Alexander marries Roxanne (327 BC)

"Sogdian nobleman named Oxyartes (Vaxšuvadarva), who defended a mountain fortress against the army of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great.

""One of these daughters was named Roxane. She was a girl of marriageable age, and men who took part in the campaign used to say she was the loveliest woman they had seen in Asia, with the one exception of Darius' wife. Alexander fell in love with her at sight; but, captive though she was, he refused, for all his passion, to force her to his will, and condescended to marry her.""
Arrian

The marriage between Roxanne and Alexander which finally took place in 327 BC has continued to be a point of contention among historians. Was it a marriage of love or a political alliance as Plutarch suggested? Such marriages were something Alexander's father had done on a number of occasions. It is also unlikely that Alexander would have taken advantage of Roxanne without marriage, another violation of his policies. It follows, therefore, that the marriage was in line with Alexander's policy of uniting the two cultures — Greek and Persian. Alexander would later insist that many of his commanders take Persian wives.


Another version of the story, related by the historian Plutarch, has Oxyartes, the satrap of Bactria, hold a banquet immediately after the surrender in Alexander's honor. One of the dancers that night caught Alexander's eye. It was the sixteen-year-old daughter of Oxyartes: Roxanne, a name that means “little star.” She was considered by many of those who saw her as the most beautiful woman they had ever seen — even more beautiful that the wife of the fallen King Darius. According to Plutarch, while she may have been the only woman Alexander ever loved, there was another possible reason for the marriage. He wrote:

As for his marriage with Roxana, whose youthfulness and beauty had charmed him at a drinking entertainment, where he first happened to see her taking part in a dance, it was indeed a love affair, yet it seemed at the same time to be conducive to the object he had in hand. For it gratified the conquered people to see him choose a wife from among themselves"