[not verified in body] Alexander's handsome appearance and sincerity endeared him to the public, who supported the house of the Maccabees for the throne instead of the half-Jewish Herod.

However, he became marked by a certain degree of vanity and a spirit of vindictiveness, which rendered him extremely unpopular with the partisans of Herod who began to fear retribution should he become King.

One concern about this account is Josephus' potential bias towards his Roman audience; his criticism may not be genuine and merely an attempt to discredit Judea after a major rebellion.

Shortly afterward (about 10 BC), Alexander was thrown into prison on the evidence of a tortured witness who accused him of planning the murder of Herod.

[citation needed] This was a dynastic conflict, in the key territory bridging West and East and the context was instability erupting across the Roman Empire.