Sisygambis

Sisygambis (died 323 BCE) was the mother of Darius III of Persia, whose reign was ended during the wars of Alexander the Great. After she was captured by Alexander at the Battle of Issus, she became devoted to him, and Alexander referred to her as "mother". Early life She may have been the daughter of king Artaxerxes II Mnemon, or possibly of his brother Ostanes. If the latter, she married her own brother Arsames (an ancient Achaemenid tradition). Another possibility is that she was the daughter of an Uxian leader. She gave birth to Darius, Oxyathres, and possibly also Stateira I. Alexander's invasion At the Battle of Issus (333 BCE), Darius's army was routed by Alexander the Great, and the Persian king fled the field, leaving his extended family—including his mother; his wife, Stateira I; his children; and many others—to the mercy of Alexander. He captured them but treated them with all dignity, where many others would have executed them out of hand. When Alexander and Hephaestion went together to visit the captured Persian royal family, Sisygambis knelt to Hephaestion to plead for their lives, mistaking him for Alexander — Hephaestion was the taller, and both young men were similarly dressed. When she realized her mistake, she was acutely embarrassed, but Alexander reassured her with the words, "You were not mistaken, Mother; this man too is Alexander."