Alexander, also known by his Roman name

Roman citizenship

Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....

 Gaius Julius Alexander was a Herodian Prince

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

.

Alexander was the second born son of Alexander

Alexander, son of Herod

Alexander, son of Herod was born about 35 BC; died about 7 BC. His mother was the Hasmonean princess Mariamne.The unfortunate fate which persistently pursued the Hasmonean house overtook this prince also. As heir presumptive to the throne by right of descent on his mother's side, he was sent to...

 and Glaphyra

Glaphyra

Glaphyra was an Anatolian Princess from Cappadocia and through marriage was related to the Herodian Dynasty. -Family and early life:Glaphyra was a royal princess of Greek, Armenian and Persian descent. Her father was the Roman ally king Archelaus of Cappadocia, her only natural sibling was her...

. His oldest brother was called Tigranes

Tigranes V of Armenia

Tigranes V, also known as Tigran V was a Herodian Prince and served as a Roman Client King of Armenia from the years 6 to 12.-Family & Life in the Herodian Court:...

  and had a younger unnamed sister. His father Alexander was a Judean Prince

Judea

Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...

, of Jewish

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, Nabataean

Nabataeans

Thamudi3.jpgThe Nabataeans, also Nabateans , were ancient peoples of southern Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...

 and Edomite

Edom

Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...

 descent and was a son of King of Judea, Herod the Great

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

 and his wife Mariamne

Mariamne (second wife of Herod)

Mariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus...

. His mother Glaphyra was a Cappadocian Princess

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

, who was of Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 and Persian descent

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

. She was the daughter of the King Archelaus of Cappadocia

Archelaus of Cappadocia

-Family & Early Life:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent. His full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the first born son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and Glaphyra. Archelaus’ father...

  and her mother was an unnamed Princess from Armenia, possibly a relation of the Artaxiad Dynasty

Artaxiad Dynasty

The Artaxiad Dynasty or Ardaxiad Dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and parts of Mesopotamia...

. Alexander was the namesake of his father. His name reflects his Hasmonean and Hellenic lineage

Hellenistic period

The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...

.

Alexander was born and raised in Herod’s court in Jerusalem. After the death and burial of his father in 7 BC, Herod acted in an extreme and brutal manner returning his mother to Cappadocia, forcing her to leave her children under the sole custody of Herod in Jerusalem. Alexander and his brother remained under Herod’s guardianship so he could be able to control their fates. Another son of Herod’s Antipater, was concerned for Alexander and his brother as he expected them to attain higher station than their own late fathers, because of the assistance Antipater considered likely from their maternal grandfather Archelaus. In the time Alexander lived in Herod’s court, he was betrothed to the daughter of Pheroras. Pheroras was Alexander’s paternal great-uncle and was Herod’s brother. Antipater persuaded Herod to call off Alexander’s betrothal to Pheroras’ daughter because Antipater convinced his father that closer ties between Pheroras and Archelaus of Cappadocia were liable to develop into a plot against Herod.

Herod died in 4 BC in Jericho

Jericho

Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...

. After the death of Herod, Alexander and his brother decided to leave Jerusalem and to live with their mother and her family in the Cappadocian Royal Court. After Alexander and his brother arrived in Cappadocia, they disinherited their Jewish descent, deserted their Jewish religion

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 and embraced their Greek descent, including the religion. However the family connections to the Herodian Dynasty wasn’t wholly broken. After Alexander and his brother disinherited their Jewish descent, they were considered among fellow Jews as gentiles. There is a possibility that his maternal grandfather sent Alexander to be educated in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

Little is known on the adult life of Alexander. He appeared to an administrator for the extensive land estates in Egypt that were owned by the Imperial family of Rome

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...

 and he was a wealthy landowner, owing two estates in the Egyptian

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 town of Euhemeria. Alexander married an unnamed noblewoman that flourished in the reigns of the first two Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

s Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

 and Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

. His wife bore him a son called Tigranes

Tigranes VI of Armenia

Tigranes VI, also known as Tigran VI or by his Roman name Gaius Julius Tigranes was a Herodian Prince and served as a Roman Client King of Armenia in the 1st century....

. Alexander named his son in honor of his brother and later served as a Roman Client King of Armenia under the reign of Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

 (reigned 54-68). Roman Empress Livia

Livia

Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...

 Drusilla and her daughter-in-law Antonia Minor

Antonia Minor

Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...

were mentioned in Alexander’s will.

Sources

• Millar, Fergus, Schürer, Emil, Vermes & Geza, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. - A.D. 135), Continuum International Publishing Group, 1973
• H. Temporini & W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1977
• H. Temporini & W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1980
• R. Syme & A.R. Birley, Anatolica: studies in Strabo, Oxford University Press, 1995
• A.E. Redgate, The Armenians, Wiley-Blackwell, 2000
• Ciecieląg Jerzy, Polityczne dziedzictwo Heroda Wielkiego. Palestyna w epoce rzymsko-herodiańskiej, Kraków 2002, s. 116-118.
• D. Dueck, H. Lindsay & S. Pothecary, Strabo’s cultural geography: the making of a kolossourgia, Cambridge University Press, 2005
• A. Kasher & E. Witztum, King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography, Walter de Gruyter, 2007
• Eisenman's "New Testament Code", Chapter 4
• Marriage and Divorce in the Herodian Family: A Case Study of Diversity in Late Second Temple Judaism by Ingrid Johanne Moen Department of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University