After Alexander the Great ’s death in 323 BCE, a power struggle broke out among his generals competing to be his successor. One of them, Cassander , captured Roxana in Macedonia in 316. Roxana was imprisoned, and Cassander had her and her son, Alexander IV, executed in 310.

Roxana

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Roxana

Q: Why is Roxana famous?

Roxana was the wife of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great . She was the daughter of the Bactrian chief Oxyartes and was captured and married by Alexander in 327 BCE. After Alexander’s death in 323, Roxana had his second wife, Stateira, killed and gave birth to a son, Alexander IV, who was accepted as king with Alexander’s half-brother.

wife of Alexander the Great

Also known as: Roxane

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Last Updated: Feb 12, 2025 • Article History

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Also spelled:: Roxane

Died:: c. 310 bc, Amphipolis, Thrace

Notable Family Members:: spouse Alexander the Great

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Why is Roxana famous?

How did Roxana die?

Roxana (died c. 310 bc, Amphipolis, Thrace) was the wife of Alexander the Great. The daughter of the Bactrian chief Oxyartes, she was captured and married by Alexander in 327, during his conquest of Asia. After Alexander’s death, she had his second wife, Stateira (Barsine), killed, and she gave birth at Babylon to a son (Alexander IV), who was accepted by the Macedonian generals as joint king with the Philip III Arrhidaeus (half brother of Alexander the Great). In 319 Roxana joined Alexander’s mother, Olympias, in Epirus, but she was captured in 316 in Macedonia by Cassander, who later took the title of king of Macedonia. He imprisoned Roxana at Amphipolis and then executed her and her son.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.