https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Death_of_Alexander_the_GreatDeath of Alexander the Great - Revision history2026-08-23T09:38:51ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_Alexander_the_Great&diff=460289&oldid=prevSshekhar898: refined formatting per standard format2026-02-20T00:06:05Z<p>refined formatting per standard format</p>
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</table>CleanupBothttps://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_Alexander_the_Great&diff=437910&oldid=prevBharatwiki Socrates: Created page with "Dying Alexander, copy of a 2nd-century BC sculpture, National Art Museum of Azerbaijan. {{Alexander the Great series}} The death of Alexander the Great and subsequent related events have been the subjects of debates. According to a Babylonian astronomical diary, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon between the evening of 10 June and the evening of 11 June 323 BC,<r..."2023-11-20T13:20:42Z<p>Created page with "<a href="/wiki/File:Dying_Alexander.jpg" title="File:Dying Alexander.jpg">thumb|Dying Alexander, copy of a 2nd-century BC sculpture, National Art Museum of Azerbaijan.</a> {{Alexander the Great series}} The death of <a href="/wiki/Alexander_the_Great" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a> and subsequent related events have been the subjects of debates. According to a <a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylonian_astronomical_diaries&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Babylonian astronomical diaries (page does not exist)">Babylonian astronomical diary</a>, Alexander died in the palace of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Nebuchadnezzar_II&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nebuchadnezzar II (page does not exist)">Nebuchadnezzar II</a> in <a href="/wiki/Babylon" title="Babylon">Babylon</a> between the evening of 10 June and the evening of 11 June 323 BC,<r..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Dying Alexander.jpg|thumb|Dying Alexander, copy of a 2nd-century BC sculpture, National Art Museum of Azerbaijan.]]<br />
{{Alexander the Great series}}<br />
<br />
The death of [[Alexander the Great]] and subsequent related events have been the subjects of debates. According to a [[Babylonian astronomical diaries|Babylonian astronomical diary]], Alexander died in the palace of [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] in [[Babylon]] between the evening of 10 June and the evening of 11 June 323 BC,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/oriental-varia/a-contemporary-account-of-the-death-of-alexander/|title=A contemporary account of the death of Alexander|publisher =[[Livius.org]]|access-date=Nov 5, 2019}}</ref> at the age of 32.<br />
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[[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonians]] and local residents wept at the news of the death, while [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] subjects were forced to shave their heads.<ref name ="Freeman">{{cite book| last = Freeman| first = Philip| title = Alexander the Great| publisher = Simon and Schuster| year = 2011| page = [https://archive.org/details/alexandergreat00free/page/320 320]| isbn = 978-1-4165-9280-8| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/alexandergreat00free/page/320}}</ref> The mother of [[Darius III]], [[Sisygambis]], having learned of Alexander's death, became depressed and killed herself later.<ref name ="Quest">{{cite book | last =Chugg| first = Andrew|title = The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great | publisher = Lulu.com| year = 2007| page = 25| isbn =978-0-9556790-0-1}}</ref> Historians vary in their assessments of primary sources about Alexander's death, which has resulted in different views about its cause and circumstances.<br />
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== Background ==<br />
[[File:With an effort he looked at them as they passed.jpg|thumb|left|upright|With an effort he looked at them as they passed]]<br />
