ALEXANDER JANNiEUS, B.C. I05-B. C. 7S. the reign of Alexander Jannmus there are a consi derable number of coins. Cavedoni (Bibl. Num., vol. ii., p. 12) and Levy (yid. p. 57) attribute to him all the coins which De Saulcy (Num. Yud., p. 85) has given to Jonathan Mac. cabmus. This attribution is further strengthened by the discovery of some double-struck coins by Mr. Poole in the British Museum, which show distinctly ANAP.T [AAM-ZANAPOT] and Efl.E [BA2IAE12/] under the Hebrew legend, the ori ginal type being of the class already assigned to Alexander by De Saulcy. His coinage may be divided into two classes—those struck previous to his quarrel * with the Pharisees, and those struck after his reconciliation. The former are bilingual, having on the obverse 157,Dn 'Ann% Jehonathan the king,' and on the reverse AA.E'4 ANAPOT BAZIAEOZ. A coin in the cabinet at Marseilles has only the Greek legend. The latter class, which has the same types as the coins of his predecessors, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, have the legend ' Judas, high-priest, and the confederation of the Jews.' The few coins of his reign inform us that he did not succeed in adding to himself the title of king,' and in governing quite inde pendent, though Josephus (Antiq. xiii. I I. I ; xx. to. I ; Bell. yud. i. and Eusebius (Chron.) both state that he assumed the title of king, a title given to John Hyrcanus in the Arabic ver sion of the Maccabees (chap. xxii. ed. Cotton)
and to Alexander Jannmus by Strabo (lib. xvi. 2. 4o). The types of his coins are the same as those of his predecessor The word Jehonathan (or Jonathan) the high-priest, and the confederation of the Jews.' On one of his coins (De Saulcy, Num. Yid., pl. ii. to ; F. W. Madden, Hist. of Coinage, p. 70) Alexandei Jannmus couples his name with the Jews in general, and leaves out the word confederation,' showing that he wished to make the irritated people attached to him. The types of the coins of the first class, which are a half-opened flower, a star, anchor, etc., are doubtless copied from some coins of Antiochus VII. Sidetes (De Saulcy, Num. 7ud., pl. iii. 13, 14), and Antiochus VIII. Epiphanes ( Tthor de Num., pl. lii. to).
ALEXANDRA, B.C. 78-69.--There is only one coin known of the nine years' reign of Alexandra, which was first published by De Saulcy (Num. Yard., pl. iv. 13).
Obv. AAU,ANA. BAEIAIE, round an anchor.
Rev. A star with eight rays, in the intermediate spaces of which are the traces of a Hebrew legend, of which only a T1 (probably belonging to a word, 11:ti, Queen) is visible. YE 3.
The correctness of the attribution of the coins described above to Alexander Jannmus, is some what supported by the above coin of his widow, Alexandra, bearing as it does an anchor on the obverse and a similar bilingual legend.