Roxana

Roxana (died Template:Circa BC,<ref name=":2">Template:Harvnb</ref> Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration; Old Iranian: *Raṷxšnā- "shining, radiant, brilliant", Template:Langx) sometimes known as Roxanne, Roxanna and Roxane, was a Bactrian<ref>

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• Template:Cite book p. 55</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or Sogdian<ref>
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• Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="christopoulos 2012 p4">Template:Cite journal</ref> princess whom Alexander the Great married after invading Persia and defeating Darius, ruler of the Achaemenid Empire.

Biography

Roxana was born as the daughter of a Bactrian nobleman named Oxyartes, the satrap of Bactria and Sogdia,<ref name=":2" /> who served Bessus, and thus probably also involved in the murder of the last Achaemenid king Darius III. The exact date of her birth is unknown, but she was of childbearing age by 326 BC, placing her birth before 336 BC.

After Bessus was captured by the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great, Oxyartes and his family fled north, and continued to resist the Macedonians. Along with other notables such as the Sogdian warlord Spitamenes, they took up a defensive position in a fortress known as the Sogdian Rock.Template:Sfn

They were eventually defeated by Alexander, who attended a celebration,<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> and reportedly fell in love with Roxana on sight.Template:Sfn Where the celebration took place is disputed,<ref name=":3" /> possibly in the Sogdian Rock or another fortress of Chorienes (also called Sisimithres by Quintus Rufus Curtius), but according to the Metz Epitome it was in the house of Chorienes in which Roxana was introduced to Alexander as the daughter of Oxyartes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3" /> Curtius apparently misrepresented Roxana as a daughter of Chorienes.<ref name=":3" /> Arrian states that Oxyartes surrendered to Alexander when he became aware of the good reception Alexander awarded his daughter Roxana.<ref name=":3" /> A.B. Bosworth mentions the possibility of Roxana being captured at the Sogdian Rock, but that the two married at the fortress of Chorienes.<ref name=":3" /> The marriage was in 327 BC, and according to the majority of the sources it was in the Macedonian rite rather than the Persian.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref> The sources agree that Alexander fell passionately in love with her, but considering that he had difficulties in occupying and controlling Sogdiana his decision to marry Roxana may also have been motivated by the advantages of a political alliance.<ref name=":2" />

The Wedding of Alexander and Roxane (1898–1899), an engraving by André Castaigne.

Alexander the Great and Roxana, a 1756 painting by Pietro Rotari.

Alexander married Roxana despite opposition from his companions,<ref>Young, Andrew (2014), p. 145</ref><ref name=":6" /> who would have preferred a Macedonian or Greek to become queen.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, the marriage was also politically advantageous as it made the Bactrian and Sogdian armies more loyal towards Alexander and less rebellious after their defeat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Alexander thereafter made an expedition into India and while there he appointed Oxyartes as the governor of the Hindu Kush region adjoining India.<ref name=":2" /> According to Metz Epitome, Roxana accompanied Alexander into India, where their first-born son died in infancy near the banks of the Acesines River in November 326 BC;<ref>Metz Epitome 70</ref> an event that is considered fact by most scholars.<ref>Loube, Heather (1995). The Metz Epitome: Alexander (July, 330 B.C. - July, 325 В.С.) A Commentary. Department of Classical Studies University of Ottawa. pp. 10-11 of Introduction.</ref> This first son is also mentioned in Alexander Hebrew Romance that alleges this child was named after his father and died at the age of 9 months.<ref>Loube, Heather (1995). The Metz Epitome: Alexander (July, 330 B.C. - July, 325 В.С.) A Commentary. Department of Classical Studies University of Ottawa. p. 10 of Introduction.</ref>

When Alexander returned to Susa in spring 324 BC, he promoted a brother of Roxana to the elite cavalry.Template:Sfn<ref name=":2" /> To encourage a better acceptance of his government among the Persians, Alexander also married Stateira II, the daughter of the deposed Persian king Darius III.<ref name=":2" />

After Alexander's sudden death at Babylon in 323 BC, Roxana is believed to have murdered Stateira. According to Plutarch, she also had Stateira's sister, Drypetis, murdered with the consent of Perdiccas.<ref>Plutarch. Alex. 77.4</ref> Roxana was pregnant, which caused some discussions between Alexander's loyalists around Perdiccas<ref name=":0" /> and Ptolemy<ref>Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), pp. 16–17</ref> who suggested waiting to see if Alexander's posthumous child was a son and naming either a caretaker regent or a council to govern on his behalf, and the Macedonian soldiers who opposed a so-called persianization of the Macedonian court.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

For the Macedonian succession a temporary compromise was found as Philip Arrhidaeus was declared king of Macedon; if the unborn child was a son, he was to become a king as well.<ref>Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), pp. 20–21</ref> By 317 though, Roxana's son, called Alexander IV lost his kingship as a result of intrigues started by Philip Arrhidaeus' wife, Eurydice II.<ref name=":2" /> Afterwards, Roxana and the young Alexander were protected by Alexander the Great's mother, Olympias, in Macedonia.<ref>Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 106</ref> Following Olympias' assassination in 316 BC, Cassander imprisoned Roxana and her son in the citadel of Amphipolis.<ref name=":1">Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 116</ref> Their detention was condemned by the Macedonian general Antigonus in 315 BC.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref> In 311 BC, a peace treaty between Antigonus and Cassander confirmed the kingship of Alexander IV but also Cassander as his guardian,<ref name=":5" /> following which the Macedonians demanded his release.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> However, Cassander ordered Glaucias of Macedon to kill Alexander and Roxana.<ref>Thirlwall, Connop (1840), p. 319</ref> It is assumed that they were murdered in spring 310 BC, but their death was concealed until the summer.<ref>Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 149</ref> The two were killed after Heracles, a son of Alexander the Great's mistress Barsine, was murdered, bringing the Argead dynasty to an end.<ref name=":1" />

Legacy

• Asteroid 317 Roxane is named in her honor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• At the Acropolis, there were found inscriptions of offerings Roxana dedicated as Alexander's wife to Athena.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Lucian describes a painting of Roxana's marriage to Alexander by the Greek painter Echion (also known as Aetion) which won the painter the consent of the Olympic Hellanodike Proxenidas to marry his daughter.<ref name=":7" />
• In one of the versions of the Alexander Romances, Darius III is her father and dying gives his consent to the marriage in which she wears the royal jewelry Alexander had requested from his mother Olympias. The marriage takes then place in Darius' palace.<ref name=":7" />

See also

• Alexandre et Roxane, an opera that Mozart planned to write
• Ancient history of Afghanistan
• Balkh
• Roshanak
• Global Royal intermarriage

Sources

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External links

• Template:Cite EB1911
• Roxane Template:Webarchive by Jona Lendering
• Template:Usurped
• Template:Usurped from Charles Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1867)