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In February 323 BC, Alexander ordered his armies to prepare for the march to [[Babylon]].<ref name ="Lendering">{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander16.html|title=Death in Babylon|publisher=[[Livius.org]]|author=Jona Lendering|access-date=Aug 22, 2011|author-link=Jona Lendering|archive-date=August 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802145325/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander16.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to [[Arrian]], after crossing the [[Tigris]] Alexander was met by [[Chaldea]]ns, who advised him not to enter the city because their deity [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]] had warned them that to do so at that time would be fatal for Alexander.<ref name ="Arrian">{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t63.html#2|title=Alexander and the Chaldaeans|publisher=[[Livius.org]]|access-date=Aug 22, 2011|archive-date=April 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427201924/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t63.html#2|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Chaldeans also warned Alexander against marching westwards as he would then look to the setting sun, a symbol of decline.<ref name ="Arrian"/> It was suggested that he enter Babylon via the Royal Gate, in the western wall, where he would face to the east. Alexander followed this advice, but the route turned out to be unfavorable because of swampy terrain.<ref name ="Arrian"/> According to [[Jona Lendering]], "it seems that in May 323" the Babylonian [[astrology|astrologers]] tried to avert the misfortune by substituting Alexander with an ordinary person on the Babylonian throne, who would take the brunt of the omen.<ref name ="Lendering"/> The Greeks, however, did not understand that ritual.<ref name ="Lendering"/><br />
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=== Prophecy of Calanus ===<br />
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[[Calanus of India|Calanus]] was likely to be a [[Hindu]] [[Naga sadhu]], whom Greeks called [[gymnosophists]]. He had accompanied the Greek army back from [[Punjab region|Punjab]], upon request by Alexander. He was 73 years of age at that time. However, when Persian weather and travel fatigue weakened him, he informed Alexander that he would rather die than live disabled. He decided to take his life by [[self-immolation]]. Alexander tried to dissuade him from doing so but upon the insistence of Calanus, Alexander relented and the job of building a [[pyre]] was entrusted to [[Ptolemy (son of Seleucus)]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Alexander the Great|year=1973|publisher=Robin Lane Fox|pages=416|isbn=9780713905007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGApAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> The place where this incident took place was [[Susa]] in 323 BC.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yādnāmah-ʾi Panjumīn Kungrih-ʾi Bayn al-Milalī-i Bāstānshināsī va Hunar-i Īrān|year=1972|publisher=Ministry of Culture and Arts, Iran. Vizārat-i Farhang va Hunar|pages=224|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8ufAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Calanus is mentioned also by Alexander's admiral, [[Nearchus]] and [[Chares of Mytilene]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sháhnáma of Firdausí |first1=Arthur George |last1=Warner |first2=Edmond |last2=Warner|year=2001|pages=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CixkKv_ywoMC&pg=PA61|isbn=9780415245432 }}</ref> He did not flinch as he burnt to the astonishment of those who watched.<ref>{{cite book|title=Defending the West: a critique of Edward Said's Orientalism Front Cover |first=Ibn |last=Warraq|year=2007|publisher=Prometheus Books|pages=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JoJtAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9781591024842 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy |editor-first=Keimpe |editor-last=Algra |year=1999 |pages=243|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lRD6feR3hEC&pg=PA243|isbn=9780521250283 }}</ref> Before immolating himself alive on the pyre, his last words to Alexander were "We shall meet in Babylon".<ref>{{cite book|title=History of Philosophy |first=Silvano |last=Borruso|year=2007|pages=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiA0NIf14ZAC&pg=PA50|isbn=9789966082008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=National Geographic, Volume 133|year=1968|pages=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8YvAAAAYAAJ }}</ref> Thus he is said to have prophesied the death of Alexander in Babylon. At the time of the death of Calanus, Alexander, however, did not have any plan to go to Babylon.<ref>{{cite book|title=National Geographic , Volume 133|year=1968|pages=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8YvAAAAYAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The philosophical books of Cicero|year=1989|publisher=Duckworth|pages=186|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1MEAQAAIAAJ|isbn=9780715622148}}</ref> No one understood the meaning of his words "We shall meet in Babylon". It was only after Alexander fell sick and died in Babylon, that the Greeks came to realize what Calanus intended to convey.<br />
