3-041-233 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Athaliah, Queen of Judah, Dragged from the Temple; Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes, about 1413-1415. Additional Info: Two men seize a woman by the hair, pulling her forward while a third man watches from behind. The woman is Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel. Her family married her to the heir of the throne of Judah in order to link the two Hebrew kingdoms more closely. When Athaliah's husband as well as her oldest son died, she ordered that all other royal offspring should be killed and seized the throne of Judah for herself. Unknown to her, her grandson was saved and raised in the Temple. When he reached seven years of age, he was secretly crowned king. Athaliah rushed to the Temple crying treason, but the royal guards seized her and killed her. In the image, two guards ruthlessly drag Athaliah from the Temple while the new king, shown here as a grown man, watches from above. Athaliah was the only woman ever to rule either of the two Hebrew kingdoms.