View source for Historiography of Alexander the Great

{{Short description|Area of study on military commander and king}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Alexander the Great series}}
There are numerous surviving ancient Greek and Latin sources on '''[[Alexander the Great]]''', king of [[Macedon]], as well as some Asian texts. The five main surviving accounts are by [[Arrian]], [[Plutarch]], [[Diodorus Siculus]], [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]], and [[Justin (historian)|Justin]].<ref name = grxxii>Green, 2007, pp. xxii–xxviii</ref> In addition to these five main sources, there is the ''[[Metz Epitome]]'', an anonymous late Latin work that narrates Alexander's campaigns from [[Hyrcania]] to [[India]]. Much is also recounted incidentally by other authors, including [[Strabo]], [[Athenaeus]], [[Polyaenus]], [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], and others.  Strabo, who gives a summary of [[Callisthenes]], is an important source for Alexander's journey 
to [[Siwa Oasis|Siwah]].<ref>Cartledge, P., ''Alexander the Great'' (Vintage Books, 2004), p. 290.</ref>

==Contemporary sources==
Most primary sources written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander are lost, but a few inscriptions and fragments survive.<ref name = grxxii/> Contemporaries who wrote accounts of his life include Alexander's campaign historian [[Callisthenes]]; Alexander's generals [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy]] and [[Nearchus]]; [[Aristobulus of Cassandreia|Aristobulus]], a junior officer on the campaigns; and [[Onesicritus]], Alexander's chief helmsman.<ref name = grxxii/> Finally, there is the very influential account of [[Cleitarchus]] who, while not a direct witness of Alexander's expedition, used sources which had just been published.<ref name = grxxii/> His work was to be the backbone of that of [[Timagenes]], who heavily influenced many historians whose work still survives. None of his works survived, but we do have later works based on these primary sources.<ref name = grxxii/>

==The five main sources==

===Arrian=== 
"That Alexander should have committed errors in conduct from impetuosity or from wrath, and that he should have been induced to comport himself like the Persian monarchs to an immoderate degree, I do not think remarkable if we fairly consider both his youth and his uninterrupted career of good fortune. I do not think that even his tracing his origin to a god was a great error on Alexander's part if it was not perhaps merely a device to induce his subjects to show him reverence"''.'' (Arrian 7b 29)
*''[[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]]'', written in the 2nd century AD, mainly describes the voyage of [[Alexander the Great]]'s officer [[Nearchus]] from the [[Indus River|Indus]] to the [[Persian Gulf]] following Alexander's conquest of much of the Indus Valley.

===Plutarch===
*''Life of Alexander'' (see ''[[Parallel Lives]]'') and two orations ''On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great'' (see ''[[Moralia]]''), by the Greek historian and biographer [[Plutarch]] of [[Chaeronea]] in the second century, based largely on Aristobulus and especially [[Cleitarchus]]. Plutarch devotes a great deal of space to Alexander's drive and desire and strives to determine how much of it was presaged in his youth.  He also draws extensively on the work of [[Lysippus]], Alexander's favorite sculptor, to provide what is probably the fullest and most accurate description of the conqueror's physical appearance. Plutarch also admits the impossibility of pure accuracy, noting that his sources are likely unreliable and that the purpose of his work is to give a [[virtue|moralistic]] and [[Hero|heroic]] interpretation of Alexander's life, stating: "For it is not Histories that I am writing, but Lives."<ref>''Life of Alexander'' 1.1</ref>

===Diodorus===
*''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' (''Library of world history''), written in Greek by the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] historian [[Diodorus Siculus]], from which Book 17 relates the conquests of Alexander, based almost entirely on Cleitarchus and Hieronymus of Cardia. It is the oldest surviving Greek source (1st century BC). Diodorus regarded Alexander like Caesar as a key historical figure and chronological marker.

===Curtius===
*''[[Histories of Alexander the Great|Historiae Alexandri Magni]]'', a biography of Alexander in ten books, of which the last eight survive, by the Roman historian [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]], written in the 1st century AD, and based largely on Cleitarchus through the mediation of Timagenes, with some material probably from Ptolemy. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/ct-cz/curtius/qcr.html|title=Curtius|website=www.livius.org|access-date=26 March 2020|archive-date=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020000137/http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/curtius/qcr.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Justin===
*The ''[[Historia Philippicae et Totius Mundi Origines et Terrae Situs|Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus]]'' by [[Justin (historian)|Justin]], is highly compressed version of an earlier history by [[Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus|Trogus]], with the selections governed by Justin's desire to make moralistic points, rather than with an eye for the history itself.<ref name = grxxii/>