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== Causes == <br />
[[File:Alexander after being poisoned.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The poisoning of Alexander depicted in the 15th century romance ''The History of Alexander's Battles'', J1 version. NLW MS Pen.481D]]<br />
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According to historical accounts, Alexander's body began to decompose six days after his death. Proposed causes of Alexander's death include alcoholic liver disease, fever, and [[strychnine]] poisoning, but little data support those versions.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|pmid=15081504|title=The death of Alexander the Great: malaria or typhoid fever.|publisher =Infectious Disease Clinics of North America 2004 Mar;18(1):53-63|author=Cunha BA|doi=10.1016/S0891-5520(03)00090-4|volume=18|issue=1|date=March 2004|journal=Infect. Dis. Clin. North Am.|pages=53–63}}</ref> According to the [[University of Maryland School of Medicine]] report of 1998, Alexander probably died of [[typhoid fever]]<ref name ="UMM"/> (which, along with [[malaria]], was common in ancient Babylon).<ref name ="Musso">{{cite web|url=http://www.humanehealthcare.com/Article.asp?art_id=662|title=MEGAS ALEXANDROS (Alexander The Great ): His Death Remains a Medical Mystery |author=Carlos G. Musso|publisher =Humane Medicine Health Care|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref> In the week before his death, historical accounts mention chills, sweats, exhaustion and high fever, typical [[symptom]]s of infectious diseases, including typhoid fever.<ref name ="UMM"/> According to David W. Oldach from the [[University of Maryland Medical Center]], Alexander also had "severe [[abdominal pain]], causing him to cry out in agony".<ref name ="UMM"/> The associated account, however, comes from the unreliable ''[[Alexander Romance]]''. According to Andrew N. Williams and Robert Arnott, in his last days Alexander was unable to speak, which was due to a previous injury to his neck during the [[Siege of Cyropolis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.b.ebscohost.com.research-db.letu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=5da10bd1-41cf-46cf-ae69-9e9833230a4d%40sessionmgr4008|title=A Stone at the Siege of Cyropolis and the Death of Alexander the Great}}</ref><br />
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Other popular theories contend that Alexander either died of malaria or was poisoned. Other [[Retrospective diagnosis|retrodiagnoses]] include noninfectious diseases as well.<ref name ="CDC">{{cite journal|title=Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis|author1=John S. Marr|author2-link=Charles Calisher |author2=Charles H. Calisher |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |year=2004 |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=1328–1333 |publisher =[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]]|doi=10.3201/eid1007.040039 |pmid=15338538 |pmc=3323347 }}</ref> According to author Andrew Chugg, there is evidence Alexander died of malaria, having contracted it two weeks before the onset of illness while sailing in the marshes to inspect flood defences. Chugg based his argument<ref>The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great, A. M. Chugg, AMC Publications, 3rd Edition, January 2020, Chapter 1 (pages28-45).</ref> on the ''Ephemerides'' (Journal) compiled by Alexander's secretary, Eumenes of Cardia.<ref>Aelian, Varia Historia 3.23 (a recognised fragment of the Ephemerides which is attributed to Eumenes in Aelian's text).</ref> Chugg also showed in a paper in the Ancient History Bulletin<ref>A. M. Chugg, "The Journal of Alexander the Great", Ancient History Bulletin 19.3-4 (2005) 155-175.</ref> that the Ephemerides are probably authentic. Chugg further noted that Arrian states that Alexander "No longer had any rest from the fever" halfway through his fatal illness.<ref>Arrian, Anabasis Alexandrou 7.25.4.</ref> This is evidence that the fever had initially been intermittent, which is the signature fever curve of ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' (the expected malarial parasite, given Alexander's travel history and the severity of the illness), thus enhancing the likelihood of malaria.<ref>Robert Sallares, Malaria and Rome, OUP 2002, p.11.</ref> The malaria version was also supported by [[Paul Cartledge]].{{cn|date=August 2023}}<br />
