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Alexander the III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander “the Great,” impacted the ancient word in so many ways while he was alive for his brief thirty-two years and continued to do so in the decades following his death. He briefly unified most of the Greek speaking world under one government and his rule marked the beginning of what is known as the Hellenistic Period, when Greek culture was spread to the Near East. Because his rule was so important, much is known about his life, but one aspect of Alexander the Great’s life that remains somewhat of a mystery is his death.

===Alexander the King and Conqueror===

In many ways, Alexander was born into the perfect circumstances to build the largest empire the world had seen. He was born 356 BC to Philip II, King of Macedon, and Olympia, in the Macedonian city of Pella. Since Alexander was born into the Macedonian nobility, he was trained from a young age to be both a statesman and a warrior – Macedon had eclipsed the Greek city-states in military prowess by the mid-fourth century BC and was ready to carry on the Greeks’ eternal war with Persia. Alexander learned horsemanship and tactics from Macedon’s best generals and he discovered the world through some of the finest tutors in the Hellenic world, including none other than Aristotle. At the age of twenty Alexander was finally able to put his training to use when his father was assassinated, which made him the King of Macedon. <ref> King, Carol J. <i>Ancient Macedonia.</i> (London: Routledge, 2018), p. 121</ref>

===The Assassination Theory===

The case for Alexander being assassinated is supported by two notable ancient historians, the second century AD Greek historian Arrian and the first century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. Both accounts state that the assassination originated with Antipater and his family. Antipater was a Macedonian general and confidant of Philip II and then Alexander the Great. He was a scholar who is credited for having written the no longer extant, <i>On the Deeds of Perdicass in Illyira</i> and was one of the first generals to support Alexander after Philip was assassinated. <ref> King, p. 178</ref> It would therefore seem most unlikely that an assassination plot would come from Antipater or his family, but the close relationship the men had in Alexander’s youth appears to have soured after he became king.

The final point to consider in the argument against Alexander having been assassinated are the sources themselves. Besides probably being the result of a propaganda campaign, they were written much later and therefore can be considered apocryphal. Not only that, but one must also consider the writings of the first and second century AD Greek biographer, Plutarch. The Greek biographer was adamant that Alexander did not die at the hands of others.

===Conclusion===

===References===

[[Category: Ancient Greek History]] [[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Alexander the Great]]