Alexander the Great

Alexander III of Macedon (

Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he campaigned in the Balkans and reasserted control over Thrace and parts of Illyria before marching on the city of Thebes, which was subsequently destroyed in battle. Alexander then led the League of Corinth, and used his authority to launch the pan-Hellenic project envisaged by his father, assuming leadership over all Greeks in their conquest of Persia.^[4][5]

In 334 BC, he invaded the

This article is part of a series about Alexander the Great
Early life Education Personal relationships Early rule Consolidation of power Balkan campaign Pelium Thebes Conquest of the Persian Empire Asia Minor Granicus Halicarnassus Syria Issus Tyre Egypt Gaza Mesopotamia Gaugamela Persia Persian Gate Persepolis Bactria Cyropolis Sogdian Rock Expedition into India Indian campaigns Cophen Aornos Hydaspes Mallian Death and legacy Death Tomb Hellenistic period Cities Cult Cultural impact Legends Alexander Romance Historiography Anabasis Chronology Cultural depictions Islamic theories
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Alexander III was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon,^[9] on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC (although the exact date is uncertain).^[10][11] He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus).^[12][g] Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander.^[13]

Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood.

In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus the Black. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania.^[17] Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt.^[18] When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from

When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a

Suda writes that Anaximenes of Lampsacus was one of Alexander's teachers, and that Anaximenes also accompanied Alexander on his campaigns.^[30]

Heir of Philip II

Regency and ascent of Macedon

At the age of 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. Philip II had waged war against the Thracians to the north, which left Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent.^[14] During Philip's absence, the Thracian tribe of Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly and drove them from their territory. The territory was colonized, and a city, named Alexandropolis, was founded.^[31]

Upon Philip's return, Alexander was dispatched with a small force to subdue the revolts in southern

As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near

When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice in 338 BC,^[39] the niece of his general Attalus.^[40] The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian.^[41] During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir.^[40]

At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor, at which Alexander reproachfully insulted him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another."

— Plutarch, describing the feud at Philip's wedding.^[42]

In 337 BC, Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona, capital of the Molossians.^[43] He continued to Illyria^[43] where he sought refuge with one or more Illyrian kings, perhaps with Glaucias, and was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before.^[44] However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son.^[43] Accordingly, Alexander returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus, who mediated between the two parties.^[45]

In the following year, the Persian

In the summer of 336 BC, while at

Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to be left alive.[52] Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.^[47][49][53]

News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered 3,000 Macedonian cavalry and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, and ordered his men to ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese.^[54]

Alexander stopped at Thermopylae where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight.^[55] This reply apparently delighted Alexander who is reported to have said, "But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."^[56] At Corinth, Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip, was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising.^[57]

Balkan campaign

Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders. In the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from

While Alexander campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediately headed south.[62] While the other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace.^[62] Alexander then set out on his Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent.^[63]

Conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire

Asia Minor

Alexander the Great

1200km
820miles

Babylon

15

Malavas

14

Hydaspes

13

Cophen

12

Cyropolis

11

Persian Gate

10

Uxians

9

Gaugamela

8

Alexandria

7

Gaza

6

Tyre

5

Issus

4

Miletus

3

Granicus

2

Pella

1

  

After his victory at the

After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. Miletus, held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus, in Caria, Alexander successfully waged his first large-scale siege, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea.^[67] Alexander left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada, who adopted Alexander.^[68]

From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous

In spring 333 BC, Alexander crossed the

When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. However, Alexander was met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt".^[77] After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword, and the women and children were sold into slavery.^[78]

Egypt was only one of a large number of territories taken by Alexander from the Persians. After his trip to Siwa, Alexander was crowned in the temple of Ptah at Memphis. It appears that the Egyptian people did not find it disturbing that he was a foreigner – nor that he was absent for virtually his entire reign.^[79] Alexander restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian gods. In the temple of Luxor, near Karnak, he built a chapel for the sacred barge. During his brief months in Egypt, he reformed the taxation system on the Greek models and organized the military occupation of the country, but in early 331 BC he left for Asia in pursuit of the Persians.^[79]

Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC where he was regarded as a liberator.

