Stateira II Shahbanu – The Last Queen of the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander the Great’s hostage

Stateira II Shahbanu was the last queen of the Achaemenid Empire. She was the queen consort to her brother, Darius III of the Achaemenid Empire. She was queen for five years.^[1] She accompanied her husband to war.^[2] King Darius III was defeated by King Alexander the Great. She immediately became Alexander the Great’s hostage.^[3]

In circa 370 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu was born. She was the daughter of Arsames.^[4] Her mother was Sisigambis.^[5] Her brothers were Darius III and Oxyathres. She was the niece of King Artaxerxes II of the Achaemenid Dynasty.^[6] Stateira II married her brother, Darius III. Stateira II bore Darius III two daughters named Statiera III and Drypetis.^[7] She also bore a son named Ochus as a sign of respect to King Artaxerxes III of the Achaemenid empire.^[8]

In 336 B.C.E., a powerful eunuch named Bagoas assassinated King Artaxerxes IV of the Achaemenid Empire. Bagoas installed Darius III as King of the Achaemenid Empire.^[9] Stateira II Shahbanu became queen.^[10] Her daughters became princesses, and her son became a prince.^[11]

In 333 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu, her mother, and her children accompanied King Darius III to war against King Alexander the Great.^[12] King Darius III was defeated at the Battle of Issus.^[13] Stateira II never saw her husband, Darius III, again.^[14] Stateira II Shahbanu, Sisigambis, Stateira III, and Drypetis were captured by King Alexander the Great.^[15] It is unknown what happened to Prince Ochus because he disappeared from history.^[16] Stateira II Shahbanu and Sisigambis were treated like queens.^[17] It was said that Stateira II Shahbanu was very beautiful.^[18] Therefore, King Alexander the Great claimed in a letter that he chose not to look at her to avoid being tempted.^[19]

In 331 B.C.E., Stateira II Shahbanu died. Plutarch claimed she died in childbirth.^[20] Justin claimed that she died of a miscarriage.^[21] These accounts confuse historians as to who may have been the father of her child.^[22] Some historians believe that Stateira II Shahbanu was pregnant right before the Battle of Issus with Darius III.^[23] This was because they think that Alexander the Great did not rape her and treated her with respect.^[24] Some historians who believe in Alexander’s goodwill towards Stateira II Shahbanu believe that she may have died of depression.^[25] Other historians believe that Alexander the Great may not have behaved as a gentleman towards her.^[26] Other historians say that she may have been pregnant by another man.^[27] This claim has been dismissed by many historians because Alexander the Great would not allow another man except himself to have a child with her.^[28] Therefore, her death by childbirth is still very controversial.^[29]

There are very few known facts about Stateira II Shahbanu.^[30] She was the last queen of the Achaemenid Empire. She was Alexander the Great’s hostage.^[31] Her relationship with Alexander the Great is not clear.^[32] Therefore, her death still remains controversial among historians.^[33]Hopefully, more details about this little-known queen will be brought to light.

Sources:

Badian, E. (2015). “STATEIRA”. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved on December 23, 2024 from https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/stateira.

Pailing, M. (n.d.). “Stateira”. Pothos.org: All About Alexander the Great. Retrieved on December 23, 2024 from https://web.archive.org/web/20070820114340/http://pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=138&keyword_id=9&title=Stateira,%20mother%20and%20daughter.