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Meaning & History
Hellenized form of the Old Persian male name Vaxšuvarda (also seen spelled as Vakhshuvarda), which was derived from older Persian Vaxšuvadarva. At the moment, it is still unknown to me what the original meaning of this name was in Persian. However, it should be noted that there is a source that claims that it is actually Aramaic in origin, with part of the name referring to Vakhsh, the Aramaic counterpart of the Greek river god Oksos or Oxos (known as Oxus in Latin). Oxyartes would then be a Greek transliteration of the original Aramaic name. However, if one looks up the Oxus river (nowadays called Amu Darya) from which the river god derived its name (or vice versa) - for example, on Wikipedia - Vakhsh is said to be ultimately derived from Sanskrit Vaksu. A known bearer of this name was the father of Roxana, the Bactrian wife of Alexander the Great (4th century BC).