Oxyartes was a Bactrian nobleman who lived in the 4th century BC. He is best known as the father of Roxana, who became one of the wives of Alexander the Great.
Oxyartes served Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, who had murdered Darius III, the last Achaemenid king. After Bessus's capture and execution by Alexander in 329 BC, Oxyartes continued to resist Alexander's advance into Sogdia. He held a strategic fortress in the region of Sogdiana known as the Sogdian Rock.
The Sogdian Rock was considered virtually impregnable, but Alexander captured it in 327 BC through a daring assault led by a group of climbers. Impressed by Alexander's military prowess and perhaps seeing the futility of further resistance, Oxyartes submitted to Alexander and was treated with respect.
As part of the peace settlement, Alexander married Roxana. This marriage was politically significant as it helped to consolidate Alexander's control over Bactria and Sogdia by integrating him into the local ruling class. Oxyartes remained a trusted figure in Alexander's court.
Following Alexander's death in 323 BC, Oxyartes remained loyal to the Argead dynasty. He was entrusted with the guardianship of Alexander IV, Alexander the Great's posthumous son by Roxana. Oxyartes eventually delivered Alexander IV and Roxana to Cassander, one of Alexander's successors, who had them both murdered around 310 BC. Afterward, Oxyartes disappears from the historical record. His lasting significance is primarily through his daughter's marriage to Alexander the Great and his role in the turbulent aftermath of Alexander's death.