Read " Queens of Infamy" Women of Ancient History and the Men They Had to Put Up With
* Like so many women from ancient history, we have very few concrete facts about Miriam, who would gain wider infamy under the Hellenized version of her name, Mariamne. What little information we do have was recorded by men. Even her birth year is pure speculation, based on the typical ages for engagement and marriage in her culture during the 1st century BCE. What we do know for certain is that things were not going well for the Hasmoneans when Mariamne entered the scene. They had been great, once. Their dynasty had sprung from the revolt led by Judah Maccabeus, the man who drove out the occupying Seleucids, restored the Second Temple, and invented Hanukkah. A strong start, as far as dynasty-founding goes! Judah’s brother, Simon, was then elected leader of the newly semi-independent Judea by a group that, according to the Books of Maccabees, was composed of “the priests and the people and of the elders of the land, to the effect that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet.” Since prophets are few and far between and no one can live forever (in fact, Simon was murdered eight years into his reign by his son-in-law), this set the Hasmoneans on the throne until further notice.
*Excerpt from Longreads by Anne Thériault (support good storytelling)
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