Oxydates ( Old Persian: ''Waxsu-data'') 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

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

under 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 ...

() from 330 BC to 328 BC. Before his appointment, Oxydates had for an unknown reason been imprisoned at Susa by his former suzerain, 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 ...

ruler Darius III (). He was eventually found and released by Alexander, whom he accompanied to

Rhagae Shahr-e Ray ( fa, شهر ری, ) or simply Ray (Shar e Ray; ) is the capital of Ray County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of munici ...

. It was during that period Oxydates was appointed satrap of Media, thus replacing

Atropates Atropates ( peo, *Ātr̥pātaʰ and Middle Persian ; grc, Ἀτροπάτης ; c. 370 BC - after 321 BC) was a Persian nobleman who served Darius III, then Alexander the Great, and eventually founded an independent kingdom and dynasty that wa ...

. However, he was convicted of misconduct in late 328 BC, and thus lost his office to Atropates. It unknown what happened to Oxydates afterwards. He may have been arrested or executed by Atropates at the instruction of Alexander, or even managed to escape. Following Oxydates' dismissal, a Mede named Baryaxes rebelled, donning a upright

tiara A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...

as well as assuming the title of king. He and his supporters were subsequently defeated by Atropates, who delivered them to Alexander at Pasargadae in early 324 BC, where they were executed. Oxydates may have had some sort of connection with the rebels.

References

Sources

* {{cite book, last=Heckel, first=Waldemar, authorlink=Waldemar Heckel, title=Who’s Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander’s Empire, year=2006, publisher=Blackwell Publishing, isbn=978-1405188395 Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Iranian people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from the Achaemenid Empire