Alexander the Great,

1. Alexander the Great, Sourcesof information about his life

2. Introduction • Alexander is one of the very few figures in history to be given the title of ‘Great’ – not even Julius Caesar managed this. This is a tribute not only to his extraordinary conquest of the Persian Empire but also to an unusual personality. • Alexander was not just a Greek but a Macedonian too – an important point to note. There were very deep differences between the cultures and histories of the two races. He became King of Macedonia and leader of the Greeks at a very young age of 19 or 20, and before his death (at age 32) he had invaded and conquered the Persian Empire, travelling as far as the River Indus in India. • He carried Greek Culture to all parts of this vast Empire by founding cities in his name. Although his empire disintegrated after his death, the Greek influence remained. • However, there are difficulties in trying to find out exactly what happened and why, when there is so little reliable historical evidence.

3. Alexanders route Alexander’s travels across the ‘known world’

5. ..\..\..\..\MY VIDEOS\youtube videos for teaching\Alexander the Great.flv

6. Sources There were many authors who lived at the same time as Alexander, and wrote a lot of books about him. These are primary sources because they are eye witness accounts by people who were actually there at the time.These authors were: • Callisthenes – Alexander’s official Greek historian who accompanied him on his expedition to Persia • Ptolemy – One of Alexander’s chief generals who after Alexander’s death became King of Egypt • Nearchus – Alexander’s admiral who accompanied the expedition and sailed around the coast of Persia • Onesicritus – A sailor on the expedition • Aristobulus – A Macedonian soldier and engineer who went with Alexander • Cleitarchus – A Greek contemporary of Alexander who did not accompany the expedition • Chares – Alexander’s Greek houseworker in charge of his household BUT! None of the books that these people wrote still survive 

7. However…. • There are 5 writers, who lived centuries after Alexander the Great, who had read those books. So, they wrote their own books based on the facts in them. And it is from these sources, written by the 5 authors, that we get our information about Alexander from today. The 5 authors are: • Curtius Rufus – A Roman writing in the first Century Ad (300 years after Alexander) • Diodorus - A Roman who lived at the same time as Curtius Rufus • Arrian – Roman, Second century AD • Plutarch – Greek, Second century AD • Justin – Roman, Third century AD • Each of these authors quotes one or two of the primary sources, • But it is hard to tell who is most reliable, as centuries later stories can easily have been changed and altered.

8. Analysing the Sources • Each writer had different attitudes and bias in their writing depending on their relationship with Alexander or attitude towards him. Whether they were Greek, Macedonian or Roman also influences their thinking. • These two groups of sources often have conflicting information on the same event in Augustus’ life. There are two groups that the sources fit into ‘The Vulgate’(Curtius Rufus, Diodorus and Justin) They only use Cleitarchus as their main source and he is less reliable as he has 2nd hand information and focuses on popular belief ‘The Good Tradition’ (Arrian and Plutarch) they use the primary source Aristobulus as a main source. Who is considered more relaiable.

9. It is very important to use the secondary sources in our study of Alexander: • For exam questions • For understanding • Homework on the sources: read Paul Artus book p. 8-9. answer questions on p.12

10. Oral tradition and official documents (Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.) Nearchus BC Callisthenes Onesicritus Cleitarchus 300 Aristobulus Chares Ptolemy 200 100 DIODORUS SICULUS 0 Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS 100 PLUTARCH ARRIAN 200 JUSTIN 300 AD

11. Oral tradition and official documents (Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.) Nearchus BC Callisthenes Death of Alexander Onesicritus Cleitarchus 300 Aristobulus Chares Ptolemy Alexander’s admiral Naval officer in Alexander’s fleet Alexander’s houseworker 200 Alexander’s official historian Alexander’s general Engineer or architect 100 DIODORUS SICULUS 0 [World History] Pompeius Trogus [World History] CURTIUS [History] 100 PLUTARCH [Biography] ARRIAN 200 [History] JUSTIN 300 [Epitome] AD

12. Oral tradition and official documents (Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”,etc.) The fragments or Primary sources or “Alexander-historians” Nearchus BC Callisthenes Onesicritus Cleitarchus 300 Aristobulus Chares Ptolemy 200 100 The “Vulgate” tradition DIODORUS SICULUS 0 Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS 100 PLUTARCH ARRIAN 200 JUSTIN = Primary source of information 300 AD = Considerable information