Stateira (wife of Darius III)

Common card · No. 354194

Stateira (Greek: Στάτειρα; 370 BC – early 332 BC) was a queen of Persia as the wife and sister of Darius III of Persia of the Achaemenid dynasty. She 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 the town of 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 Drypetis. Alexander is reported to have treated them with great respect. According to Plutarch, Stateira died giving birth to a son, Ochus, in early 332 BC. She was given a splendid burial by Alexander, befitting her status as the wife of the Great King of Persia. However, this does not fit with other narratives as Ochus was already of an age to have survived childhood illness (between 4 and 7 years old) by 333 BC. We cannot say with certainty what happened to Stateira or her son. Darius' mother Sisygambis had a lifelong respect...

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