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Roxana (died BC, , ; Old Iranian: *Raṷxšnā- "shining, radiant, brilliant", ) sometimes known as Roxanne, Roxanna and Roxane, was a
or
(2025). 9781907200021, Sphinx Fine Art. ISBN 9781907200021
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.
They were eventually defeated by Alexander, who attended a celebration, and reportedly fell in love with Roxana on sight. The location of the celebration took place is disputed, 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. Curtius apparently misrepresented Roxana as a daughter of Chorienes. Arrian states that Oxyartes surrendered to Alexander when he became aware of the good reception Alexander awarded his daughter Roxana. A.B. Bosworth mentions the possibility of Roxana being captured at the Sogdian Rock, but that the two married at the fortress of Chorienes. The marriage was in 327 BC, and according to the majority of the sources it was in the Macedonian rite rather than the Persian. 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.
Alexander married Roxana despite opposition from his companions,Young, Andrew (2014), p. 145 who would have preferred a Macedonian or Greek to become queen. 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. Alexander thereafter made an expedition into India and while there he appointed Oxyartes as the governor of the Hindu Kush region adjoining India. Roxana accompanied Alexander into India, where their first child died at or soon after birth near the banks of the Chenab River RiverMetz Epitome 70 in November 326 BC.
When Alexander returned to Susa in spring 324 BC, he promoted a brother of Roxana to the elite cavalry. 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.
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.Plutarch. Alex. 77.4 Roxana was pregnant, which caused some discussions between Alexander's loyalists around Perdiccas and PtolemyAnson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), pp. 16–17 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.
For the Macedonian succession a temporary compromise was found as Philip Arrhidaeus was declared Macedonian kings; if the unborn child was a son, he was to become a king as well.Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), pp. 20–21 By 317 though, Roxana's son, called Alexander IV lost his kingship as a result of intrigues started by Philip Arrhidaeus' wife, Eurydice II. Afterwards, Roxana and the young Alexander were protected by Alexander the Great's mother, Olympias, in Macedonia.Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 106 Following Olympias' assassination in 316 BC, Cassander imprisoned Roxana and her son in the citadel of Amphipolis.Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 116 Their detention was condemned by the Macedonian general Antigonus in 315 BC. In 311 BC, a peace treaty between Antigonus and Cassander confirmed the kingship of Alexander IV but also Cassander as his guardian, following which the Macedonians demanded his release. However, Cassander ordered Glaucias of Macedon to kill Alexander and Roxana.Connop Thirlwall (1840), p. 319 It is assumed that they were murdered in spring 310 BC, but their death was concealed until the summer.Anson, Edward M. (14 July 2014), p. 149 The two were killed after Heracles, a son of Alexander the Great's mistress Barsine, was murdered, bringing the Argead dynasty to an end.
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