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Throughout the centuries suspicions of possible poisoning have fallen on a number of alleged perpetrators, including one of Alexander's wives, his generals, his illegitimate half-brother or the royal cup-bearer.<ref name ="Chugg">{{cite news|url=http://www.alexanderstomb.com/main/deathofalexander/IoS6on7Aug05b.JPG|title=Disease, not conflict, ended the reign of Alexander the Great|newspaper =[[The Independent on Sunday]]|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref> The poisoning version is featured particularly in the politically motivated ''Liber de Morte Testamentoque Alexandri'' (''The Book On the Death and Testament of Alexander''), which tries to discredit the family of [[Antipater]]. It was argued that the book was compiled in [[Polyperchon]]'s circle, not before c. 317 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Alexander%27s+last+days%3A+malaria+and+mind+games%3F-a0221920136|title=Alexander's last days: malaria and mind games?|journal =[[Acta Classica]]|author1=John Atkinson |author2=Elsie Truter |author3=Etienne Truter |date=Jan 1, 2009|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref> This theory was also advanced by [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] in his ''[[Historia Philippicae et Totius Mundi Origines et Terrae Situs]]'' where he stated that Antipater murdered Alexander by feeding him a poison so strong that it "could be conveyed [only] in the hoof of a horse.".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Justin |translator-last1=Watson |translator-first1=John |chapter=Preface |chapter-url=http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/english/trans12.html |title=Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus}}</ref><br />
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In ''Alexander the Great: The Death of a God'', [[Paul C. Doherty]] claimed that Alexander was poisoned with [[arsenic]] by his possibly illegitimate half-brother [[Ptolemy I Soter]].<ref name ="Chugg"/> However, this was disputed by New Zealand National Poisons Centre toxicologist Dr. Leo Schep, who discounted arsenic poisoning and instead suggested that he could have been poisoned by a wine made from the plant ''[[Veratrum album]]'', known as white hellebore.<ref name=schep>{{cite journal |vauthors=Schep LJ, Slaughter RJ, Vale JA, Wheatley P |title=Was the death of Alexander the Great due to poisoning? Was it Veratrum album? |journal=[[Clinical Toxicology]] |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=72–7 |date=January 2014 |pmid=24369045 |doi=10.3109/15563650.2013.870341|s2cid=20804486 }}</ref> This poisonous plant can produce prolonged poisoning symptoms that match the course of events as described in the ''Alexander Romance'', and was known to the Ancient Greeks. The article was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal ''[[Clinical Toxicology]]'' and suggested that if Alexander was poisoned, ''Veratrum album'' offers the most plausible cause.<ref name=schep/><ref>{{cite news |last=Bennett-Smith |first=Meredith | date= 14 January 2014 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/alexander-the-great-poisoned-toxic-wine_n_4591553.html |title= Was Alexander The Great Poisoned By Toxic Wine? | access-date=15 January 2014| work=The Huffington Post}}</ref> This theory is backed by the writings of the Ancient Greek historian [[Diodorus]], who had recorded Alexander becoming "stricken with pain after drinking a large bowl of wine."<ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Sarah | date= 13 January 2014 | url = https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-01-13/alexander-great-was-killed-toxic-wine-says-scientist|title= Alexander the Great was killed by toxic wine, says scientist | access-date=5 March 2018| work=Public Radio International}}</ref><br />
[[File:"The Funeral of Iskandar", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) MET DP108581.jpg|thumb|"The Funeral of Iskandar," Folio from a [[Shahnameh|Shahnama]] (Persian Book of Kings). Stories of Alexander's life and death detailed throughout his reign as ruler over the Persian empire.]]<br />