During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death.^[83] Control of Egypt passed to Ptolemy I (son of Lagos), the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC) after the death of Alexander.^[84]

Assyria and Babylonia

Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into Achaemenid Assyria in Upper Mesopotamia (now northern Iraq) and defeated Darius again at the Battle of Gaugamela.^[85] Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela. Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two.^[86] Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) while Alexander captured Babylon.^[87]

Babylonian astronomical diaries say that "the king of the world, Alexander" sent his scouts with a message to the people of Babylon before entering the city: "I shall not enter your houses".^[88]

Persia

From Babylon, Alexander went to

Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expeditions you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects?[96]

Fall of the Persian Empire and the East

Alexander then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia.^[98] The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman.^[99] As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius's successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Alexander.^[100] Alexander buried Darius's remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral.^[101] He claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the Achaemenid throne.^[102] The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius.^[103] However, as basic forms of community life and the general structure of government were maintained and resuscitated by Alexander under his own rule, he, in the words of the Iranologist Pierre Briant "may therefore be considered to have acted in many ways as the last of the Achaemenids."^[104]

Alexander viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern

In 329 BC, Spitamenes, who held an undefined position in the satrapy of Sogdiana, betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy, one of Alexander's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed.^[106] However, at some point later when Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.^[107]

Problems and plots

During this time, Alexander adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of

During the long rule of the Achaemenids, the elite positions in many segments of the empire including the central government, the army, and the many satrapies were specifically reserved for Iranians and to a major degree, Persian noblemen.^[104] The latter were in many cases additionally connected through marriage alliances with the royal Achaemenid family.^[104] This created a problem for Alexander as to whether he had to make use of the various segments and people that had given the empire its solidity and unity for a lengthy period of time.^[104] Pierre Briant explains that Alexander realized that it was insufficient to merely exploit the internal contradictions within the imperial system as in Asia Minor, Babylonia or Egypt; he also had to (re)create a central government with or without the support of the Iranians.^[104] As early as 334 BC he demonstrated awareness of this, when he challenged incumbent King Darius III "by appropriating the main elements of the Achaemenid monarchy's ideology, particularly the theme of the king who protects the lands and the peasants".^[104] Alexander wrote a letter in 332 BC to Darius III, wherein he argued that he was worthier than Darius "to succeed to the Achaemenid throne".^[104] However, Alexander's eventual decision to burn the Achaemenid palace at Persepolis in conjunction with the major rejection and opposition of the "entire Persian people" made it impracticable for him to pose himself as Darius' legitimate successor.^[104] Against Bessus (Artaxerxes V) however, Briant adds, Alexander reasserted "his claim to legitimacy as the avenger of Darius III".^[104]

A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers,

Maracanda (modern day Samarkand in Uzbekistan), in which Cleitus accused Alexander of several judgmental mistakes and especially of having forgotten the Macedonian ways in favour of a corrupt oriental lifestyle.^[110]

Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against his life was revealed. This one was instigated by his own royal pages. His official historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus, was implicated in the plot, and in the Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian states that Callisthenes and the pages were then tortured on the rack as punishment, and likely died soon after.^[111] It remains unclear if Callisthenes was actually involved in the plot, for prior to his accusation he had fallen out of favour by leading the opposition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis.^[112]

Macedon in Alexander's absence

When Alexander set out for Asia, he left his general Antipater, an experienced military and political leader, and part of Philip II's "Old Guard", in charge of Macedon.^[63] Alexander's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence.^[63] The one exception was a call to arms by Spartan king Agis III in 331 BC, whom Antipater defeated and killed in the battle of Megalopolis.^[63] Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred to Alexander, who chose to pardon them.^[113] There was also considerable friction between Antipater and Olympias, and each complained to Alexander about the other.^[114]

In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during Alexander's campaign in Asia.^[115] Alexander sent back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire.^[116] However, Alexander's constant demands for troops and the migration of Macedonians throughout his empire depleted Macedon's strength, greatly weakening it in the years after Alexander, and ultimately led to its subjugation by Rome after the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC).^[18]

Coinage

The conquest by

Pangaeum, and then of the island of Thasos between 356 and 342 BC brought rich gold and silver mines under Macedonian control.^[118]

Alexander appears to have introduced a new coinage in

Sandas, worshipped at Tarsus.^[119] The reverse design of Alexander's tetradrachms is closely modelled on the depiction of the god Baaltars (Baal of Tarsus), on the silver staters minted at Tarsus by the Persian satrap Mazaeus before Alexander's conquest.^[119]

Alexander did not attempt to impose uniform imperial coinage throughout his new conquests. Persian coins continued to circulate in all the satrapies of the empire.^[122]

Indian campaign

Main article: Indian campaign of Alexander the Great

Forays into the Indian subcontinent

After the death of

Ambhi hastened to relieve Alexander of his apprehension and met him with valuable presents, placing himself and all his forces at his disposal. Alexander not only returned Ambhi his title and the gifts but he also presented him with a wardrobe of "Persian robes, gold and silver ornaments, 30 horses and 1,000 talents in gold". Alexander was emboldened to divide his forces, and Ambhi assisted Hephaestion and Perdiccas in constructing a bridge over the Indus where it bends at Hund,^[124]

supplied their troops with provisions, and he received Alexander and his whole army in his capital city of Taxila, with every demonstration of friendship and the most liberal hospitality.

