Oxyartes (

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ( ...

: 𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ''Ὀξυάρτης'', in fa, وخش‌ارد ("Vaxš-ard"), from an unattested form in an Old Iranian language: ''*Huxšaθra-'') was a

Sogdia Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Emp ...

n or Bactrian nobleman of

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...

, father of

Roxana Roxana (c. 340 BC – 310 BC, grc, Ῥωξάνη; Old Iranian: ''*Raṷxšnā-'' "shining, radiant, brilliant"; sometimes Roxanne, Roxanna, Rukhsana, Roxandra and Roxane) was a Sogdian or a Bactrian princess whom Alexander the Great married ...

, the wife of Alexander of Macedon. He is first mentioned as one of the chiefs who accompanied

Bessus Bessus or Bessos ( peo, *Bayaçā; grc-gre, Βήσσος), also known by his throne name Artaxerxes V ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης; died summer 329 BC), was a Persian satrap of the eastern Achaemenid sa ...

on his retreat across the

Oxus river The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

into

Sogdiana Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empi ...

(329 BC). After the death of Bessus, Oxyartes deposited his wife and daughters for safety in a rock fortress in Sogdiana, which was deemed impregnable, but nevertheless soon fell into the hands of Alexander's forces. Alexander not only treated his captives with respect and attention, but was so charmed with the beauty of Roxana as to decide that he wanted to make her his wife. Oxyartes, on learning these tidings, is said to have hastened to make his submission to Alexander, who received him with the utmost distinction. The nuptials of his daughter with the king in 327 BC were celebrated with a magnificent feast. Shortly after this event, Oxyartes successfully persuaded Chorienes to surrender his rock fortress. Subsequently, he was appointed by Alexander as

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

of the province of

Paropamisadae Paropamisadae or Parapamisadae (Greek: Παροπαμισάδαι) was a satrapy of the Alexandrian Empire in modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, which largely coincided with the Achaemenid province of Parupraesanna. It consisted of the districts ...

He continued to hold this position until the death of Alexander (323 BC). Oxyartes was confirmed in his position both in the first division of the provinces immediately after Alexander's death, the

Partition of Babylon The Partition of Babylon was the first of the conferences and ensuing agreements that divided the territories of Alexander the Great. It was held at Babylon in June 323 BC. Alexander’s death at the age of 32 had left an empire that stretched fro ...

(323 BC), and in the subsequent division decided at

Triparadisus Triparadeisos or Triparadisus ( el, Τριπαράδεισος) was a settlement in Lebanon near the sources of the Orontes. A paradeisos was a hunting reserve or pleasure-ground for the nobility of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, normally a w ...

in 321 BC. Later on Oxyartes sent a small force to support Eumenes; but after the death of that general in 316 BC after the

Battle of Gabiene Battle of Gabiene was the second great battle (the third battle in total; see: the battles of Orkynia and Paraitakene) between Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes, two of Alexander the Great's successors (the so-called Diadochi). The battle wa ...

, he seems to have come to terms with Antigonus, who was content to take on the role of confirming Oxyartes in his position as he would have found it difficult to dispossess Oxyartes even if he had wanted to. It seems probable that Oxyartes must have died before Seleucus' diplomatic/military foray into South Asia, as Seleucus ceded Paropamisadae to

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an emp ...

without any mention of Oxyartes.

Bibliography

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Oxyartes (2)"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867)

References

External links

Wiki Classical Dictionary: OxyartesPothos.orgOxyarthes, the father of Roxane
{{SmithDGRBM, title=Oxyartes (2) Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Iranian people Sogdian rulers