Who married Barsine?

Barsine (Greek: Βαρσίνη; c. 363–309 BC) was the daughter of a Persian father, Artabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and a Greek Rhodian mother, the sister of mercenaries Mentor of Rhodes and Memnon of Rhodes. Barsine became the wife of her uncle Mentor, and after his death married her second uncle, Memnon.

In 334 BC, the year of Alexander's invasion of Asia, she and her children were sent by Memnon to the king Darius III as hostages for his fidelity; and in the ensuing year, when Damascus was betrayed to the Macedonians, she fell into the hands of Alexander, by whom it is said that she became the mother of Heracles.

Twelve years after Alexander's death in 323 BC, Barsine's son-in-law Nearchus unsuccessfully advocated for Heracles' claim to the throne, who was then seventeen, having been born about five years after Barsine and Alexander supposedly met in Damascus in 333 BC. From a comparison of the accounts of Diodorus and Justin, it appears that he was brought up at Pergamum under his mother's care, and that she shared his fate when in 309 BC Polyperchon was induced by Cassander to murder him. Barsine is sometimes confused with Stateira II, wife of Alexander, who also may have been called "Barsine".

Mentor of Rhodes (Ancient Greek: Μέντωρ Ῥόδιος) (c. 385 BC – c. 340 BC) was a Greek mercenary and later Satrap of the Asiatic coast. He fought both for and against Artaxerxes III of Persia. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became a mistress to Alexander the Great.

In 358 BC, Mentor, along with his brother Memnon, were hired to provide military leadership by a rebel Persian satrap, Artabazus. Despite Mentor's capable leadership, the rebellion failed, and Artabazus, Barsine and Memnon fled to Macedon, where they were welcomed by Philip II. Mentor fled to Egypt.

Pharaoh Nectanebo II immediately enlisted the aid of the Greek mercenary, as he expected a Persian invasion was imminent. The pharaoh sent Mentor, at the head of 4000 mercenaries, to support Sidon, which had rebelled from Persia. Although Mentor won significant victories against some of the satraps, he was unable to defeat Artaxerxes' army, and was captured in 346 BC.

Upon his capture, Artaxerxes evidently recognized Mentor's skills, and pardoned him. Immediately, Mentor was sent to aid in the invasion of his former refuge, Egypt. During the Egyptian campaign, Mentor led one of three divisions of the great king's Hellenic army. Mentor shared the command with Bagoas, a Persian of some note whom Diodorus of Sicily describes as the man 'whom the King trusted most, a man exceptionally daring and impatient of propriety'. The pair had some success in Egypt taking Bubastus, along with other cities, by one cunning device: garrisoning the cities were both native Egyptians and Greek mercenary troops, so Mentor offered one side or the other a favourable surrender leading to infighting within the garrisons which weakened their effectiveness and made it much easier for the Persians to gain the city by subterfuge. This tactic proved critical in the battle for Egypt. With Nectanebo facing the loss of so many of his fortified towns and cities, he withdrew from Memphis towards the south, choosing not to contest his kingship in pitched battle.

After the defeat of Egypt, "Artaxerxes, seeing that Mentor the general had performed great services for him in the war against the Egyptians, advanced him over and above his other friends." The king appointed Mentor his commander in the west in 342 BC and satrap of the Asiatic coast; he was also given a vast trove of silver. One of his actions during his short tenure at satrap was to pardon Artabazus, whom he allowed to return home, along with Barsine and Memnon. Mentor died after just four years in his post. His daughter later married Nearchus while Barsine married Memnon. Memnon received Mentor's command after his brother's death.

Memnon of Rhodes (Greek: Μέμνων ὁ Ῥόδιος; c. 380 – 333 BC) was a prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Achaemenid Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the satrap Artabazus II, together with his brother Mentor he served the Persian king for most of his life, and played an important role in the empire's defence during the invasion of Alexander the Great, in particular at the Siege of Halicarnassus, and even the decades before that.

Carl Otis Schuster notes that though often inaccurately described as "simply a mercenary", Memnon was arguably the toughest defender of the Persian Empire Alexander had to face, and was nearly successful in putting a halt to him.