==Letters==
{{main|Letters of Alexander the Great}}
Alexander wrote and received numerous letters, but no [[autograph manuscript|originals]] survive.  A few official letters addressed to the Greek cities survive in copies inscribed in stone and the content of others is sometimes reported in historical sources. These only occasionally quote the letters and it is an open question how reliable such quotations are. Several fictitious letters, some perhaps based on actual letters, made their way into the ''Romance'' tradition.<ref name=LICP>[[Lionel I. C. Pearson]] (1955), "The Diary and the Letters of Alexander the Great", ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'' '''3'''(4): 429–455, at 443–450. {{JSTOR|4434421}}</ref>

==Ephemerides of Alexander the Great==
The Ephemerides of Alexander were journals describing Alexander's daily activities. Mentioned by ancient writers, but only fragments survive today.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434864|title=Alexander's 'Royal Journals'|author=Samuel, Alan E.|year=1965|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume=14|issue=1|pages=1–12|jstor=4434864 |accessdate=15 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4436444|title=The 'Ephemerides' of Alexander the Great|author=Anson, Edward M.|year=1996|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume=45|issue=4|pages=501–504|jstor=4436444 |accessdate=15 March 2023}}</ref> The Ephemerides is credited either to [[Eumenes]] or to Diodotus of Erythrae, though the latter name may have been a pseudonym.<ref>{{cite book| last = Heckel| first = Waldemar | title = The Conquests of Alexander the Great| url = https://archive.org/details/the-conquests-of-alexander-the-great/page/5/mode/2up| publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]|date=2007| page = 6| isbn = 9780511611407}}</ref>

[[Suda]] writes that one of the works of [[Strattis of Olynthus]] was called "''On the ephemerides of Alexander''" and were five books.<ref name="Suda, Strattis">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/sigma/1179|title=SOL Search|website=www.cs.uky.edu|accessdate=15 March 2023}}</ref>

==Lost works==
*Life of Alexander by [[Aesopus (historian)|Aesopus]]
*Works of [[Anaximenes of Lampsacus]]
*Works of [[Aristobulus of Cassandreia]]
*Geographical work of [[Androsthenes of Thasos]]
*Deeds of Alexander by [[Callisthenes]] (the official historian)
*Personal Notebooks, or ''Hypomnemata'', by Alexander himself (possibly inauthentic)<ref>Cartledge 2007, p. 278.</ref>
*[[History of Alexander]] by [[Cleitarchus]]
*On the empire of the Macedonians by [[Criton of Pieria]]
*Histories (also listed as Macedonica and Hellenica) by [[Duris of Samos]]
*Work of [[Ephippus of Olynthus]]
*Works of [[Strattis of Olynthus]]<ref name="Suda, Strattis"/>
*Work of [[Hagnothemis]] upon which Plutarch rested the belief that Antipater poisoned Alexander.
*Work of [[Hieronymus of Cardia]]
*On the education of Alexander and Macedonian history by [[Marsyas of Pella]]<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/mu/227 Suda, Mu, 227]</ref>
*Work of [[Medius of Larissa]]
*Work of [[Nearchus]], the primary source of [[Indica (Arrian)|Arrian's Indica]]
*How Alexander was Educated and geographical works by [[Onesicritus]]
*Work of [[Ptolemy I Soter]]
*Work of [[Nicobule]]<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DN%3Aentry+group%3D7%3Aentry%3Dnicobula-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Nicobula]</ref>
*Work of [[Antidamas]]<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=antidamas-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Antidamas]</ref>
*History of Alexander by [[Timagenes]]
*Historiae Philippicae by [[Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus]]
*[[Nymphis]] wrote twenty-four books On Alexander, the Diadochoi and the Epigonoi.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/nu/598 Suda, Nu, 598]</ref>
*Work of [[Philo of Alexandria]] called "On Alexander".<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/phi/448 Suda, Phi, 448]</ref>
*Work of [[Potamon of Mitylene]] called "On Alexander of Macedon".<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/pi/2127 Suda, Pi, 2127]</ref>
*Work of [[Soterichus of Oasis]].<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/sigma/877 Suda, Sigma, 877]</ref>
*Work of Nikanor about the life of Alexander.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/sigma/361 Suda, Sigma, 361]</ref>
*Work of [[Hegesias of Magnesia]], known only from fragments.<ref>[https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/53718/9783110764062.pdf Reading History in the Roman Empire, p.195]</ref>
*"Σταθμοί τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου πορείας" (Stages in Alexander's Journey/Stations of the march of Alexander), a work of Baeton (the [[Bematist]] of Alexander the Great).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dbaeton-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Baeton]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/218#10.59 Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, Book 10]</ref>
*Work of [[Chares of Mytilene]]. Ten books about the life of Alexander.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Chares (of Mytilene)|display=Chares|volume=5|page=859}}</ref>
*[[Jason of Argos]] wrote four books titled "On Greece". In the third book, he covered the reign of Alexander the Great up until his death.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/iota/53 Suda, Iota, 53]</ref>
*[[Menaechmus of Sikyon]] wrote about the reign of Alexander the Great.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/mu/141 Suda, Mu, 141]</ref>
*Work of [[Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus]], some parts survive in the epitome by Justin.
*The earliest version of the [[Alexander Romance]]. A now lost original Greek text, blending historical and fantastical elements. While later versions survive in many languages, the original form has been altered or lost.
*The [[Metz Epitome]] was a short summary of the life and conquests of Alexander the Great, likely written in late antiquity. Originally preserved in a manuscript housed in the library of [[Metz]] (hence the name), it was destroyed during [[World War II]], though its content survives through earlier transcriptions.
*In 2023, researchers with the help of [[machine learning]] managed to read a small part of a book from the [[Villa of the Papyri]] at [[Herculaneum]] which was heavily damaged in the eruption of [[Mount Vesuvius]] in 79 AD. It seems that it is a lost work which contains the names of a number of Macedonian dynasts and generals of Alexander and several mentions of Alexander himself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/ai-is-deciphering-a-2000-year-old-lost-book-describing-life-after-alexander-the-great|title=AI is deciphering a 2,000-year-old 'lost book' describing life after Alexander the Great|author1=Owen Jarus|date=7 February 2023|website=livescience.com|accessdate=15 March 2023}}</ref>

==Epigraphy==
Epigraphic records associated with Alexander the Great:

*[[Decree of Philippi (ca.335-330 BC)]] Alexander arbitrates a boundary dispute between local Thracian tribes and the city of Philippi.
*The [[Priene inscription of Alexander the Great]], a dedicatory inscription made by Alexander for the temple of [[Athena]] Polias in [[Priene]]. It is now housed in the [[British Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=437260&partId=1&searchText=athena+polias&people=72426&page=1 |title=Collection online |publisher=[[British Museum]] |access-date=15 December 2017 |archive-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221426/http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=437260&partId=1&searchText=athena+polias&people=72426&page=1 |url-status=live }} "Marble wall block from the temple of Athena at Priene, inscribed on two sides. The inscription on the front records the gift of funds from Alexander the Great to complete the temple."</ref> 
*A dedicatory inscription to [[Apollo]] was found at Toumbes Kalamotou, [[Thessaloniki (regional unit)|Thessaloniki regional unit]]; it records a list of priests of [[Asclepius]] who had fulfilled their duties from the time ''when [[Alexander the Great|King Alexandros]] gave [[Kalindoia]] and the villages around to [[Macedon|Makedones]].<ref>The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands, and Asia Minor p. 94 by Getzel M. Cohen {{ISBN|0520083296}}</ref>''
*A dedicatory inscription to Olympian Zeus by Philonides of Crete in which he is mentioned as ''King Alexandros' hemerodromos (cursor) and [[bematist]] of Asia''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epigraphy.packhum.org/error|title=Error – PHI Greek Inscriptions|website=epigraphy.packhum.org|accessdate=15 March 2023}}</ref><ref>From the end of the Peloponnesian War to the battle of Ipsus By Phillip Harding p. 135 {{ISBN|0521299497}}</ref>
*[[Lindos Chronicle]]. ''King Alexandros having defeated Darius in battle and become lord ''[[kurios]]'' of Asia, sacrificed to [[Athena]] of [[Lindos]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epigraphy.packhum.org/error|title=Error – PHI Greek Inscriptions|website=epigraphy.packhum.org|access-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320212918/https://epigraphy.packhum.org/error|archive-date=20 March 2019|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>The Greek world after Alexander, 323–30 B.C. p. 37 By Graham Shipley  {{ISBN|0415046181}}</ref> boukephala (ox-heads) and hopla (armour)<ref>New terms for new ideas By Michael Lackner, Iwo Amelung, Joachim Kurtz p. 124 {{ISBN|9004120467}}</ref>
*[[Antigonus (son of Callas)]] hetairos from Amphipolis, commemorates his victory in [[hoplitodromos|hoplite racing]] at Heraclean games after the Conquest of Tyrus.
*A bilingual inscription from Alexander the Great’s shrine at [[Bahariya Oasis]]. It features both Greek and Egyptian texts.<ref>[https://www.classicalstudies.org/self-definition-alexander-great Self-Definition of Alexander the Great - Society for Classical Studies]</ref>
* Alexander depicted as an Egyptian pharaoh at the [[Luxor Temple]].

==Non-Greco-Roman sources==

===Babylonian Chronicles===
*''Alexander Chronicle''  mentions the [[battle of Gaugamela]] and the incident of [[Bessus]], who was pursued by ''Aliksandar''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-alexander/alexander_06.html|title=The Alexander Chronicle (ABC 8)|website=www.livius.org|access-date=17 January 2019|archive-date=19 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121545/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-alexander/alexander_06.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*''Alexander and Arabia Chronicle'' refers to events concerning the last years of the King.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arabia/arabia_02.html|title=Chronicle concerning Alexander and Arabia (BCHP 2)|website=www.livius.org|access-date=17 January 2019|archive-date=19 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121604/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arabia/arabia_02.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Zoroastrian texts===
{{Main|Book of Arda Viraf}}

{{cquote|They say that, once upon a time, the pious [[Zartosht]] made the religion, which he had received, current in the world; and till the completion of 300 years, the religion was in purity, and men were without doubts. But afterward, the accursed evil spirit, the wicked one, in order to make men doubtful of this religion, instigated the accursed Alexander, the [[Rûm]]an,<ref>Alexander the Great was called "the Ruman" in Zoroastrian tradition because he came from Greek provinces which later were a part of the [[eastern Roman empire]] –  ''The archeology of world religions'', by Jack Finegan, p. 80 {{ISBN|0415221552}}</ref> who was dwelling in Egypt, so that he came to the country of Iran with severe cruelty and war and devastation; he also slew the ruler of Iran, and destroyed the metropolis and empire, and made them desolate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avesta.org/mp/viraf.html|title=The Book of Arda Viraf|website=www.avesta.org}}</ref>}}

===The Bible===
{{Main|1 Maccabees}}
Daniel 8:5–8 and 21–22 states that a King of Greece will conquer the Medes and Persians but then die at the height of his power and have his kingdom broken into four kingdoms. This is sometimes taken as a reference to Alexander.

Alexander is briefly mentioned in the [[1 Maccabees|first Book of the Maccabees]]. In chapter 1, verses 1–7 are about Alexander and serve as an introduction of the book. This explains how the Greek influence reached the [[Land of Israel]] at that time.

===The Quran===
{{Main|Alexander the Great in the Quran}}

There is evidence to suggest that orally transmitted legends about Alexander the Great found their way to the [[Quran]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Stoneman  | first = Richard | editor1-last = Panayotakis | editor1-first= Stelios | editor2-last = Zimmerman | editor2-first= Maaike | editor3-last = Keulen | editor3-first= Wytse | year = 2003 | chapter= Alexander the Great in Arabic Tradition | title = The Ancient Novel and Beyond | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers NV | page = 3 | isbn = 978-90-04-12999-3 }}</ref> In the story of [[Dhu al-Qarnayn]], "The Two-Horned One" (chapter [[al-Kahf]], verse 83–94), Dhu al-Qarnayn is identified by most Western and traditional Muslim scholars as a reference to Alexander the Great.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bietenholz |first=Peter G. |title=Historia and fabula: myths and legends in historical thought from antiquity to the modern age |publisher=Brill |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFjXaCAWoOUC&q=%22from+a+Syrian+version+it+found+its+way+into+the+Koran%22&pg=PA123 | pages = 122–123 |isbn=978-9004100633}}</ref>{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p=3}}<ref>{{EI2 |article=al-Iskandar |last=Montgomery Watt |first=W. |authorlink=W. Montgomery Watt |volume=4 |page=127}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Zambrini |first1=Andrea |editor1-last=Marincola |editor1-first=John |publication-date=12 September 2017 |year=2017 |title=A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography |chapter=The Historians of Alexander the Great |pages=193–202 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |doi=10.1002/9781405185110.ch17 |isbn=978-1405102162 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hammond |first=Nicholas G. L. |author-link=N. G. L. Hammond  |orig-year=1983 |year=2007 |title=The Historians of Alexander the Great: The So-Called Vulgate Authors, Diodorus, Justin, and Curtius |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=Cambridge Classical Studies |isbn=978-0521036535 }}
* {{cite book |last=Grant |first=David |title=Alexander the Great, a Battle for Truth and Fiction. The Ancient Sources And Why They Can't Be Trusted |date=2022 |publisher=Pen and Sword Books |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781399094719 }}
{{Historiography}}

[[Category:Historiography of Alexander the Great]]
[[Category:Historiography of ancient Greece|Alexander]]