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Early rule Conquest of the Persian Empire Expedition into India Death and legacy Cultural impact  | ||
Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been preserved and depicted in many ways. Alexander has figured in works of both high culture and popular culture from his own era to the modern day. Some of these are highly fictionalized accounts, such as the Alexander Romance .
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 was briefly mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees. All of Chapter 1, verses 1–7 was about Alexander and this serves as an introduction of the book. This explains how the Greek influence reached the Land of Israel at that time.
Alexander is mentioned in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian work Arda Wiraz Nāmag as gizistag aleksandar ī hrōmāyīg, literally "Alexander the accursed, the Roman", [1] [2] [3] due to his conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and the burning of its ceremonial capital Persepolis, which was holding the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism in its Royal Archives. The book Arda Wiraz Nāmag was written in the late period of Sassanid Persian Empire, when the rivalry with the Romans was intense.
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 made men doubtful of this religion, instigated the accursed Alexander, the Roman, 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, (6) and destroyed the metropolis and empire, and made them desolate.
— Book of Arda Viraf , I 1.1–6.
Alexander in the Qur'an often is identified in Islamic traditions as Dhul-Qarnayn, Arabic for the "Two-Horned One", possibly a reference to the appearance of a horn-headed figure that appears minted during his rule and later imitated in ancient Middle Eastern coinage.[ citation needed ] Accounts of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an, and so may refer to Alexander. Noteworthy is the fact that his favorite horse was named Bucephalus, which means "ram's head", alluding to the shape of a horned ram at its forehead.
The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, one of the oldest books written in New Persian, has a chapter about Alexander. It is a book of epic poetry written around 1000 AD, and is believed to have played an important role in the survival of the Persian language in the face of Arabic influence. It starts with a mythical history of Iran and then gives a story of Alexander, followed by a brief mention of the Arsacids. The accounts after that, still in epic poetry, portray historical figures. Alexander is described as a child of a Persian king, Daraaye Darab (the last in the list of kings in the book whose names do not match historical kings), and a daughter of Philip, a king. However, due to problems in the relationship between the Persian king and Philip's daughter, she is sent back to Rome. Alexander is born to her afterwards, but Philip claims him as his own son and keeps the true identity of the child secret.
His name is recorded as both Iskandar (اسکندر) and Sikandar (سکندر) in Classical Persian literature.
He is known as Eskandar-e Maqdūnī (اسکندر مقدونی "Alexander the Macedonian") in modern Iranian Persian.
He is known as al-Iskandar al-Makduni al-Yunani [4] ("Alexander the Macedonian Greek") in Arabic, אלכסנדר מוקדון, Alexander Mokdon in Hebrew, and Tre-Qarnayia in Aramaic (the two-horned one, apparently due to an image on coins minted during his rule that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's horns of the Egyptian god Ammon), الاسكندر الاكبر, al-Iskandar al-Akbar ("Alexander the Great") in Arabic, سکندر اعظم, Skandar in Pashto.
Alexander is one of the two principals in most versions of the Diogenes and Alexander anecdote.
Around twenty towns or outposts were founded by Alexander the Great. [5] Some of the main cities are:
The Italian city of Alessandria is not named for Alexander the Great but for Pope Alexander III. However, the Medieval choice of this name was likely influenced by the example of the above cities.
By selecting the right angle of the streets, Alexander made the city breathe with the etesian winds [the northwestern winds that blow during the summer months], so that as these blow across a great expanse of sea, they cool the air of the town, and so he provided its inhabitants with a moderate climate and good health. Alexander also laid out the walls so that they were at once exceedingly large and marvelously strong.