Epidemiologist John Marr and [[Charles Calisher]] put forward the [[West Nile fever]] as the possible cause of Alexander's death. This version was deemed "fairly compelling" by [[University of Rhode Island]] epidemiologist Thomas Mather, who nonetheless noted that the West Nile virus tends to kill the elderly or those with weakened [[immune systems]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gideononline.com/reviews/nature2003/|title=Nature-Alexander the Great|publisher =[[Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology Network|GIDEON]]|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref> The version of Marr and Calisher was also criticized by Burke A. Cunha from [[Winthrop University Hospital]].<ref name="Cunha">{{Cite journal |last=Cunha |first=Burke A. |date=July 2004 |title=Alexander the Great and West Nile virus encephalitis |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=1328–1329; author reply 1332–1333 |doi=10.3201/eid1007.040039 |issn=1080-6040 |pmc=3323347 |pmid=15338538}}</ref> According to analysis of other authors in response to Marr and Calisher, the West Nile virus could not have infected humans before the 8th century AD.<ref name ="Cunha"/><br />
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Other causes that have been put forward include [[acute pancreatitis]] provoked by "heavy alcohol consumption and a very rich meal",<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=9252868|title=Did Alexander the Great die of acute pancreatitis?|publisher =Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 1997 Jun;24(4):294-6|author=Sbarounis CN|doi=10.1097/00004836-199706000-00031|volume=24|issue=4|date=June 1997|journal=J. Clin. Gastroenterol.|pages=294–6}}</ref> [[acute endocarditis]],<ref name ="Musso"/> [[schistosomiasis]] brought on by ''[[Schistosoma haematobium]]'',<ref name ="Musso"/> [[porphyria]],<ref name ="Musso"/> and [[Guillain-Barré syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/64676-alexander-the-great-declared-dead-prematurely.html|title= Why Alexander the Great May Have Been Declared Dead Prematurely (It's Pretty Gruesome)|author=Owen Jarus|website= [[Live Science]]|date= 4 February 2019|access-date=Nov 3, 2021}}</ref> [[Fritz Schachermeyr]] proposed [[leukemia]] and malaria. When Alexander's symptoms were entered into databases of the [[Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology Network]], [[influenza]] gained the highest probability (41.2%) on the list of [[Differential diagnosis|differential diagnoses]].<ref name ="CDC"/> However, according to Cunha, the symptoms and course of Alexander's disease are inconsistent with influenza, as well as with malaria, schistosomiasis, and poisoning in particular.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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Another theory moves away from disease and hypothesizes that Alexander's death was related to a congenital [[scoliosis|scoliotic syndrome]].<ref name="Ashrafian-138">Ashrafian pg. 138</ref> It has been discussed that Alexander had structural neck deformities and oculomotor deficits,<ref name="Ashrafian-139">Ashrafian, pg.139</ref> which could be associated with [[Klippel–Feil syndrome]], a rare congenital scoliotic disorder.<ref name="Ashrafian-140">Ashrafian, pg. 140</ref> His physical deformities and symptoms leading up to his death are what lead experts to believe this. Some believe that as Alexander fell ill in his final days, he suffered from progressive epidural spinal cord compression, which left him [[quadriplegic]].<ref>George K. York, David A. Steinberg, "Commentary. The Diseases of Alexander the Great", ''Journal of the History of the Neurosciences'', Vol. 13, 2004, pg. 154</ref> However, this hypothesis cannot be proven without a full analysis of Alexander's body.<ref name="Ashrafian-140"/><br />
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Some have speculated that he suffered from [[Guillain-Barré syndrome]], which typhoid fever can lead to when complicated with other maladies. He may have contracted this disease from a [[Helicobacter pylori]] infection after his lung wound during the siege of [[Multan]], where it was common at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Jean-Arcady |title=The Rise and Fall of the Library of Alexandria |date=2023 |publisher=[[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]] |page=356}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Emerging Infectious Diseases Volume 9, Issues 7-12, Part 2 |date=2003 |publisher=Rutgers University |page=1600}}</ref> Proponents say this would explain why Alexander's body reportedly did not decompose for 6 days following his 'death' as he may well have been still alive but in a deep coma.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Katherine |title=Did Alexander the Great Die from Guillain-Barré Syndrome? |journal=Ancient History Bulletin |date=2018 |volume=32 |issue=3–4}}</ref><br />
