June 11th is the anniversary of one of the Ancient World's greatest mysteries, the death of Alexander the Great. The reason behind this mystery is no one is quite sure what brought on the decline and death of the seemingly healthy and strong 32 year old. Many have speculated, both modern and ancient scholars, yet none has the definitive answer. It is likely no one will ever know the truth, unless of course new evidence is uncovered.
Many have picked one reason and after several years either changed or went back to undecided. Disease, of course, seems like a likely reason and it was the first popular theory. It seemed, however, difficult to decide on a disease that would include all the symptoms that Alexander had suffered. For two weeks he was ill, increasingly so as time passed, with a high fever the entire time. He tried to continue on with his daily routine, but with increasing weakness, it became difficult, even as he was carried.
Diseases, such as malaria, smallpox, typhoid fever and even alcoholism, yet none seem to fit the symptoms. A relatively new article, however, seemed to offer a viable disease that would explain Alexander's symptoms. In the article "Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis" two scientists look at all the possible diseases that would have been around during Alexander's time and offer up, West Nile as the likeliest option.
West Nile, while never looked at as a possibility, likely because it was not a disease that affected many in the Western World until recently, has been around in the Middle East for many centuries. Their evidence, besides the symptoms suffered by Alexander, are location and a passage from Plutarch. The location was near a body of water, which can be a breeding ground for mosquitos. Birds become infected with the virus and are the carriers to humans. This is where the passage from Plutarch comes in... "when he arrive before the walls of the city he saw a large number of ravens flying about and pecking one another, and some of them fell dead in front of him" (Alexander entering Babylon). The authors do point to one major flaw in their theory. Alexander would have fallen ill in May and this is believed to be too early for the disease.
Another widely circulated and increasingly believed theory, by some ancients and made popular by Oliver Stone's 2004 movie Alexander was poison. Stone's movie is what has brought this theory more attention. While the movie is by no means historically accurate (some parts are quite laughable..) this theory was rather well researched and could in fact be spot on.
I had the pleasure of reading James Romm's article, "Who Killed Alexander the Great?" on HistoryToday.com while it was still free. In this article, he develops the poison theory even more. Romm believed that Stone used a controversial text called the Royal Journals. These journals, of course, cannot be verified as true and even the originals have been lost over time. Through history, depending on the person, has been either a true account of Alexander's last days or has been falsified.
There are different accounts of the Royal Journal that suggest Alexander got sick immediately after drinking with one of his close friends, suggesting poisoning. The big question that arises from this theory is who would be the one to poison Alexander? There are several possibilities. A spited man who was removed from his position, a general who wanted more power, even the wife is not safe from accusations.
Other striking evidence for the poisoning theory is what happens as Alexander is dying and finally dies; the rush to seize the power. There is such a push for Alexander to name his successor and a scramble for the power once he is dead, that makes one suspicious.
Regardless of all the theories, it is interesting (and exciting) that something that happened in 323 BCE today is still a topic that new ideas can be developed for.
Sources:
The Death of Alexander
Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis by John S. Marr and Charles H. Calisher
Who Killed Alexander the Great? by James Romm
**Images not mine**
