During the reign of Alexander the Sanhedrin consisted almost entirely of Sadducees; nevertheless Simeon succeeded in ousting some of the Sadducean members and in replacing them with Pharisees. Having accomplished this, Simeon recalled from Alexandria, Egypt the Pharisees who had been compelled to seek refuge there during the reign of Alexander Jannæus, among these fugitives being Joshua ben Perachya, the former Nasi. Joshua was elected president anew, and Simeon assumed the office of vice-president. Upon the death of Joshua, Simeon became president and Judah ben Tabbai vice-president.