Alexander XII Nicator
| Alexander X Nicator | |
|---|---|
| Basileus of the Farsian Empire | |
| Reign | 315 – 296 BC |
| Coronation | 311 BC |
| Predecessor | Alexander IX |
| Successor | Demetrius I |
| Born | 338 BC Crysopolis |
| Died | 296 BC |
| Spouse |
|
| Dynasty | Alcaeid dynasty |
| Father | Alexander IX |
| Mother | Roxana |
Alexander X Nicator commonly known by his epithet, Nicator meaning "the victor" (338- 296 BC) was Basileus of the Farsian empire (the precursor state of modern Mesogeia from 315 BC until his death. He succeeded his father Alexander IX on the Farsian throne.
Early life
Alexander was born in 338 BC, the son of Basileus Alexander IX and his second wife Roxana. During his early life his father was often campaigning. In fact the future Basileus was born during his fathers Scythian campaigns. Like his father and brothers before him Alexander was raised in the imperial harem alongside his sisters and younger siblings until the age of seven after which he left the women quarters to join the company of men in the Androneum.
From the age of 12 onward was given both a physical and intellectual education. His education included the wrestling, hunting, music, philosophy, and arithmetic. Despite this critics are quick to point out that Alexander was no great intellect while his supporters cite his military successes.
It was not Alexander's destiny to be Basileus after his father until the sudden death of his elder brother Prince Mithridates in 321 BC. The entire court and Alexander especially were devastated at the loss of the prince; all expect Stateira and Parysatis who are believed to have poisoned the young Mithridates in an attempt to further their own sons prospects to succeed. Alexander idolized his older brother who was twelve years his senior. After a period of mourning following the death of not only prince Mithridates, but princess Eurydice, and Basilometor Berenice, Alexander was proclaimed heir to the throne.
Reign
Accession to the throne
In 315 BC Alexander IX died in the palace at Ecbatana surrounded by his wives Cleopatra Roxana and Barsine and his children Berenice, Cleopatra, Demetrius, Roxana, and Olympias. Despite the schemes and political maneuvering of his step-mothers Stateira and Parysatis, his supporters succeeded in ensuring that he would follow his father on the throne by acting quickly
To secure his rule Alexander X rode to Crysopolis on horseback while his father's body was still warm. He found the palace at Crysopolis empty of its treasure and its most important occupants the imperial princes. The two Basilissas Stateira and Parysatis having fled the capital upon learning from their spies of the Basileus death in Ecbatana. The two Basilissas took with them the imperial treasury as well as their sons Philip, Darius, and Artaxsaca all of which raised the banner of rebellion in an attempt to secure Philip's accession. The three brothers took the entire harem of Alexander IX with them after their departure from the capital to prevent their sisters and mother from falling into the hands of their brother.
Alexander X summoned the Synedrion, the nation's legislative body to acclaim the rightful Basileus; the 200 elderly men immediately proclaimed Alexander as the rightful heir. Meanwhile in Spahan, a few miles from the capital Philip was declared Basileus by an army led by the eunuch Bagoas at the instigation of Basilissa Stateira and her faction. Meanwhile Cassander the Satrap of Atropatane declares his support for Philip as Basileus in Ganzak.
Succession War
For forty days neither side made an attempt to meet each other in open battle as a result of 40 day period of public mourning. During that time funeral games were held in honor of the dead Basileus at the capital. the body was brought to Farsargadae were it was embalmed before it was placed in the Alexandreum. Behind the scenes Alexander's mother Roxana and step-mother Cleopatra were working behind the scenes to secure his place on the throne. While he was already married to his half-sister Cleopatra the Younger and his late brother's widow Arsinoe he took as a third wife his father's former concubine raising her to the rank of Basilissa. Legends claim that he fell in love with the beautiful Barsine to the point of being love-sick while others claim that he married her was a way to announce that just like his father's women the throne was his.
With the forty days of public mourning over, Alexander ordered his childhood companion (and former lover) Antiochus to attack his brothers before they can join forces with General Cassander. Days later Antiochus with a force of 90,000 men marches from Crysopolis to meet the rebellious brothers of his sovereign in battle at Ardericca a few miles outside Sousa. Philip and Darius commanded a force of equal number. The battle of Ardericca waged for hours but the two sides were so equally matched that the battle ended in a stalemate with neither side gaining much.
Months later in 314 BC General Cassander arrived before the walls of Crysopolis with army of 45,000 men, he was determined to storm the city and end the succession war. The imperial capital was only saved from certain destruction by sudden arrival of the young Prince Demetrius at the head of a 30,000 strong army. Demetrius lifted the siege of Chrysopolis and repulsed the attacking forces from the city. Cassander fled north to Ganzak to prepare for an defense of his realm. In early 313 BC a combined imperial army of 120,000 men headed by Basileus Alexander X, Prince Demetrius, and General Seleucus laid siege to Ganzak. They took the city months later only to discover that Cassander had escaped.