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== Body preservation ==<br />
[[File:Funeral of Iskander.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Funeral of Iskander (Alexander): pallbearers carry his coffin draped with brocaded silk and his turban at one end. In [[Nizami Ganjavi|Nizami]]'s version Iskandar fell ill and died near Babylon. Because it was believed he had been poisoned, no antidotes could revive him.]]<br />
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One ancient account reports that the planning and construction of an appropriate funerary cart to convey the body out from Babylon took two years from the time of Alexander's death.<ref name ="Bianchi">{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/alexander/tomb.html|title=Hunting Alexander's Tomb|publisher =Archaeology.org|author=Robert S. Bianchi|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref> It is not known exactly how the body was preserved for about two years before it was moved from Babylon. In 1889, [[E. A. Wallis Budge]] suggested that the body was submerged in a vat of honey,<ref>{{cite book | last =Aufderheide| first =Arthur|title = The scientific study of mummies| publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 2003| pages = 261–262| isbn =0-521-81826-5}}</ref> while [[Plutarch]] reported treatment by [[Ancient Egyptian burial customs|Egyptian embalmers]].<ref name ="Bianchi"/><br />
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Egyptian and [[Chaldea]]n embalmers who arrived on 16 June are said to have attested to Alexander's lifelike appearance.<ref name ="Quest"/> This was interpreted as a complication of [[typhoid fever]], known as [[ascending paralysis]], which causes a person to appear dead prior to death.<ref name ="UMM">{{cite web|url=http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/bug.htm|title=INTESTINAL BUG LIKELY KILLED ALEXANDER THE GREAT|publisher =[[University of Maryland Medical Center]]|access-date=Aug 21, 2011}}</ref><br />
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== Resting place ==<br />
{{main|Tomb of Alexander the Great}}<br />
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On its way back to [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]], the funerary cart with Alexander's body was met in [[Syria]] by one of Alexander's generals, the future ruler [[Ptolemy I Soter]]. In late 322 or early 321 BC Ptolemy diverted the body to Egypt where it was interred in [[Memphis, Egypt]]. In the late 4th or early 3rd century BC Alexander's body was transferred from the Memphis tomb to [[Alexandria]] for reburial<ref name ="Bianchi"/> (by [[Ptolemy Philadelphus]] in {{circa|280 BC}}, according to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]). Later [[Ptolemy Philopator]] placed Alexander's body in Alexandria's communal mausoleum.<ref name ="Bianchi"/> Shortly after the death of [[Cleopatra]], Alexander's resting place was visited by [[Augustus]], who is said to have placed flowers on the tomb and a golden [[diadem]] upon Alexander's head.<ref name ="Bianchi"/> By the 4th century AD, the resting place of Alexander was no longer known; later authors, such as [[Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam]], [[Al-Masudi]] and [[Leo the African]], report having seen Alexander's tomb.<ref name ="Bianchi"/> Leo the African in 1491 and [[George Sandys]] in 1611 reportedly saw the tomb in [[Alexandria]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Madden | first =Richard| title =The Shrines and Sepulchres of the Old and New World |publisher =Newby | pages=137–138| year =1851 }}</ref> According to one legend, the body lies in a [[crypt]] beneath an early Christian church.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/110852.stm|title=Alexander's death riddle is 'solved' |publisher =[[BBC]]|access-date=Aug 21, 2011|date=June 11, 1998}}</ref><br />
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== See also ==<br />
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* [[Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great]]<br />
* [[Death of Cleopatra]]<br />
* [[List of unsolved deaths]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
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{{reflist}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
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* Hutan Ashrafian, "The Death of Alexander the Great&nbsp;— A Spinal Twist of Fate", ''Journal of the History of the Neurosciences'', Vol. 13, 2004<br />
{{refend}}</div>Bharatwiki Socrates