The Death of Alexander the Great: What-or Who-Really Killed the Young Conqueror of the Known World? - Hardcover

9780786713400: The Death of Alexander the Great: What-or Who-Really Killed the Young Conqueror of the Known World?
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In May 323 BC Alexander of Macedonia fell ill in Babylon. Within ten days he was dead. A military genius who raged through the Persian empire, Alexander believed he was the son of God, with a desire for everlasting glory and an urge to march and conquer the world. The Death of Alexander the Great critically analyzes this extraordinary conqueror who achieved so much before he died at the early age of 33. Alexander was a man who wanted to be a God, a Greek who wanted to be a Persian, a defender of liberties who spent most of his life taking away the liberties of others, and a king who could be compassionate to the lowliest yet ruthlessly wipe out an ancient city like Tyre and crucify 3,000 of its defenders. Doherty scrutinizes the circumstances surrounding Alexander’s death as he lay sweating beside a swimming pool in the summer palace of the Persian kings. Did Alexander die of alcoholism, a hideous bout of malaria, or were other factors involved? Alexander had been warned not to enter Babylon, so he surrounded himself with outstanding captains of war. This book is a dramatic reassessment of the leader’s mysterious final days.

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From Publishers Weekly:
Alexander of Macedonia, student of Aristotle and conqueror of an empire that reached to Asia and Persia, vacillated often between cynicism and superstition. While distrustful of many of his companions, he believed that most of his misfortunes during the last decade of his life were "caused by the anger of the god Dionysus who wished to avenge the total destruction of his favorite city" of Thebes. It soon becomes clear from this analytical examination of Alexander’s path to death, however, that the conqueror committed many merciless acts that may have angered the gods—and several of his own acquaintances—to the point of revenge. Doherty (The Mysterious Death of Tutankhamun; The House of Death) starts out by giving readers a detailed lesson on Alexander’s life, and spends the latter half of the book examining whether or not it was the gods or royal competitors such his general Ptolemy or Macedonian co-regent Antipater who poisoned Alexander. In 323 B.C., Alexander fell ill during a feast in Babylon and, according to the varying historical accounts, died either from too much wine, too little rest or too many enemies. The latter seems to be supported by the bad omens Alexander received during his campaigns in India, where he faced mass mutiny among his troops, and in Persia. Doherty’s account of the young warrior’s day of reckoning reads like a dry mystery, expertly researched but written more like the summaries found in a detective’s case files than an engrossing yarn. He does a fine job, however, revising the statesman-like image of Alexander propagated by 19th-century historians and thoroughly reconstructing Alexander’s final nights.
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From Booklist:
Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.) was king of Macedonia and conqueror of Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia, and his reign marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Age. Doherty's scrupulously researched and immensely readable book focuses on Alexander's final days and his sudden and mysterious death at the age of 33. The author concludes that Ptolemy, the king's personal bodyguard, was the main culprit in Alexander's murder. "The circumstances surrounding Alexander's death appear to be permeated with a deliberate theater, full of drama of events being arranged by a stage manager. Who better fits that role than Ptolemy, the companion entrusted with guarding the door to the royal chamber," Doherty posits. He insists that Ptolemy used his position of trust, his closeness to the king, to mix the fatal poison, arsenic, in Alexander's wine; and he backs up his conclusion believably. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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  • PublisherCarroll & Graf
  • Publication date2004
  • ISBN 10 0786713402
  • ISBN 13 9780786713400
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages288
  • Rating

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st US Ed. May 323 BC Alexander of Macedon fell ill at Babylon. Ten days later, aged only 33, he was dead. In the previous decade this military genius from a small and unimpressive kingdom to the north west of Greece had raged like a wolf through the Persian empire, conquering the lands of the Middle East, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran, his armies penetrating into western Pakistan and the north-west frontier of India. In a compelling and readable account, Paul Doherty analyzes this enigmatic conqueror and examines the circumstances surrounding the young king's final hours. The traditional belief is that Alexander died of alcohol poisoning or was the victim of an acute bout of malaria. But were there other, more sinister factors involved? A master of vivid and exciting narrative and a skilled historical analyst, Doherty offers a thrilling new perspective on the mysterious death of one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen. 236p. bibliography.index. Book. Seller Inventory # 044425

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