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p. 938. Doomed to die: Alexander in Babylonlocked

  • Hugh Bowden

Abstract

‘Doomed to Die: Alexander in Babylon’ looks at the final chapter in Alexander's life, which was set in Babylon. When Alexander entered Babylon after his victory at Gaugamela, he was following a long line of previous victors. None of the surviving narratives mentions a coronation of Alexander in Babylon, but he was definitely recognized as king from the point of his arrival and described as such since. What do we know about the end of Alexander's life? Plutarch and Arrian both give detailed accounts of the last days of his life. They describe how he caught a fever, his health gradually declined, he lost the power of speech, and died. He was only 32. Shortly after, stories circulated claiming that he was poisoned.

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