Stateira

Stateira (; died 323 BC), possibly also known as Barsine, was the daughter of Stateira 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 weddings in 324 BC. At the same ceremony Alexander also married her cousin, Parysatis, daughter of Darius' predecessor. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Stateira was killed by Alexander's other wife, Roxana.

Name Scholars have debated her name. In his list of marriages that occurred at Susa, Arrian (c. 86 – after 146), calls her "Barsine". She is commonly confused with another Barsine who was also held captive by Alexander around the same period. Historian William Woodthorpe Tarn asserts her official name was "Barsine", but she was likely commonly called "Stateira". Tarn cites other instances of confusion, noting that by the end of the 3rd century BC, legend often confused Roxane with Stateira as the daughter of Darius.

Early life Stateira was the eldest daughter of Darius III of Persia and his wife, also named Stateira. Her birthdate is unknown; by 333 BC she was of marriageable age. After Alexander the Great invaded Persia, Stateira and her family accompanied Darius' army. In November 333 Alexander's army defeated the Persians at the Battle of Issus. Darius fled, and the Macedonian army soon captured his family. Although they were his captives, under Alexander's orders Stateira, her mother, her sister Drypetis, her younger brother, and their paternal grandmother, Sisygambis, were treated well and allowed to retain their social status.

Marriage to Alexander the Great

For the next two years, Stateira and her family followed Alexander's army. Her mother died in early 332, leaving Sisygambis to act as her guardian. reminding Darius that he already had custody of both the land and Stateira, and that, if he chose to marry her, Darius' permission would not be necessary. At the same ceremony, Alexander married Parysatis, daughter of previous Persian ruler Artaxerxes III. According to Plutarch's account, Stateira's sister, Drypetis, was killed at the same time; Carney believes that Plutarch was mistaken, and it was actually Parysatis who died with Stateira.

In the 2004 film Alexander by Oliver Stone, Stateira is portrayed by the French actress Annelise Hesme. Indian TV actress Riya Deepsi portrayed the character of Stateira II (called Barsine) in 2017 Indian TV series Porus.