freed from prison by his widow; one of them, [[Alexander Jannaeus]], reigned as a king as well as a high priest from 103&ndash;76 BCE. During his reign he conquered [[Iturea]] and, according to Josephus, forcibly converted Itureans to Judaism.<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews, in Flavii Iosephi opera'', ed. B. Niese, Weidmann, Berlin, 1892, book 13, 9:1</ref><ref>Seán Freyne, 'Galilean Studies: Old Issues and New Questions,' in Jürgen Zangenberg, Harold W. Attridge, Dale B. Martin, (eds.)''Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition,'' Mohr Siebeck, 2007 pp. 13–32, p. 25.</ref>

In 93 BCE at the [[Battle of Gadara]], Jannaeus and his forces were ambushed in a hilly area by the [[Nabataeans]], who saw the Hasmodeans' Transjordanian acquisitions as a threat to their interests, and Jannaeus was "lucky to escape alive".
After this defeat, Jannaeus returned to fierce Jewish opposition in Jerusalem, and had to cede the Transjordan territories to the Nabataeans just so he could dissuade them from supporting his opponents in Judea;<ref name="lost kingdom">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcAoBq4_EnEC|title=Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans |first= Taylor|last=Jane|pages=46–47|year=2001|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]|location=London|access-date=23 July 2016|isbn=978-1-86064-508-2 }}</ref> according to Josephus, in {{circa|lk=no|87}} BCE, six year into the civil war (which involved even the Seleucid king [[Demetrius III Eucaerus]]), he crucified 800 Jewish rebels in Jerusalem.

He died during the siege of the fortress [[Rajeb|Ragaba]] and was followed by his wife, [[Salome Alexandra]], who reigned from 76 to 67 BCE. She was the only ''[[queen regnant|regnant]]'' Jewish Queen in the Second Temple period, having followed usurper Queen [[Athalia]] who had reigned centuries prior. During Alexandra's reign, her son [[Hyrcanus II]] held the office of High Priest and was named her successor.