Death-Bed of Alexander the Great . in 1835, [6] which was followed by The Dream in the Temple of Serapis . 1836 [7] and in 1837 Alexander on the Banks of the Hyphasis ., [8] the latter being one of her Subjects for Pictures. She had earlier included her poem Alexander and Phillip . in The Troubadour; Catalogue of Pictures, and Historical Sketches, 1825. [9] | Date | Title | Country | Notes | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Sikandar | India | Starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Alexander, directed by Sohrab Modi depicting Alexander's conquests in North-Western India. | |
| 1956 | Alexander the Great | United States / Spain | Starring Richard Burton as Alexander, directed by Robert Rossen and produced by MGM. | |
| 1965 | Sikandar-e-Azam | India | A Hindi movie directed by Kedar Kapoor starring Dara Singh as Alexandar depicts Alexandar's battle with the Indian prince Porus. | |
| 2004 | Alexander | Germany / United States / Netherlands / France | Starring Colin Farrell as Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone. Based on the biography Alexander the Great ( ISBN 0-14-008878-4) by Robin Lane Fox. It was released on November 24, 2004. | |
| 2006 | Alexander | Italy | An animated film directed by Daehong Kim, and starring Mark Adair-Rios as the voice of Alexander. | |
| Date | Title | Artist/Group | Notes | Lyrics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Iskander" | Supersister | This Dutch prog band dedicated a full album to the story of Alexander. Track titles include 'Alexander', 'Dareios The Emperor', 'Bagoas', 'Roxane' and 'Babylon'. | ||
| 1986 | "Alexander the Great" | Iron Maiden | From the heavy metal album Somewhere in Time . The song describes Alexander's life. | ||
| 1998 | "Alexandre" | Caetano Veloso | Brazilian epic song about Alexander the Great from the album Livro. | ||
| 2000 | "Alexander the Great" | bond | String quartet release on the album Born. | ||
| 2005 | "Alexander the Great" | Iron Mask | Song about Alexander the Great from the album Hordes of the Brave by Belgian band Iron Mask. | ||
| 2009 | "Iskander Dhul Kharnon" | Nile | Song from the album Those Whom the Gods Detest . | ||
| 2013 | "Age of Glory" | Serenity | This song, from the album War of Ages , details Alexander's need for conquest while watching his life fade away. | ||
| 2016 | "Alexander the Great vs. Ivan the Terrible" | Epic Rap Battles of History | This song, part of Epic Rap Battles of History's Season 6, has Alexander face off against the historical leader Ivan the Terrible, among others. |
At least two airports have been named after Alexander:
The Seleucid dynasty or the Seleucidae was a Macedonian Greek royal family, which ruled the Seleucid Empire based in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded by Seleucus I Nicator, a general and successor of Alexander the Great, after the division of the Macedonian Empire as a result of the Wars of the Successors (Diadochi).
The 4th century BCE started the first day of 400 BCE and ended the last day of 301 BCE. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period.
This article concerns the period 329 BC – 320 BC.
Porus or Poros was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Jhelum River (Hydaspes) and Chenab River (Acesines), in the Punjab region of what is now India and Pakistan. He is only mentioned in Greek sources. Said to be a warrior with exceptional skills, Porus unsuccessfully fought against Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes. In the aftermath, an impressed Alexander not only reinstated him as his satrap but also granted him dominion over lands to the south-east extending as far as the Hyphasis (Beas). Porus reportedly died sometime between 321 and 315 BC.
Seleucus I Nicator was a Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the eponymous Seleucid Empire, led by the Seleucid dynasty. Initially a secondary player in the power struggles following Alexander's death, Seleucus rose to become the total ruler of Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian plateau, assuming the title of basileus (king). The Seleucid Empire was one of the major powers of the Hellenistic world, until it was overcome by the Roman Republic and Parthian Empire in the late second and early first centuries BC.
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire, which ruled over a geographically-extensive empire based in Magadha. The Magadha kingdom expanded to become an empire that reached its peak under the reign of his grandson, Ashoka the Great, from 268 BCE to 231 BCE. The Mauryan empire was a loose-knit one with large autonomous regions within its limits. The nature of the political formation that existed in Chandragupta's time is not certain.
Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Some of the invaders in the history of Afghanistan include the Maurya Empire, the ancient Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, the Rashidun Caliphate, the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan, the Timurid Empire of Timur, the Mughal Empire, various Persian Empires, the Sikh Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and most recently the United States with a number of allies in response to the September 11 attacks. A reduced number of NATO troops remained in the country in support of the government. Just prior to the American withdrawal in 2021, the Taliban regained control of the capital Kabul and most of the country. They changed Afghanistan's official name to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism denotes a supposed cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanistan. While the Greco-Buddhist art shows clear Hellenistic influences, the majority of scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence on Gandharan Buddhism beyond the artistic realm.
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia based in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sources for the written records of the Mauryan times are the Arthashastra, a work first discovered in the early 20th century, and previously attributed to Kautilya, but now thought to be composed by multiple authors in the first centuries of the common era; partial records of the lost history of Megasthenes in Roman texts of several centuries later; and the Edicts of Ashoka, which were first read in the modern era by James Prinsep after he had deciphered the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts in 1838.
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India.
In ancient times, trade between the Indian subcontinent and Greece flourished with silk, spices and gold being traded. The Greeks invaded South Asia several times, starting with the conquest of Alexander the Great and later with the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
The Pauravas were an ancient tribe in the Indus valley, to which King Porus may have belonged.
Buddhism, a religion founded by Gautama Buddha, first arrived in modern-day Afghanistan through the conquests of Ashoka, the third emperor of the Maurya Empire. Among the earliest notable sites of Buddhist influence in the country is a bilingual mountainside inscription in Greek and Aramaic that dates back to 260 BCE and was found on the rocky outcrop of Chil Zena near Kandahar.
Aria was an Achaemenid region centered on the city of Herat in present-day western Afghanistan. In classical sources, Aria has been several times confused with the greater region of ancient Ariana, of which Aria formed a part.
Chandragupta is a board wargame designed by Stephen R. Welch and released in 2008 by GMT Games as part of the Great Battles of History (GBoH) series of games on ancient warfare. Chandragupta simulates battles fought by the Mauryan Dynasty in ancient India, and in so doing, attempts to illuminate the features, challenges, and unique attributes of the Indian military system and culture during this period.
The Seleucid–Mauryan War was a confrontation between the Seleucid and Mauryan empires that took place somewhere between 305 and 303 BCE, when Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid Empire crossed the Indus river into the former Indian satrapies of the Macedonian Empire, which had been conquered by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya of the Maurya Empire.
Chanakya Chandragupta is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language historical drama film directed and produced by N. T. Rama Rao under the banner of Ramakrishna Cine Studios. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, Jayaprada, Manjula and Kaikala Satyanarayana, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Chandragupta Maurya is an Indian Historical drama series based on the life of Chandragupta Maurya, an Indian emperor of ancient India and the founder of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya was first aired in March 2011 on Imagine TV. Ashish Sharma played the adult and Rushiraj Pawar played the young Chandragupta Maurya.
Around 535 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great initiated a protracted campaign to absorb parts of India into his nascent Achaemenid Empire. In this initial incursion, the Persian army annexed a large region to the west of the Indus River, consolidating the early eastern borders of their new realm. With a brief pause after Cyrus' death around 530 BCE, the campaign continued under Darius the Great, who began to re-conquer former provinces and further expand the Achaemenid Empire's political boundaries. Around 518 BCE, the Persian army pushed further into India to initiate a second period of conquest by annexing regions up to the Jhelum River in what is today known as Punjab. At peak, the Persians managed to take control of most of modern-day Pakistan and incorporate it into their territory.
Hellenistic influence on Indian art and architecture reflects the artistic and architectural influence of the Greeks on Indian art following the conquests of Alexander the Great, from the end of the 4th century BCE to the first centuries of the common era. The Greeks in effect maintained a political presence at the doorstep, and sometimes within India, down to the 1st century CE with the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdoms, with many noticeable influences on the arts of the Maurya Empire especially. Hellenistic influence on Indian art was also felt for several more centuries during the period of Greco-Buddhist art.
