=The Cruel Rule of Alexander Janneus.= Alexander Janneus, the brother who succeeded Aristobulus, was known among the Jews as "the Thracian," and he well deserved the title. His chief interests were war and revelry. By his rash attacks upon the neighboring peoples he repeatedly brought disaster upon his kingdom. He succeeded in alienating his subjects so completely that they called in the king of Damascus to free them from this inhuman monster. In the hour of their success, however, they repented of their action, brought Janneus back from the mountains whither he had fled, and restored him to the throne. Instead of showing gratitude he hung upon crosses eight hundred of the Pharisees who had opposed him, first slaying their wives and children before their eyes. Notwithstanding his rashness and his unmeasured excesses, he succeeded by sheer persistency in extending the bounds of his kingdom, so that at his death his authority was paramount along the Mediterranean coast from Mount Carmel to the borders of Egypt, in central Palestine from upper Galilee to the South Country, and in the east-Jordan land from east of the Sea of Galilee to the Arnon. The outlying Greek cities which he conquered were many of them laid in ruins and the land given up to bands of robbers. At the moment when the Maccabean kingdom reached its widest bounds its decay had already begun and distress was the lot of most of its citizens. =The Rivalry of Parties Under Alexandra.= Alexander Janneus was succeeded by his wife Alexandra. The only other woman who had sat on an Israelite throne was Athaliah of Judah, although reigning queens were not uncommon in oriental history. She reversed the policy of her husband and placed the Pharisees, the party of the people, in control. They made the great mistake, however, of using their power to take bloody revenge upon their Sadducean rivals. The result was that the fatal breach between the two parties was broadened rather than healed. The Sadducean and military party rallied about Aristobulus, while the Pharisees upheld the cause of Alexandra's older son, Hyrcanus. Both of her sons were lacking in kingly qualities. Hyrcanus was inefficient and without ambition, more eager to enjoy a quiet life than to assume the responsibilities of government; Aristobulus was imperious and greedy of power.