Oxyathres

Oxyathres ( Greek Οξυαθρης ; in Old Persian Vaxšuvarda ) came from a side branch of the Achaemenid dynasty and was a son of Arsanes and Sisygambis as well as a younger brother of the Persian king Darius III. († 330 BC).

The government of Darius III. was shaped by the defensive struggle against the Macedonian king Alexander the great . When in the Battle of Issus (333 BC) he and his horsemen personally approached the chariot of Darius III. fought, Oxyathres, who is considered a brave fighter, protected his brother together with other noble Persians and is probably depicted in this act on the famous Alexander mosaic. Despite his efforts, the battle went on because of Darius III's flight. lost to the Persians.

As a result, Oxyathres accompanied his royal brother on his retreat to the east. After Dareios III. was murdered by his own people on the run from the Macedonians, Oxyathres switched to the side of Alexander the Great, who accepted him as a hetairos and appointed him commander of his Persian bodyguard . 329 BC He fell as the main mastermind of the conspiracy against Dareios III. current Bessos in the hands of the Macedonians. Alexander the Great had him mutilated and then handed over to Oxyathres. He ordered that Bessos be executed in an extremely cruel manner in Ekbatana . According to the Alexander historian Quintus Curtius Rufus , Bessus was crucified, but according to Alexander's biographer Plutarch , he was dismembered.

Amastris , the daughter of Oxyathres, married at the mass wedding to Susa Alexander's comrade in arms Krateros (324 BC) and after their divorce the tyrant Dionysius of Herakleia .

literature

Hans Volkmann : Oxyathres. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 4, Stuttgart 1972, column 389.
Siegfried Lauffer : Alexander the Great . 3. Edition. Munich 1993, pp. 78, 113, 123, 169.

Web links

Rüdiger Schmitt : Oxyathres . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
Jona Lendering: Oxyathres . In: Livius.org (English)

Remarks

↑ Diodorus 17.34.2; Curtius Rufus 3,11,8; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 78.
↑ Diodorus 17,77,4; Curtius Rufus 6,2,9 and 6,2,11; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 113.
↑ Arrian , Anabasis 4,7,3; Diodorus 17,83,9; Curtius Rufus 7: 5, 40-43; Plutarch , Alexander 43.6; Justin 12,5,11; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 123.

personal data
SURNAME	Oxyathres
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Oξυαθρης (Greek); Vaxšuvarda (old Persian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Persian soldier and brother of King Darius III.
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	4th century BC Chr.

[1] Diodorus 17.34.2; Curtius Rufus 3,11,8; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 78.

[2] Diodorus 17,77,4; Curtius Rufus 6,2,9 and 6,2,11; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 113.

[3] Arrian , Anabasis 4,7,3; Diodorus 17,83,9; Curtius Rufus 7: 5, 40-43; Plutarch , Alexander 43.6; Justin 12,5,11; on this Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 123.