On the subsequent advance of the Macedonian king, Taxiles accompanied him with a force of 5,000 men and took part in the

Triparadisus

, 321 BC.

In the winter of 327/326 BC, Alexander personally led a campaign against the Aspasioi of the Kunar Valley, the Guraeans of the Guraeus Valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner Valleys.^[125] A fierce contest ensued with the Aspasioi in which Alexander was wounded in the shoulder by a dart, but eventually the Aspasioi lost. Alexander then faced the Assakenoi who fought against him from the strongholds of Massaga, Ora, and Aornos.^[123]

The fort of Massaga was reduced after days of bloody fighting in which Alexander was seriously wounded in the ankle. According to Curtius, "Not only did Alexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubble."^[126] A similar slaughter followed at Ora. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. Alexander followed close behind and captured the strategic hill-fort after four bloody days.^[123]

After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and won an epic battle against King

East of Porus's kingdom, near the

As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs [6.4 km], its depth one hundred fathoms [180 m], while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand war elephants.^[136]

Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther, but his general

Alexander sent much of his army to Carmania (modern southern Iran) with general Craterus, and commissioned a fleet to explore the Persian Gulf shore under his admiral Nearchus, while he led the rest back to Persia through the more difficult southern route along the Gedrosian Desert and Makran.^[139] Alexander reached Susa in 324 BC, but not before losing many men to the harsh desert.^[140]

Last years in Persia

Discovering that many of his satraps and military governors had misbehaved in his absence, Alexander executed several of them as examples on his way to Susa.^[142][143] As a gesture of thanks, he paid off the debts of his soldiers, and announced that he would send over-aged and disabled veterans back to Macedon, led by Craterus. His troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at the town of Opis. They refused to be sent away and criticized his adoption of Persian customs and dress and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units.^[144]

After three days, unable to persuade his men to back down, Alexander gave Persians command posts in the army and conferred Macedonian military titles upon Persian units. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness, which Alexander accepted, and held a great banquet with several thousand of his men.^[145] In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between his Macedonian and Persian subjects, Alexander held a mass marriage of his senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year.^[143]

Meanwhile, upon his return to Persia, Alexander learned that guards of the tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae had desecrated it, and swiftly executed them.^[146] Alexander admired Cyrus the Great, from an early age reading Xenophon's Cyropaedia, which described Cyrus's heroism in battle and governance as a king and legislator.^[147] During his visit to Pasargadae, Alexander ordered his architect Aristobulus to decorate the interior of the sepulchral chamber of Cyrus's tomb.^[147]

Afterwards, Alexander travelled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure. There, his closest friend, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning.

On the evening of May 29, Alexander organized a banquet for his army to celebrate the end of the campaign of India and the onset of the invasion of the Arabian Peninsula. There is a tradition that they would only start serious drinking after everyone was done with their meals, but the wine was usually heavily watered.[150]

Death and succession

Before his death, someone asked Alexander on who would be his designated successor should he die, he responded: "To the strongest one." He may have also added that there would be funeral games to be played after his death.[151]^[152]

On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32.^[153] There are two different versions of Alexander's death, differing slightly in details. Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa.^[154] Alexander developed a fever, which worsened until he was unable to speak. The common soldiers, anxious about his health, were granted the right to file past him as he silently waved at them.^[155] In the second account, Diodorus recounts that Alexander was struck with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Heracles followed by 11 days of weakness; he did not develop a fever, instead dying after some agony.^[156] Arrian also mentioned this as an alternative, but Plutarch specifically denied this claim.^[154]

Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,^[157] foul play featured in multiple accounts of his death. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned. Justin stated that Alexander was the victim of a poisoning conspiracy, Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication,^[158] while both Diodorus and Arrian noted that they mentioned it only for the sake of completeness.^[156][159] The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, replaced by Craterus, as the head of the alleged plot.^[160] Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence^[161] and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,^[162] Antipater purportedly arranged for Alexander to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexander's wine-pourer.^[159][162] There was even a suggestion that Aristotle may have participated.^[159] The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available.^[163] However, in a 2003 BBC documentary investigating the death of Alexander, Leo Schep from the New Zealand National Poisons Centre proposed that the plant white hellebore (Veratrum album), which was known in antiquity, may have been used to poison Alexander.^{[164][165][166]} In a 2014 manuscript in the journal Clinical Toxicology, Schep suggested Alexander's wine was spiked with Veratrum album, and that this would produce poisoning symptoms that match the course of events described in the Alexander Romance.^[167] Veratrum album poisoning can have a prolonged course and it was suggested that if Alexander was poisoned, Veratrum album offers the most plausible cause.^[167][168] Another poisoning explanation put forward in 2010 proposed that the circumstances of his death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx (modern-day Mavroneri in Arcadia, Greece) that contained calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.^[169]

Several

Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket.^[175][176] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever".^[177] Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative.^[178]

While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis.

Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria where Augustus, allegedly, accidentally knocked the nose off. Caligula was said to have taken Alexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. Around AD 200, Emperor Septimius Severus closed Alexander's tomb to the public. His son and successor, Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are hazy.^[179]

The so-called "

Alexander's death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed.[63] Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death.^[190] According to Diodorus, Alexander's companions asked him on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest".^[156] Another theory is that his successors wilfully or erroneously misheard "tôi Kraterôi"—"to Craterus", the general leading his Macedonian troops home and newly entrusted with the regency of Macedonia.^[191]

Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speechless by this time, implying that this was an apocryphal story.

Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggesting that Roxane's baby would be king, if male, with himself, Craterus, Leonnatus, and Antipater as guardians. However, the infantry, under the command of Meleager, rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Alexander's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only.^[193]

Dissension and rivalry soon affected the Macedonians. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the Partition of Babylon became power bases each general used to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between "The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into three stable power blocs: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria and East, and Antigonid Macedonia. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.^[194]

Last plans

Diodorus stated that Alexander had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before his death, which are known as Alexander's "last plans".^[195] Craterus started to carry out Alexander's commands, but the successors chose not to further implement them, on the grounds they were impractical and extravagant.^[195] Furthermore, Perdiccas had read the notebooks containing Alexander's last plans to the Macedonian troops in Babylon, who voted not to carry them out.^[63]

According to Diodorus, Alexander's last plans called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. It included:

• Construction of 1,000 ships larger than triremes, along with harbours and a road running along the African coast all the way to the Pillars of Hercules, to be used for an invasion of Carthage and the western Mediterranean;^[196]
• Erection of great temples in
  Dium, Amphipolis, all costing 1,500 talents, and a monumental temple to Athena at Troy^[63][196]
• Amalgamation of small settlements into larger cities ("synoecisms") and the "transplant of populations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties"^[197][196]
• Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the pyramids of Egypt"^[63][196]
• Conquest of Arabia^[63]
• Circumnavigation of Africa^[63]

The enormous scale of these plans has led many scholars to doubt their historicity. Ernst Badian argued that they were exaggerated by Perdiccas in order to ensure that the Macedonian troops voted not to carry them out.^[196] Other scholars have proposed that they were invented by later authors within the tradition of the Alexander Romance.^[198]

Character

Generalship

Alexander perhaps earned the epithet "the Great" due to his unparalleled success as a military commander; he never lost a battle, despite typically being outnumbered.^[199] This was due to use of terrain, phalanx and cavalry tactics, bold strategy, and the fierce loyalty of his troops.^[200] The Macedonian phalanx, armed with the sarissa, a spear 6 metres (20 ft) long, had been developed and perfected by Philip II through rigorous training, and Alexander used its speed and manoeuvrability to great effect against larger but more disparate Persian forces.^[201] Alexander also recognized the potential for disunity among his diverse army, which employed various languages and weapons. He overcame this by being personally involved in battle,^[91] in the manner of a Macedonian king.^[200]

In his first battle in Asia, at Granicus, Alexander used only a small part of his forces, perhaps 13,000 infantry with 5,000 cavalry, against a much larger Persian force of 40,000.

At Issus in 333 BC, his first confrontation with Darius, he used the same deployment, and again the central phalanx pushed through.^[203] Alexander personally led the charge in the center, routing the opposing army.^[204] At the decisive encounter with Darius at Gaugamela, Darius equipped his chariots with scythes on the wheels to break up the phalanx and equipped his cavalry with pikes. Alexander arranged a double phalanx, with the center advancing at an angle, parting when the chariots bore down and then reforming. The advance was successful and broke Darius's center, causing the latter to flee once again.^[203]

When faced with opponents who used unfamiliar fighting techniques, such as in Central Asia and India, Alexander adapted his forces to his opponents' style. Thus, in

Historical sources frequently give conflicting accounts of Alexander's appearance, and the earliest sources are the most scant in their detail.^[205] During his lifetime, Alexander carefully curated his image by commissioning works from famous and great artists of the time. This included commissioning sculptures by Lysippos, paintings by Apelles and gem engravings by Pyrgoteles.^[206] Ancient authors recorded that Alexander was so pleased with portraits of himself created by Lysippos that he forbade other sculptors from crafting his image; scholars today, however, find the claim dubious.^[207][206] Nevertheless, Andrew Stewart highlights the fact that artistic portraits, not least because of who they are commissioned by, are always partisan, and that artistic portrayals of Alexander "seek to legitimize him (or, by extension, his Successors), to interpret him to their audiences, to answer their critiques, and to persuade them of his greatness", and thus should be considered within a framework of "praise and blame", in the same way sources such as praise poetry are.^[208] Despite those caveats, Lysippos's sculpture, famous for its naturalism, as opposed to a stiffer, more static pose, is thought to be the most faithful depiction.^[209]

