Queen Parysatis II was the third wife and queen to King Alexander the Great.[1] She was also the daughter of King Artaxerxes III of the Achaemenid Empire.[2] After the Battle of Issus, Queen Parysatis II was a hostage under King Alexander the Great.[3] He eventually married her for political reasons.[4]
The birthdate of Queen Parysatis II is unknown.[5] Her father was King Artaxerxes II of the Achaemenid Empire (r. 425-338 B.C.E.).[6] Her mother was one of King Artaxerxes III’s lesser unnamed wives.[7] She had a brother named Artaxerxes IV and older sisters who were also unnamed.[8] After the assassination of her father, King Artaxerxes III, Princess Parysatis and her sisters continued to remain at court.[9] When her brother, King Artaxerxes IV, was murdered, she and her sisters still remained at court during King Darius III’s reign.[10]
After the Battle of Issus in 333 B.C.E., Princess Parysatis and her sisters were captured in Damascus by King Alexander the Great’s general, Parmenion.[11] When Alexander the Great left for a campaign in India, Princess Parysatis and her family, as well as King Darius III’s royal family, remained behind in Susa.[12] In 324 B.C.E., King Alexander the Great returned to Susa after his military campaign in India.[13] King Alexander the Great married Stateira III (the daughter of King Darius III). King Alexander the Great also married Princess Parysatis II.[14] These two marriages helped him unite both dynastic branches of the royal Achaemenid empire.[15] Parysatis II became King Alexander the Great’s third wife and queen.[16] There is no mention of what happened to Queen Parysatis II’s sisters.[17]
After Queen Parysatis II’s marriage to King Alexander the Great, she is no longer mentioned in historical texts.[18] Modern historian Elizabeth Donnelly Carney finds it odd that a Persian princess and one of the queens of Alexander the Great is no longer mentioned.[19] Elizabeth Donnelly Carney believes that after King Alexander the Great’s death in 323 B.C.E., Queen Parysatis II was a threat to both Queen Roxane (King Alexander the Great’s first wife) and Perdiccas.[20] This was because if Queen Parysatis II and Queen Stateira III were pregnant by King Alexander the Great, it would ruin the succession.[21] Therefore, modern historians believe that Queen Parysatis II was murdered by Queen Roxane.[22]
Queen Parysatis II was a Persian princess. She was also King Alexander the Great’s wife and queen.[23] However, very little is known about her.[24] She disappears from history after her marriage.[25] Yet, modern historians believe that she was eventually murdered by Queen Roxane because she was a threat to her position.[26] Therefore, Queen Parysatis II is a tragic and forgotten royal figure during the Macedonian empire.[27]
Sources:
Anson, E. M. (2023). Ptolemy I Soter: Themes and Issues. NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Carney, E. D. (2000). Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
[1] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[2] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[3] Carney, 2000
[4] Carney, 2000
[5] Carney, 2000
[6] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[7] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[8] Carney, 2000
[9] Carney, 2000
[10] Carney, 2000
[11] Carney, 2000
[12] Carney, 2000
[13] Carney, 2000
[14] Carney, 2000
[15] Carney, 2000
[16] Carney, 2000
[17] Carney, 2000
[18] Carney, 2000
[19] Carney, 2000
[20] Carney, 2000
[21] Carney, 2000
[22] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[23] Carney, 2000
[24] Carney, 2000
[25] Carney, 2000
[26] Carney, 2000; Anson, 2023
[27] Carney, 2000
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