Alexander The Great Sources

The leader of the Macedonian empire in , Alexander the Great was feverishly expanding his empire when in 333 B.C.E he crossed paths with the mighty Persian Empire led by King Darius. The subsequent battles between the two sides are very nuanced and are recanted in different fashions by the different parties. The goal of this analysis is to decipher some of the accounts of the battles and attempt to piece together what the actual events may have been. In this analysis, we will be focusing on four key sources for the battles between Alexander and Darius. The first is the writing of Arrian of Nicomedia in his book ‘The Anabasis of Alexander’. Arrian is a Greek historian who lived within the Roman Empire from 92 to 175 C.E, more than 400
Looking at the text by Arrian, the Zoroastrian Arda Wiraz and the film “In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great”, which is a contemporary film reflecting a modern day historian’s account of the events, we can highlight a few key differences in how these sources reflect the events. One key differences between the sources is how they reflect the way Darius died. In the writing of Arrian the death of Darius occurs after Alexander had “ascertained that be had been arrested and was being conveyed in a covered carriage (“The Anabasis of Alexander 4.11.186-187”) Once discovering this development about Darius Alexander’s army attacked the Persian’s who were now led by Bessus and the vulnerable Darius was assassinated in the carriage where he was held a prisoner. The film tells a similar story including that Darius was held prisoner and died in a covered carriage, but an important conversation is included into the story where Darius tells a Greek solider to relay to Alexander his gratitude for treating his family graciously in captivity and that “he in turn will rule the world just as Darius had done” (In the Footsteps of Alexander). In the Arda Wiraz it is said that Alexander “slew the ruler of Iran”(Arda Wiraz) in reference to Darius, not at all specifying the slaying was done. Another difference between the texts is how they view Alexander. Zoroastrians view Alexander as a horrible man, “the wicked one”(Arda Wiraz) who destroyed their culture while Arrian’s text portrays Alexander as a hero, a man who galvanized others and “recapitulated as modestly as possible his own daring deeds in the various battles” (Anabasis of Alexander 1.7.92) . Lastly, the film shows Alexander in contrasting ways from different aspects of the piece. The films narrator projects Alexander as a