Barsaentes ( el, Βαρσαέντης, translit=Barsaéntēs) was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

nobleman, who served as the satrap of

Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the ...

and

Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana ( el, Δραγγιανή, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprise ...

under the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

King of Kings Darius III (). Barsaentes took part in the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

against the Macedonian king

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

() in 331 BC, where he led his regional troops, as well as the supposed "Mountain" Indians. Following the Persian defeat, Barsaentes accompanied Darius III in his flight to the Upper Satrapies. There he conspired against Darius III with other Persian grandees, such as the

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who functioned ...

Nabarzanes, and Bessus, the satrap of Bactria. Together they arrested Darius III in mid-330 BC, with Bessus being chosen as the leader of the Achaemenid forces, probably due to his Achaemenid descent. The arrest of Darius III gave Alexander the

pretext A pretext (adj: pretextual) is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rat ...

of avenging him. Fleeing from the pursuing Macedonian forces, Bessus and the rebels carried Darius III in a covered wagon, reportedly in golden chains. In order to buy some time for their escape, Bessus and his co-conspirators killed Darius III and left his body by the road. In 329 BC, Barsaentes fled to his own satrapy. When a Macedonian force of 4,600 led by Menon came close to his satrapy, Barsaentes fled to the Indians, and was given shelter by local dynast, Samaxus. However, the latter handed Barsaentes over to Alexander in 326 BC, seemingly in order to gain the favour of the Macedonian king. Barsaentes was subsequently executed.

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Sources

* * * * {{Encyclopaedia Iranica , volume=4 , fascicle=2 , title = Bessos , last = Weiskopf , first = Michael , url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bessos-satrap-of-bactria , pages = 174–175 4th-century BC Iranian people Military leaders of the Achaemenid Empire Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire 326 BC deaths People executed by Alexander the Great