This painting, attributed to the French artist Louis Licherie de Beurie (1629-1687), re-creates the story of Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE) meeting with the captured family of his Persian adversary, Darius III. Alexander’s meeting with the captives took place following the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE, where the Greeks inflicted a decisive defeat to the forces of Darius. As the Persian ruler was chased off the battlefield, he completely abandoned his camp, leaving behind anything and anyone in it at the time of the battle. Notably, he had left many of his loved ones in that camp, including his mother, wife and children, who were all subsequently captured by Alexander the Great. Arrian (c. 90-173+), a Roman biographer of Alexander, wrote, “Darius’ headquarters were stormed and captured; his mother was taken, together with his wife (who was also his sister) and his infant son; in addition to these, two of his daughters fell into Alexander’s hands with a few noble Persian ladies who were in attendance upon them” (Anabasis Alexandri, Book 2, chapter 12). As the story goes, when Alexander the Great became aware that he had captured the family of Darius, the first thing he did was send one of his companions to reassure the captives that Darius was still alive. He then—as is represented in the painting—visited the captured Persian royals in person and made sure that they were treated humanely and kept safe. Darius’ family remained with Alexander the Great until around 331 BCE, when he left them behind in the city of Susa.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Sources:
- The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 1971.
- https://collections.mnaha.lu/object/mnha30430/
- https://persist.lu/ark:72849/vb1742693f