The war of succession culiminated in 312 BC, at the battle of Spahan, where the imperial army led by Alexander X and his favored General Antiochus defeated the rebel princes Philip and Darius. The Basileus' brothers attempted to flee when it became apparent their side was losing but their cause was betrayed by a greedy eunuch named Otanes who revealed their route to Alexander X. The faithless eunuch was flayed alive for his betrayal while the men he betrayed fared slightly better. Philip, Darius and their younger brother Artaxsaca were all strangled to death by silk cord (this being the common form of execution for imperial princes as a result of it being a grievous crime to shed imperial blood). Only the youngest brother Prince Tiridates was spared from execution as a result of the desperate pleas of his elder sister the Princess Atossa. The Basilissas Stateira and Parysatis were allowed to choose the manner of their death, they chose poison over a more grisley end. Finally the eunuch Bagoas who had wielded so much power during the later years of Alexander IX, was beheaded for its acts. Only Cassander escaped capture
Hrycanian skirmishes
Cassander having evaded capture at the battle of Spahan fled north to Hrycania where he tried to raise an army to march on the capital. The province's Satrap Arsaces defeated General Cassander at the battle of Gorgan, killing him and battle that same year in 312 BC. Arsaces was awarded for his loyalty with the crown of Hrycania, a position his descendants continue to hold today.
Alans repulsion
Despite his father having laid waste to the whole of Saramatia, the great Basileus Alexander X had allowed the Saramatians and their northern neighbors the Alans to recover to the point that the two northern states once more became a throne in the side of the Farsian empire.
In 298 BC. the Alans invaded Romaica; the Alans are said to have enslaved, murdered, and raped hundreds of people before the citizens of Troiana were forced to send word to the Farsian Emperor pleading for help. Alexander responded immediately marching north with a force of 25,000 men and 20 war elephants. He met the Alans near the Argenti mountains at PLACENAME where the Alan invaders were summarily routed. For his victory over the Alans, Alexander was awarded the epithet Nicator. Most people in the north had never seen an elephant before but the sight of Alexander's army marching through northern Romaica accompanied by the creatures left a lasting effect on the psyche of the north. For many centuries after southern Mesogeia was believed to be home to varying fabulous creatures.
Wives, concubines, and issue
Alexander X married several times, and total of eight wives are recorded; including Arsinoe, Cleopatra, Barsine, Atossa, Amestris, Deidamia, Stratonice and an unmamed Scythian princess. From these marriages Alexander fathered numerous children.
In 325, upon the occasion of his fourteenth birthday he was betrothed to his younger half-sister Cleopatra (they were both thirteen at the time). It is not known if the two lived together before their marriage which took place in late 324 BC. It became customary to marry the eldest princess to the eldest prince, but because Alexander was not destined to succeed to his father's throne he married a younger sister. The union produced three children:
- Alexander (b. 324-298 BC; executed for conspiring to seize the throne)
- Cleopatra III (b. 323-278 BC)
- Demetrius (b. 322-284 BC; succeeded his father as Basileus)
- Mithridates (b. 319- 284 BC; named for his uncle, married his half-sister Atossa, died in battle)
In 321 BC, Alexander's elder brother the crown prince Mithridates died suddenly. Rather then allow the young widow Arsinoe to remain a widow it was decided that Alexander would marry his dead brother's wife sealing the union between the Ptolemaidi and the Alcaeid dynasties. The wedding took place in 319 when Alexander was nineteen, while his bride was already twenty-five years of age. The union produced one child:
- Ptolemais (b. 318-266 BC; married her younger half-brother Philip V)
In 314, nearly a year following his father's death, Alexander married his father's former concubine Barsine. From the union the couple produced two children (two daughters):
- Thessalonike (313-256 BC; married)
- Barsine (b. 306 BC-246 BC)
In 312 after successfully thwarting his brothers Philip and Darius in their attempt to seize his throne, Alexander married his two half sisters, Atossa and Amestris. Each of these marriages produced offspring.
By Atossa he fathered seven children (three sons and four daughters):
- Philip (311-250 BC; eventually became Basileus as Philip V)
- Atossa (310-244 BC)
- Cassandana (304-283 BC)
- Parysatis (302-261 BC)
- Stateira (301-253 BC)
- Andromachus (301-256 BC)
- Alexander (298-296 BC; died in infancy
By Amestris he fathered two children (one son and one daughter):
- Antiochus (310-283 BC)
- Eirene (308-245 BC)
Death
At the start of 296 BC, Alexander was seriously wounded while he hunted boar. The wound was left untreated and it soon became effected, and by mid 296 BC, the great king was dying. Historians and scholars at court record that the last few days of the live of Alexander X were agonized. It is said that the halls and chambers of the apartments of the Basileus were filled with the stench of rotting flesh.
Whether this was the case or not, Alexander died in 296 BC, surrounded by his family, wives, concubines, and high ranking officials of the empire. After his body was embalmed in honey it was entombed in the imperial necropolis at Sousa. His funeral was followed by a series of funeral games held in the capital.