Queen Roxane was the most famous of King Alexander the Great’s wives.[1] She married him solely for political reasons.[2] She is famous for giving birth to King Alexander the Great’s only legitimate son, King Alexander IV.[3] However, Queen Roxane would learn that having a son by King Alexander the Great would prove to be dangerous.[4] Queen Roxane was a victim and met a tragic end as men would fight over her husband’s territories.[5]
The birthdate of Queen Roxane is unknown.[6] She was the daughter of Oxyartes, who was a Bactrian noble.[7] Oxyartes was a follower of the pretender Bessus.[8] He may also have been involved in the assassination of King Darius III.[9] Oxyartes was a participant in the Sogdian/Bactrian revolt against King Alexander the Great.[10] During the revolt, King Alexander the Great captured Roxane, her mother, and sisters.[11] The capture of his family caused Oxyartes to surrender.[12] King Alexander the Great married Roxane in 327 B.C.E.[13] Modern historians believe that this marriage was solely for political reasons.[14] King Alexander the Great had a hard time controlling Sogdia.[15] Therefore, his marriage to Roxane helped keep Sogdia under control while he continued his campaign to India.[16] Roxane became Queen of the Macedonian Empire and was Alexander the Great’s first wife.[17]
Queen Roxane played no political role during King Alexander the Great’s lifetime.[18] Instead, she was often in the background.[19] Elizabeth Carney believes that Queen Roxane may have followed King Alexander the Great to India.[20] She bore him a son who died shortly after birth.[21] However, Ernst Badian believes that Queen Roxane did not go to India.[22] Instead, he believes that she stayed behind in the royal palace of Susa.[23] King Alexander the Great made her father the satrap of the Hindu Kush region, which adjoined India.[24]
In the spring of 324 B.C.E., King Alexander the Great returned to Susa. He promoted Queen Roxane’s brother, Histanes, to the elite cavalry.[25] King Alexander the Great also married Stateira III and Parysatis II.[26] It was during this period that Queen Roxane became pregnant.[27] She viewed King Alexander the Great’s other two wives as an imminent threat.[28]
In 323 B.C.E., King Alexander the Great died in Babylon. Because she was pregnant with King Alexander the Great’s child, Queen Roxane worried that her husband’s two other wives would be pregnant as well.[29] She allied herself with General Perdiccas.[30] Historians believe that she conspired with him to kill Queen Stateira III and her sister, Princess Drypetis.[31] Historians also believe that they murdered Queen Parysatis II.[32] Queen Roxane then gave birth to a son named King Alexander IV.[33] He was declared joint ruler of the Macedonian Empire alongside King Alexander the Great’s intellectually disabled brother, King Philip III.[34]
Queen Roxane hoped that by murdering King Alexander the Great’s other two wives that she would gain power for herself and her son.[35] However, she and King Alexander IV were merely powerless as other generals fought over King Alexander the Great’s territories.[36] General Perdiccas was assassinated.[37] Polyperchon was soon challenged by Cassander.[38] In 317 B.C.E., King Alexander IV was deposed.[39] Queen Roxane and her son, King Alexander IV, fled to Macedonia and sought protection under Queen Olympias (King Alexander the Great’s mother).[40] Queen Olympias had King Philip III and his wife, Queen Eurydice II, tortured and assassinated.[41]
Cassander invaded and took over Macedonia.[42] Queen Olympias, Queen Roxane, and King Alexander IV took refuge in Pydna.[43] Polyperchon was abandoned by his army, which left the royal family defenceless.[44] Pydna was forced to surrender.[45] Queen Olympias was killed on Cassander’s orders.[46] Queen Roxane and King Alexander IV were imprisoned at Amphipolis.[47] In 311 B.C.E., Cassander decided to make Alexander king again with himself as his guardian.[48] In the spring of 310 B.C.E., Cassander had King Alexander IV and Queen Roxane assassinated.[49] The death of King Alexander IV ended King Alexander the Great’s legitimate line.[50] Cassander became King of Macedonia, where he reigned until 297 B.C.E.
Queen Roxane was the first wife of King Alexander the Great.[51] She murdered her husband’s other wives to ensure that she would be the only one who would give King Alexander the Great a son.[52] However, Queen Roxane realised that bearing a son was very dangerous.[53] She was often in peril.[54] Ultimately, she was defeated by Cassander.[55] However, Queen Roxane played a pivotal role during the Macedonian Empire.[56]
Sources:
Badian, E. (2015). “RHOXANE ii. ALEXANDER’S WIFE”. Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition). Retrieved on May 10, 2025 from https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/rhoxane-alexander-wife/.
Carney, E. D. (2000). Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
[1] Carney, 2000
[2] Carney, 2000
[3] Carney, 2000
[4] Badian, 2015
[5] Badian, 2015
[6] Carney, 2000
[7] Carney, 2000
[8] Carney, 2000
[9] Badian, 2015
[10] Carney, 2000
[11] Carney, 2000
[12] Carney, 2000
[13] Carney, 2000
[14] Carney, 2000
[15] Badian, 2015
[16] Badian, 2015
[17] Carney, 2000
[18] Carney, 2000
[19] Carney, 2000
[20] Carney, 2000
[21] Carney, 2000
[22] Badian, 2015
[23] Badian, 2015
[24] Badian, 2015
[25] Badian, 2015
[26] Carney, 2000
[27] Badian, 2015
[28] Carney, 2000
[29] Carney, 2000
[30] Badian, 2015
[31] Badian, 2015
[32] Carney, 2000
[33] Badian, 2015
[34] Badian, 2015
[35] Badian, 2015
[36] Badian, 2015
[37] Badian, 2015
[38] Badian, 2015
[39] Badian, 2015
[40] Badian, 2015
[41] Badian, 2015
[42] Badian, 2015
[43] Badian, 2015
[44] Badian, 2015
[45] Badian, 2015
[46] Badian, 2015
[47] Badian, 2015
[48] Badian, 2015
[49] Badian, 2015
[50] Badian, 2015
[51] Carney, 2000
[52] Carney, 2000
[53] Badian, 2015
[54] Badian, 2015
[55] Badian, 2015
[56] Carney, 2000
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