Curtius Rufus, a Roman historian from the first century AD, who wrote the Histories of Alexander the Great, gives this account of Alexander sitting on the throne of Darius III:

Then Alexander seating himself on the royal throne, which was far too high for his bodily stature. Therefore, since his feet did not reach its lowest step, one of the royal pages placed a table under his feet.^[210]

Both Curtius and

The Greek biographer Plutarch (c. 45 – c. 120 AD) discusses the accuracy of his depictions:

The outward appearance of Alexander is best represented by the statues of him which Lysippus made, and it was by this artist alone that Alexander himself thought it fit that he should be modelled. For those peculiarities which many of his successors and friends afterwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise of the neck, which was bent slightly to the left, and the melting glance of his eyes, this artist has accurately observed. Apelles, however, in painting him as wielder of the thunder-bolt, did not reproduce his complexion, but made it too dark and swarthy. Whereas he was of a fair colour, as they say, and his fairness passed into ruddiness on his breast particularly, and in his face. Moreover, that a very pleasant odour exhaled from his skin and that there was a fragrance about his mouth and all his flesh, so that his garments were filled with it, this we have read in the Memoirs of Aristoxenus.^[212]

Historians have understood the detail of the pleasant fragrance attributed to Alexander as stemming from a belief in ancient Greece that pleasant scents are characteristic of gods and heroes.^[206]

The Alexander Mosaic and contemporary coins portray Alexander with "a straight nose, a slightly protruding jaw, full lips and eyes deep set beneath a strongly pronounced forehead".^[206] He is also described as having a slight upward tilt of his head to the left.^[213]

The ancient historian

Both of Alexander's parents encouraged his ambitions. His father Philip was probably Alexander's most immediate and influential role model, as the young Alexander watched him campaign practically every year, winning victory after victory while ignoring severe wounds.^[51] Alexander's relationship with his father "forged" the competitive side of his personality; he had a need to outdo his father, illustrated by his reckless behavior in battle.^[220] While Alexander worried that his father would leave him "no great or brilliant achievement to be displayed to the world",^[221] he also downplayed his father's achievements to his companions.^[220] Alexander's mother Olympia similarly had huge ambitions, and encouraged her son to believe it was his destiny to conquer the Persian Empire.^[220] She instilled a sense of destiny in him,^[222] and Plutarch tells how his ambition "kept his spirit serious and lofty in advance of his years".^[223]

According to Plutarch, Alexander also had a violent temper and rash, impulsive nature,^[224] which could influence his decision making.^[220] Although Alexander was stubborn and did not respond well to orders from his father, he was open to reasoned debate.^[225] He had a calmer side—perceptive, logical, and calculating. He had a great desire for knowledge, a love for philosophy, and was an avid reader.^[226] This was no doubt in part due to Aristotle's tutelage; Alexander was intelligent and quick to learn.^[220] His intelligent and rational side was amply demonstrated by his ability and success as a general.^[224] He had great self-restraint in "pleasures of the body", in contrast with his lack of self-control with alcohol.^[227]

Alexander was erudite and patronized both arts and sciences.

He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself.[161] Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,^[234] a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa.^[235] He began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon.^[235] Alexander adopted elements of Persian dress and customs at court, notably proskynesis, which was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing the aid and support of the Iranian upper classes;^[104] however the practise of proskynesis was disapproved by the Macedonians, and they were unwilling to perform it.^[108] This behaviour cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen.^[236] Alexander also was a pragmatic ruler who understood the difficulties of ruling culturally disparate peoples, many of whom lived in societies where the king was treated as divine.^[237] Thus, rather than megalomania, his behaviour may have been a practical attempt at strengthening his rule and keeping his empire together.^[238]

Personal relationships

Alexander married three times: Roxana, daughter of the Sogdian nobleman Oxyartes of Bactria,^{[239][240][241]} out of love;^[242] and the Persian princesses Stateira and Parysatis, the former a daughter of Darius III and the latter a daughter of Artaxerxes III, for political reasons.^[243][244] He apparently had two sons, Alexander IV of Macedon by Roxana and, possibly, Heracles of Macedon from his mistress Barsine. He lost another child when Roxana miscarried at Babylon.^[245][246]

