Stateira I
Encyclopedia
Stateira I was the wife of Darius III of Persia
of the Achaemenid dynasty. She was known as the most beautiful woman on Earth and, as was the custom for royal Persian women, accompanied her husband while he went to war. It was because of this that she was captured by Alexander the Great after the Battle of Issus
, in 333 BC at Issus
. Her husband abandoned his entire family at the site as he fled from Alexander, including his mother, Sisygambis
, and his daughters Stateira II
and Drypteis
. Alexander is reported to have treated them with great respect.
Stateira I died giving birth around 332 BC. Some sources suggest the father of the child might not have been Darius, but Alexander perhaps. Since Darius' mother referred to Alexander as her only son after having been abandoned by Darius and captured by Alexander, it is likely that he took over the household and may have assumed the role of king to Queen Stateira. In 324 BC, her daughter Stateira II, married Alexander and her other daughter, Drypteis, married one of his chief warriors.
When Alexander died one year later these royal Persian women mourned his death, further indicating personal relationships rather than merely diplomatic ones. Both of her daughters and their families were assassinated—by another wife of Alexander, Roxana
, seeking in vain, to assure that her son would succeed him—and their grandmother committed suicide.
Darius III of Persia
Darius III , also known by his given name of Codomannus, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC....
of the Achaemenid dynasty. She was known as the most beautiful woman on Earth and, as was the custom for royal Persian women, accompanied her husband while he went to war. It was because of this that she was captured by Alexander the Great after the Battle of Issus
Battle of Issus
The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia...
, in 333 BC at Issus
Issus (town)
Issus is an ancient settlement on the strategic coastal plain straddling the small Pinarus river below the navigationally difficult inland mountains towering above to the east in the Turkish Province of Hatay, near the border with Syria...
. Her husband abandoned his entire family at the site as he fled from Alexander, including his mother, Sisygambis
Sisygambis
Sisygambis was the daughter of king Artaxerxes II Memnon, who married Arsames of Ostanes and was the mother of Darius III of Persia, whose reign was ended during the wars of Alexander the Great....
, and his daughters Stateira II
Stateira II
Stateira II , possibly also known as Barsine, was the daughter of Stateira I and Darius III of Persia. After her father's defeat at the Battle of Issus, Stateira and her sisters became captives of Alexander of Macedon. They were treated well, and she became Alexander's second wife at the Susa...
and Drypteis
Drypteis
Drypetis or Drypteis , is a princess of the Achaemenid dynasty in Persia.Drypteis was born between 350 and 345 BCE, the daughter of Stateira I and Darius III of Persia. When her father began a military campaign against the invading army of Alexander the Great, he was accompanied by Drypteis, along...
. Alexander is reported to have treated them with great respect.
Stateira I died giving birth around 332 BC. Some sources suggest the father of the child might not have been Darius, but Alexander perhaps. Since Darius' mother referred to Alexander as her only son after having been abandoned by Darius and captured by Alexander, it is likely that he took over the household and may have assumed the role of king to Queen Stateira. In 324 BC, her daughter Stateira II, married Alexander and her other daughter, Drypteis, married one of his chief warriors.
When Alexander died one year later these royal Persian women mourned his death, further indicating personal relationships rather than merely diplomatic ones. Both of her daughters and their families were assassinated—by another wife of Alexander, Roxana
Roxana
Roxana sometimes Roxane, was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. She was born earlier than the year 343 BC, though the precise date remains uncertain....
, seeking in vain, to assure that her son would succeed him—and their grandmother committed suicide.