Athaliah עתליה
the only woman to rule Judah; six years
Athaliah is the only person in Judah's history to hold the throne without being of the house of David: she was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and mother of the murdered Ahaziah. Seeing her son dead, she «arose and destroyed all the royal seed», and ruled six years.
One heir survived: Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, stole the infant Joash from among the doomed and hid him in the House of the Lord for six years. In the seventh Jehoiada gathered the captains and the Levites, brought the boy out, set the crown on him, and in the Temple they cried «Long live the king!» Athaliah, hearing the noise, rent her clothes and cried «Treason!» — she was taken outside the Temple precinct and killed at the horses' gate, and the altar of Baal was broken down (2 Kings 11).
AM 3049–3055, approximate; academically 841–835 BCE.
Sources
Tanakh
- Melachim II (2 Kings) 11 — the destruction of the royal line, the six-year rule, and the enthronement of Joash
- 2 Chronicles 22:10–23:21 — the rescue of Joash by Jehosheba and Jehoiada's coup
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.