Roshanak

Roshanak (روشنک in Persian) is a traditional Persian name for a female. This name has several meanings such as "shining star", "lovely flare", "luminous beauty".

This was the name of a Persian noblewoman who was the daughter of Oxyartes of Sogdiana (or Bactria) and the official wife of Alexander the Great, known as Roxana in Greek.

It is also the name of Dara's daughter (Dara is a character in Shahnama).

The names Roxanne and Roxane are English and French variants of this name. Diminutives are Roxie and Roxy. For example, Roxane is the name of Cyrano's love in the famous French play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand.

In Spanish and Romanian, the form Roxana is used while Ruxandra is used in Romanian only. Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish have a similar name, though probably of different etymology. In Russian, the form Роксана (Roksana) is used; in Ukrainian and Polish, Roksolana.

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of Turkey defied Ottoman tradition to free and marry his concubine Hurrem or Roxelana as she was known in Europe.

This name is still popular and in common use in today's Iran. The diminutive form Roshie is sometimes heard.

ee also

*Roxana
*Alexander the Great