Barsine

Barsine
File:Barsine.jpg 250px
Born	c. 363 BC Persian Empire
Died	c. 309 BC Macedon (probable)
Father	Artabazus, Persian satrap
Mother	Unknown (Persian nobility)
Dynasty	Achaemenid (noble house)
Occupation	Persian noblewoman
Consort	Alexander the Great (concubine)
Offspring	Heracles of Macedon
Political role	Mother of Argead claimant used by Polyperchon

Barsine (Greek: Βαρσίνη; born c. 363 BC) was a Persian noblewoman of high lineage who became the concubine of Alexander the Great and the mother of Heracles of Macedon, one of Alexander’s two known sons. Her life intersects directly with the political struggles of the Wars of the Diadochi, where her son’s royal claim was used as a tool by rival generals seeking legitimacy.

Background

Barsine was born into the Persian aristocracy. She was the daughter of Artabazus, a prominent Persian satrap and close ally of the Achaemenid royal house. Through her father, Barsine belonged to one of the most influential noble families in the western satrapies. She spent part of her youth in Macedonia, where her father lived in exile and became acquainted with the Macedonian court.

Relationship with Alexander the Great

Barsine met Alexander the Great during his conquest of Persia. Ancient sources describe her as educated, noble, and familiar with Greek culture due to her family’s earlier exile. Alexander took Barsine as a concubine, and she bore him a son, Heracles, around 327 BC.

Her status was not equivalent to that of a Macedonian queen, but her noble Persian lineage made her an acceptable consort in the context of Alexander’s policy of integrating Persian elites into his new empire.

Mother of Heracles

Barsine’s son Heracles became politically significant after Alexander’s death in 323 BC. Although Heracles was not widely recognized as heir during Alexander’s lifetime, his bloodline made him a potential claimant to the Macedonian throne.

During the Diadochi conflicts, Polyperchon used Barsine and Heracles as symbols of legitimate Argead succession in opposition to Cassander. Barsine’s position thus became entangled in the broader struggle for control of Macedonia.

Later Life and Death

Barsine’s later life is poorly documented. After Polyperchon’s failed attempt to elevate Heracles, Cassander ordered the murder of both Barsine’s son and, according to some traditions, Barsine herself. Her death is generally placed around 309 BC, coinciding with the elimination of the last direct Argead heirs.

Historical Sources

Barsine appears in several classical accounts, including:

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica

Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus

Plutarch, Life of Alexander

Arrian, for contextual background on Alexander’s Persian campaigns

Modern historians treat Barsine as a credible historical figure whose life illustrates Alexander’s integration of Persian nobility and the dynastic instability that followed his death.

Legacy

Barsine’s significance lies in her role as the mother of Alexander’s elder son and in the political use of her family during the Diadochi wars. Her lineage and her son’s bloodline made her a central figure in the final collapse of the Argead dynasty.