Even antiquity had its celebrity culture, with intellectuals chronicling the lives of the famous. The conversion of an entire royal family to Judaism thus fascinated both the sages and Josephus, who recorded the wondrous deeds of Helene, Monbaz, and Izates of Adiabene

Jerusalem street names conjure up many unusual historical figures, but two non-Jewish monarchs, Queen Helene and King Monbaz, are particularly exotic. Another queen, Shelamzion, is commemorated on a road nearby, but as the widow of a Hasmonean king who succeeded her husband and ruled Judea at a crossroads in Jewish history, she’s a less surprising choice. Even the notorious Herodian-Hasmonean Berenice (see “Dangerous Liaisons,” Segula 16), contemporary of Queen Helene and witness to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 CE, has a street named after her in the capital. But what was Helene of Adiabene, a vassal kingdom in the Parthian Empire, doing in Jerusalem in that violent century? And why would the State of Israel rename the Mandate-era Melisende Street – recalling the 12th-century queen of Crusader Jerusalem – in favor of some minor Mesopotamian monarch? Helene wasn’t born in Jerusalem, or even Jewish, yet both the Mishna and Josephus sing her praises. She certainly left her mark on the city, for French archaeologists uncovered her royal tomb in the mid-19th century. But who was Queen Helene, and what made her so significant?

 

All in the Family

Josephus – himself a contemporary of Helene – describes her as both wife and sister of the Persian king Monbaz, who lived in the distant province of Adiabene (or in Aramaic, Hadayiv), on the banks of the Tigris. The Babylonian Talmud (Yevamot 16b–17a) identifies Hadayiv with the land of Habor, mentioned in II Kings (16:6) as part of the Assyrian Empire. It seems that Josephus had access to a chronicle of the reign of Izates, Helene’s son and one of the kingdom’s more prominent rulers. Izates’ history begins with the wondrous tale of his birth:

Monobazus [sic], surnamed Bazaeus, king of Adiabene, seized with a passion for his sister Helena [sic], took her as his partner in marriage and got her pregnant. On one occasion as he was sleeping beside her, he rested his hand on his wife’s belly after she had gone to sleep, whereupon he thought he heard a voice bidding him remove his hand from her womb so as not to cramp the babe within it, which by the providence of God had had a happy start and would also attain a fortunate end. Disturbed by the voice, he at once awoke and told these things to his wife; and he called the son who was born to him Izates. He had an elder son by Helen[e] named Mon[baz] and other children by his other wives; but it was clear that all his favour was concentrated on Izates as if he were an only child. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 20, 2:1, Loeb Classical Library, 1981, pp. 11–13)

Based on the dream, the king named Izates his exclusive heir, passing over all his elder sons. This favoritism aroused the brothers’ envy, so Monbaz sent him to be educated far from home, keeping him out of harm’s way. In the kingdom of his father’s ally Abbennerig of Charax-Spasini (on the delta where both the Tigris and the Euphrates flow into the Persian Gulf), Izates won the king’s affection and was betrothed to his daughter Samacha. 

Returning after his father’s death to inherit the throne of Adiabene, Izates discovered that his mother had appointed his elder brother Monbaz as regent until his safe arrival. Monbaz dutifully relinquished the crown, playing second fiddle as long as his brother lived. 

Josephus took interest in this obscure family because Izates converted to Judaism. This fact probably didn’t endear him to his subjects, although he seems to have been a largely successful ruler, at least according to his own court chronicle. Josephus tells us that not only did Izates become Jewish in exile, but his mother, Helene, independently chose a similar path: 

Now during the time when Izates resided at Charax Spasini, a certain Jewish merchant named Ananias visited the king’s wives and taught them to worship God after the manner of the Jewish tradition. It was through their agency that he was brought to the notice of Izates, whom he similarly won over with the co-operation of the women. When Izates was summoned by his father to Adiabene, Ananias accompanied him in obedience to his urgent request. It so happened, moreover, that Helen[e] had likewise been instructed by another Jew and had been brought over to their laws. When Izates had learned that his mother was very much pleased with the Jewish religion, he was zealous to convert to it himself. (ibid., 2:3–4, pp. 19–21)

Izates even wanted to be circumcised, but here Helene drew the line, “telling him that it was a dangerous move. For, she said, he was a king, and if his subjects should discover that he was devoted to rites that were strange and foreign to themselves, it would produce much disaffection” (ibid., p. 21). 

Scholars have seized upon the story of Izates and Helene to prove that, near the end of the first century CE, Judaism was, like Christianity, a proselytizing religion. (Since then, in sharp contrast, Jews have traditionally opposed missionizing. See “Jewish Missionizing?” p. XX.) Furthermore, these researchers use Helene’s actions and attitude as the basis for their claim that many non-Jewish males considered adopting Judaism but were deterred by the painful barrier of circumcision. 

According to Josephus, Izates finally decided to circumcise himself in order to become a full Jew. Even though Ananias too discouraged him, for theological and political reasons, Izates persisted: 

Afterwards, […] another Jew, named Eleazar who was from Galilee, and who had a reputation for being extremely strict when it came to the ancestral laws, urged him to carry out the rite. For when he came to him to pay him his respects and found him reading the law of Moses, he said: “In your ignorance, O king, you are guilty of the greatest offence against the law and thereby against God. For you ought not merely to read the law, but also, and even more, to do what is commanded in it. How long will you continue to be uncircumcised?” […] Upon hearing these words, the king postponed the deed no longer. Withdrawing to another room, he summoned his physician, and had the prescribed act performed. (ibid., pp. 23–25)

A variation on this story appears in the Midrashic collection Bereishit Rabba: 

Monbaz and Zotos, King Ptolemy’s sons, were sitting studying the book of Genesis. When they reached the verse “And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin” (Genesis 17:11), each faced the wall and began weeping. They both went and were circumcised. (Bereishit Rabba, Vilna edition, 46:10)

Despite his rash act, Izates continued to rule Adiabene, making alliances as well as enemies and winning wars. The main expression of his Judaism was his support for his mother’s wish to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He himself never set foot in the holy city, although he was buried there.