Alexander also had a close relationship with his friend, general, and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble.^{[148][220][247]} Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander.^[148][248] This event may have contributed to Alexander's failing health and detached mental state during his final months.^[161][170]

Sexuality

Alexander's sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy in modern times.^[249] The Roman era writer Athenaeus says, based on the scholar Dicaearchus, who was Alexander's contemporary, that the king "was quite excessively keen on boys", and that Alexander kissed the eunuch Bagoas in public.^[250] This episode is also told by Plutarch, probably based on the same source. None of Alexander's contemporaries, however, are known to have explicitly described Alexander's relationship with Hephaestion as sexual, though the pair was often compared to Achilles and Patroclus, who are often interpreted as a couple. Aelian writes of Alexander's visit to Troy where "Alexander garlanded the tomb of Achilles, and Hephaestion that of Patroclus, the latter hinting that he was a beloved of Alexander, in just the same way as Patroclus was of Achilles."^[251] Some modern historians (e.g., Robin Lane Fox) believe not only that Alexander's youthful relationship with Hephaestion was sexual, but also that their sexual contacts may have continued into adulthood, which went against the social norms of at least some Greek cities, such as Athens,^[252][253] though some modern researchers have tentatively proposed that Macedonia (or at least the Macedonian court) may have been more tolerant of homosexuality between adults.^[254]

Peter Green argues that there is little evidence in ancient sources that Alexander had much carnal interest in women; he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life.^[220] However, Ogden calculates that Alexander, who impregnated his partners thrice in eight years, had a higher matrimonial record than his father at the same age.^[255] Two of these pregnancies—Stateira's and Barsine's—are of dubious legitimacy.^[256]

According to Diodorus Siculus, Alexander accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly, "not wishing to offend the Macedonians",^[257] showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body".^[227] Nevertheless, Plutarch described how Alexander was infatuated by Roxana while complimenting him on not forcing himself on her.^[258] Green suggested that, in the context of the period, Alexander formed quite strong friendships with women, including Ada of Caria, who adopted him, and even Darius's mother Sisygambis, who supposedly died from grief upon hearing of Alexander's death.^[220]

Battle record

Legacy

Alexander's legacy extended beyond his military conquests, and his reign marked a turning point in European and Asian history.

Alexander's most immediate legacy was the introduction of Macedonian rule to huge new swathes of Asia. At the time of his death, Alexander's empire covered some 5,200,000 km² (2,000,000 sq mi),[261] and was the largest state of its time. Many of these areas remained in Macedonian hands or under Greek influence for the next 200–300 years. The successor states that emerged were, at least initially, dominant forces, and these 300 years are often referred to as the Hellenistic period.^[262]

The eastern borders of Alexander's empire began to collapse even during his lifetime.^[190] However, the power vacuum he left in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent directly gave rise to one of the most powerful Indian dynasties in history, the Maurya Empire. Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources as "Sandrokottos"), of relatively humble origin, took control of the Punjab, and with that power base proceeded to conquer the Nanda Empire.^[263]

Founding of cities

Over the course of his conquests, Alexander founded many cities that bore his name, most of them east of the Tigris.^[109][264] The first, and greatest, was Alexandria in Egypt, which would become one of the leading Mediterranean cities.^[109] The cities' locations reflected trade routes as well as defensive positions. At first, the cities must have been inhospitable, little more than defensive garrisons.^[109] Following Alexander's death, many Greeks who had settled there tried to return to Greece.^[109][264] However, a century or so after Alexander's death, many of the Alexandrias were thriving, with elaborate public buildings and substantial populations that included both Greek and local peoples.^[109]

Funding of temples

In 2023, British Museum experts have suggested the possibility that a Greek temple at Girsu in Iraq, was founded by Alexander. According to the researchers, recent discoveries suggest that "this site honours Zeus and two divine sons. The sons are Heracles and Alexander."^[271]

Hellenization

Hellenization was coined by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to denote the spread of Greek language, culture, and population into the former Persian empire after Alexander's conquest.^[262] This process can be seen in such great Hellenistic cities as Alexandria, Antioch^[272] and Seleucia (south of modern Baghdad).^[273] Alexander sought to insert Greek elements into Persian culture and to hybridize Greek and Persian culture, homogenizing the populations of Asia and Europe. Although his successors explicitly rejected such policies, Hellenization occurred throughout the region, accompanied by a distinct and opposite 'Orientalization' of the successor states.^[274]

The core of the Hellenistic culture promulgated by the conquests was essentially

Some of the most pronounced effects of Hellenization can be seen in Afghanistan and India, in the region of the relatively late-rising

Following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the east, Hellenistic influence on Indian art was far-reaching. In architecture, a few examples of the Ionic order can be found as far as Pakistan with the Jandial temple near Taxila. Several examples of capitals displaying Ionic influences can be seen as far as Patna, especially with the Pataliputra capital, dated to the 3rd century BC.^[287] The Corinthian order is also heavily represented in the art of Gandhara, especially through Indo-Corinthian capitals.

