Mariamne I

Mariamne I
Died29 BCE
SpouseHerod the Great
IssueAlexander
Aristobulus IV
Salampsio
Cypros
HouseHasmonean
FatherAlexander of Judaea
MotherAlexandra the Maccabee

Mariamne I (d. 29 BCE), also called Mariamne the Hasmonean, was a Hasmonean princess and the second wife of Herod the Great. Her parents, Alexandra Maccabeus and Alexander of Judaea, were cousins who both descended from Alexander Jannaeus. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus III. Herod's fear of his Hasmonean rivals led him to execute all of the prominent members of the family, including Mariamne.

Her name is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by Josephus, but in some editions of his work the second m is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was dissimilated to its now most common form, Mariamne. In Hebrew, Mariamne is known as מִרְיָם‎, (Miriam), as in the traditional, Biblical name (see Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron).