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Questions tagged [alexander-the-great]

Alexander III of Macedon (356 BC - 323 BC) was a king of the ancient Greek state of Macedon. Commonly known as Alexander the Great, he lead a Greek expedition to Asia and succeeded in conquering the Persian Achaemenid empire.

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How did Alexander The Great defeat Darius III?

I know that Alexander's skills (militarily, leadership-wise, diplomatically) and Darius' weaknesses (as a leader, as a military strategist, as a king in general) combined to give Alexander control ...
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Alexandria by Islam Issa--Did Artistotle know Latin or Hebrew?

I started reading the book Alexandria by Islam Issa, which is a history of the City of Alexandria, Egypt. However, early on, there was one detail that seemed really off, and I wanted to get feedback ...
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How many languages is the Alexander Romance found in?

How many languages does the Alexander Romance exist in? I am getting contradictory figures from different sources. I'm referring to translations known to us from premodern times. Albert Mugrdich ...
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Did the early kingdoms of the Macedonian and Thracian Diadochi exert any control or influence over the region of ancient Israel/Judea?

Specifically, after Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC: Did Cassander's Macedonian kingdom have any dominion or authority in the Levant region during his rule in the early 3rd century BC? What ...
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Who claimed Alexander had a hairy heart?

From Avellaneda's Continuation of Don Quixote, chapter 6, p. 34 (circa 1614, translated by Yardley 1784 apparently after the French of Le Sage 1705 but it all seems very confusing). Don Quixote says: ...
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How realistic are the number of battle deaths in the Anabasis?

I have been reading "The Anabasis and the Indica" by Arrian. In the battle at Sangala Pimprana, the numbers are hundred dead on Alexander's army and seventeen thousand dead on the other side....
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What was the personal philosophy of Alexander the Great in his youth?

Long time ago I read a biography about Alexander the Great. It is so long ago that I cannot give references. It said that Alexander in his early youth followed a philosophy not uncommon in Greece ...
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How many deaths resulted from the Wars of the Diadochi? [closed]

Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire in 334 BC, successfully conquering it and dying in 323 BC. After his death, his Empire fell apart starting a series of wars called the Wars of the ...
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How did Alexander the Great die?

Plutarch described the last days of Alexander the Great in his book "Life of Alexander" based on records kept by Eumenes, Alexander's general secretary. Alexander had a high temperature for ...
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Who actually won Battle of the Hydaspes? [duplicate]

The battle resulted in a Greek victory and the surrender of Porus. Wikipedia says Alexander won the battle. Porus’ defeat of Alexander at the Battle of Hydaspes (Jhelum) – N.S. Rajaram But voice of ...
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Who were Alexander's historians that wrote about Indian social conditions?

I'm reading Ancient India, and in Chapter 12, it is written that Alexander's historians also give us important information about social and economic conditions. They tell us about sati system, fine ...
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Who governed while Alexander the Great was away conquering Asia?

I was just watching a video that mentions Alexander the Great at the edges of his empire, but then I was wondering who was governing back home while he was gone, I mean it took forever to travel back ...
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Where on today's map of India, was the confluence of the Baes and Sutlej rivers when Alexander was in the Punjab?

I am trying to understand where on today's map of the Punjab, Alexander and his armies returned after a mutiny. The historical accounts (Arrian, for example) suggest he reached the Beas River, which ...
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When was the "Alexandrian period" of Greek sciences?

Engels (1880): The foundations of the exact natural sciences were, therefore, first worked out by the Greeks of the Alexandrian period, and later on, in the Middle Ages, by the Arabs. When was this &...
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Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion lovers?

Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion lovers? Since there are no historical shreds of evidence that Alexander regarded Hephaestion as someone more than a friend, are the modern claims only based on ...
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Why does Alexander the Great call Greeks free men while Persians slaves?

So there seems to be this theme of Greeks being "free men" with Alexander the Great saying "we are free men, and they are slaves" My understanding was that this mean the Greek lived in democratic/ ...
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Did Alexander the Great win or lose against Porus (before the eventual 'fleeing')? [duplicate]

The western accounts of the battles state that Alexander the Great won against Porus' armies, and then, once Porus amounted a larger one, a great deal of the Greek forces mutinied, and then Alexander ...
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Why did Archelaus move the capitol of Macedon to Pella?

Archelaus transferred the capitol of Macedon from Aegae to Pella in the early 4th century B.C. What could have been the reason for this?
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Why do people say, "Alexander the Great conquered the world?"

In many books, articles, or even in folktales, whenever Alexander III of Macedon (referred to as Alexander the Great) is mentioned, it is said that he conquered the world. Even some historian say that ...
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Is it true that many great ancient warriors were vegan? [closed]

This video states that. And also, most interesting - it states that Alexander's the Great army was vegan.
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Which port did Alexander board his ship from, while returning from the Indian campaign?

When Alexander was forced by his army to abandon the Indian campaign and to turn back, he took the sea route, whereas he ordered the army to cross the Gedrosian desert. Which ancient (and/or modern) ...
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Did Afghanistan make war with Alexander the Great? [closed]

Afghani'd claim that Alexander the Great did not defeat Afghanistan or the Patans (Pukhtoon) people. Is this true or is it only a myth?
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What is the story behind the Education of Alexander the Great by Aristotle - Jose Armet Portanell

I was given this task to form a paragraph after this picture (by drawing inferences) but I can't even figure out, where to start. Can someone tell me what's the story behind this picture? Thanks.
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What is Darius III wearing on his head?

In the famous Alexander Mosaic found in Pompeii, Darius is wearing some form of head covering, it appears to just be cloth wrapped around his head. What is the hat called? I can't find any information ...
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Can we say that the first empire that divided its territory into provinces was the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

It is well known that the Persian Empire was divided into 20 smaller territories governed by satraps, and even Persian territories conquered by Alexander The Great kept their satraps. However, the Neo-...
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Was Alexander the Great undefeated in every battle?

I have heard people refer to Alexander the Great as one of the greatest military commanders of all time because he was "undefeated in battle" during his lifetime. Is this true? I can imagine him ...
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Is the name of Askandra Village, Rajasthan related to Alexander the Great?

I did a wiki walk and ended up on this site: http://www.livius.org/articles/place/alexandria-on-the-acesines/ Which contains this line: "The town flourished; in Buddhist texts, it is called Askandra."...
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Alexander the Great and Religion

Did Alexander impose his Greek polytheism on the Persians he conquered or did the Hellenization happen naturally over the course of time and Greek soldiers and traders living among them? Or was it ...
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For Alexander, what were the incentives of expanding to the west vs to the east? [closed]

For Alexander, what were the incentives of expanding to the west vs to the east? If Alexander would have decided to go westwards, would it be as successful and rewarding in comparison to his ...
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How old was Bagoas when he met Alexander the Great?

And what was the ethnicity of Bagoas? As I know, there were many different people's and tribes, that populates Achaemenian Empire. And also there was extended slave trade with foreign nations.
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Was Alexander the Great ever an emperor?

Why is it that in the many biographies of Alexander the Great, the lands where he ruled over is described as his "empire", but he is only a "king of Macedon"? Was he ever recognized in or after his ...
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Why did Alexander the Great spare Porus's life? [duplicate]

Between Persia & India, Alexander had become more ruthless, massacring cities even when they didn't resist. He always executed any who resisted before Porus/Purushottama. Why was Porus/...
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Are there Indian accounts of the Battle of the Hydaspes Rivers?

Are there Indian accounts of the Battle of the Hydaspes River? If so, what are they, who authored them, and how do they differ from the Greek & Roman accounts?
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What happened when Alexander the Great overtook most of Afro-Eurasia? [closed]

What was the political and social hierarchies during the Macedonian empire and after its splitting into multiple states? What freedoms and rights were the people given? EDIT: This is as specific as ...
louie mcconnell's user avatar
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How was Alexander the Great able to rule so much territory?

Alexander the Great conquered so much territory so quickly that I'm always surprised he was able to maintain control of it as his army pushed further east. What kept territories from reverting to ...
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Did King Porus's men use snake poison against Alexander's troops?

This claim comes from about.com. It references this source which doesn't claim that Porus specifically did it, merely that such a practice was common. It also cites Adrienne Mayor who claims that ...
Twilight Sparkle's user avatar
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Why didn't Alexander invade India?

Alexander conquered most parts of the Western World, but there is a great deal of controversy over his invasion of India. In BC 327 Alexander came to India, and tried to cross the Jhelum river for the ...
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Alexander, Olympias, and Zeus in Giulio Romano's painting

According to the myth, Alexander the Great was conceived through the sexual intercourse of Olympias and Zeus, as shown in the below painting by Giulio Romano. But, who is the man whose face is showed ...
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Alexander's seizure of "Brahmin" towns

While reading, I stumbled upon references to Alexander's seizure of Brahmin towns in what would today be called Pakistan. Googling did not fetch much information, most results are just references to a ...
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Why did Alexander found or rename a number of places after himself?

According to Wikipedia, Alexander founded or renamed each of the following places after himself: Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria Arachosia, Afghanistan; now called Kandahar (a contraction of ...
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How many humans were killed by Alexander III of Macedon, versus Temujin?

Is there any estimate of the number of people that were killed during the invasions and conquests of Alexander III of Macedon and Genghis Khan? At least can tell me which one killed more people? What ...
Real Dreams's user avatar
33 votes
5 answers
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Was Alexander the Great Greek or Macedonian?

This question has been confusing me for a while. Was Alexander the Great Greek or Macedonian? He was born in Pella, Macedonia, but is he considered Greek? Did nationality and ethnicity mean different ...
The Byzantine's user avatar
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Legendary visits by Alexander the Great

There is a story about Alexander the Great visiting Jerusalem. This story is not supported by other sources, as far as I know, and so is probably not literally true (it may well reflect some ...
Felix Goldberg's user avatar
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4 answers
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Did Alexander the Great destroy a city to demonstrate his ability to reign?

I've always been fascinated by the figure of Alexander the Great, due to his achievements even though he was really young at the time. There is an episode that I've heard about his early life which I ...
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What made Alexander great?

Historians have titled Alexander III of Macedon "the Great". In a very short period of time he conquered one of the largest empires in ancient history and was undefeated in battle. What I'd like to ...
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How did Alexander III of Macedon get the title "the Great"?

Alexander III of Macedon is referred to as Alexander "the great", but who gave him this title? At what point in history was he acknowledged as such and why is he considered so great?
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