Influence on Rome

Emperor Julian in his satire called "The Caesars", describes a contest between the previous Roman emperors, with Alexander the Great called in as an extra contestant, in the presence of the assembled gods.^[291]

The Itinerarium Alexandri is a 4th-century Latin description of Alexander the Great's campaigns. Julius Caesar went to serve his quaestorship in Hispania after his wife's funeral, in the spring or early summer of 69 BC. While there, he encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and realised with dissatisfaction that he was now at an age when Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved comparatively little.^[292][293]

Pompey posed as the "new Alexander" since he was his boyhood hero.^[294]

After Caracalla concluded his campaign against the Alamanni, it became evident that he was inordinately preoccupied with Alexander the Great.^[295][296] He began openly mimicking Alexander in his personal style. In planning his invasion of the Parthian Empire, Caracalla decided to arrange 16,000 of his men in Macedonian-style phalanxes, despite the Roman army having made the phalanx an obsolete tactical formation.^{[295][296][297]} The historian Christopher Matthew mentions that the term Phalangarii has two possible meanings, both with military connotations. The first refers merely to the Roman battle line and does not specifically mean that the men were armed with pikes, and the second bears similarity to the 'Marian Mules' of the late Roman Republic who carried their equipment suspended from a long pole, which were in use until at least the 2nd century AD.^[297] As a consequence, the Phalangarii of Legio II Parthica may not have been pikemen, but rather standard battle line troops or possibly Triarii.^[297]

Caracalla's mania for Alexander went so far that Caracalla visited Alexandria while preparing for his Persian invasion and persecuted philosophers of the Aristotelian school based on a legend that Aristotle had poisoned Alexander. This was a sign of Caracalla's increasingly erratic behaviour. But this mania for Alexander, strange as it was, was overshadowed by subsequent events in Alexandria.^[296]

In 39, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt by ordering a temporary

The diffusion of Greek culture and language cemented by Alexander's conquests in West Asia and North Africa served as a "precondition" for the later Roman expansion into these territories and entire basis for the Byzantine Empire, according to Errington.^[301]

Letters

Alexander wrote and received numerous letters, but no

Many of the legends about Alexander derive from his own lifetime, probably encouraged by Alexander himself.^[303] His court historian Callisthenes portrayed the sea in Cilicia as drawing back from him in proskynesis. Writing shortly after Alexander's death, Onesicritus invented a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris, queen of the mythical Amazons. He reportedly read this passage to his patron King Lysimachus, who had been one of Alexander's generals and who quipped, "I wonder where I was at the time."^[304]

In the first centuries after Alexander's death, probably in Alexandria, a quantity of the legendary material coalesced into a text known as the

In ancient and modern culture

Main articles:

Alexander the Great in the Quran

Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been depicted in many cultures. Alexander has featured in both high and popular culture, beginning from his own era to the present day. The Alexander Romance, in particular, has had a significant impact on portrayals of Alexander in later cultures, from Persian to medieval European, to modern Greek.^[306]

Alexander features prominently in modern Greek folklore, more than any other ancient figure.

Gorgon who would drag the ship to the bottom of the sea, all hands aboard.^[309]

In pre-Islamic

Firdausi's Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") includes Alexander in a line of legitimate Persian shahs, a mythical figure who explored the far reaches of the world in search of the Fountain of Youth.^[312] In the Shahnameh, Alexander's first journey is to Mecca to pray at the Kaaba.^[313] Alexander was depicted as performing a Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) many times in subsequent Islamic art and literature.^[314] Later Persian writers associate him with philosophy, portraying him at a symposium with figures such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in search of immortality.^[311]

The figure of

Qur'an as well as Islamic commentators to be a reference to Alexander.^[315] The figure is also believed by scholars to be based on later legends of Alexander.^[311] In this tradition, he was a heroic figure who built a wall to defend against the nations of Gog and Magog.^[316] He also travelled the known world in search of the Water of Life and Immortality, eventually becoming a prophet.^[316]

The Syriac version of the Alexander Romance portrays him as an ideal Christian world conqueror who prayed to "the one true God".^[311] In Egypt, Alexander was portrayed as the son of Nectanebo II, the last pharaoh before the Persian conquest.^[316] His defeat of Darius was depicted as Egypt's salvation, "proving" Egypt was still ruled by an Egyptian.^[311]

According to Josephus, Alexander was shown the Book of Daniel when he entered Jerusalem, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. This is cited as a reason for sparing Jerusalem.^[317]

In

Bourrienne, asking whether he gave his preference to Alexander or Caesar, Napoleon said that he places Alexander The Great in the first rank, the main reason being his campaign on Asia.^[321]

In the Greek Anthology, there are poems referring to Alexander.^[322][323]

Throughout time, art objects related to Alexander were being created. In addition to speech works, sculptures and paintings, in modern times Alexander is still the subject of musical and cinematic works. The song 'Alexander the Great' by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden is indicative. Some films that have been shot with the theme of Alexander are:

• Sikandar (1941), an Indian production directed by Sohrab Modi about the conquest of India by Alexander^[324]
• Alexander the Great (1956), produced by MGM and starring Richard Burton
• Sikandar-e-Azam (1965), an Indian production directed by Kedar Kapoor
• Alexander (2004), directed by Oliver Stone, starring Colin Farrell

There are also many references to other movies and TV series.

Newer novels about Alexander are: The trilogy "Alexander the Great" by Valerio Massimo Manfredi consisting of "The son of the dream", "The sand of Amon", and "The ends of the world". The trilogy of Mary Renault consisting of "Fire from Heaven", "The Persian Boy" and "Funeral Games".

• ISBN 978-0-385-51641-9" by Steven Pressfield
  .

Irish playwright Aubrey Thomas de Vere wrote Alexander the Great, a Dramatic Poem.

Historiography

Main article: Historiography of Alexander the Great

Apart from a few inscriptions and fragments, texts written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander were all lost.^[18] Contemporaries who wrote accounts of his life included Alexander's campaign historian Callisthenes, Alexander's generals; Ptolemy and Nearchus, Aristobulus, a junior officer on the campaigns, and Onesicritus, Alexander's chief helmsman. Their works are lost, but later works based on these original sources have survived. The earliest of these is Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), followed by Quintus Curtius Rufus (mid-to-late 1st century AD), Arrian (1st to 2nd century AD), the biographer Plutarch (1st to 2nd century AD), and finally Justin, whose work dated as late as the 4th century.^[18] Of these, Arrian is generally considered the most reliable, given that he used Ptolemy and Aristobulus as his sources, closely followed by Diodorus.^[18]

See also

• Alexander the Great in Islamic tradition
• Ancient Macedonian army
• Bucephalus
• Chronology of European exploration of Asia
• Horns of Alexander
• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
• List of people known as The Great
• Gates of Alexander
• Military tactics of Alexander the Great
• Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great
• Theories about Alexander the Great in the Quran

References

Notes

1. ^
   Heracles was Alexander's alleged illegitimate son.
2. ^
   The name Ἀλέξανδρος derives from the Greek verb ἀλέξω (aléxō, lit. 'ward off, avert, defend')^[325][326] and ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, lit. 'man'),^[327][326] and means "protector of men".^[328]
3. ^
   The first known person to call Alexander "the Great" was a Roman playwright named Plautus (254–184 BC) in his play Mostellaria.^[329]
4. ^
   Macedon was an Ancient Greek polity; the Macedonians were a Greek tribe.^[330]
5. ^
   By the time of his death, he had conquered the entire Achaemenid Persian Empire, adding it to Macedon's European territories; according to some modern writers, this was most of the world then known to the ancient Greeks (the 'Ecumene').^[331][332] An approximate view of the world known to Alexander can be seen in Hecataeus of Miletus's map; see Hecataeus world map.
6. Ottoman sultans, Mehmed II's heroes were Alexander and Achilles.^[343] In a letter to his rival, Selim I, while equating himself with Alexander, compares Ismail I as "Darius of our days".^[344] Paolo Giovio, in a work written for Charles V, says that Selim holds Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar in the highest esteem above all the generals of old.^[345]

^

In ancient historiography, the Argead dynasty was traditionally regarded as having originated from Argos. The Argeads themselves claimed Argive Greek descent from the hero Temenus. Through his parents' genealogy, ancient authors traced Alexander's descent back to heroes and other legendary figures from Greek mythology, such as Heracles and Achilles.^[346][347]

^

There have been, since the time, many suspicions that Pausanias was actually hired to murder Philip. Suspicion has fallen upon Alexander, Olympias and even the newly crowned Persian Emperor, Darius III. All three of these people had motive to have Philip murdered.^[348]

^

However, Arrian, who used Ptolemy as a source, said that Alexander crossed with more than 5,000 horse and 30,000 foot; Diodorus quoted the same totals, but listed 5,100 horse and 32,000 foot. Diodorus also referred to an advance force already present in Asia, which Polyaenus, in his Stratagems of War (5.44.4), said numbered 10,000 men.