History of Alexander

This article is about the historical work by Cleitarchus. For the subject of the work, see Alexander the Great.

The History of Alexander, also known as Perì Aléxandron historíai,[1] is a lost work by the late-fourth century BC Hellenistic historian Cleitarchus, covering the life and death of Alexander the Great. It survives today in around thirty fragments[2] and is commonly known as The Vulgate, with the works based on it known as The Vulgate Tradition. These works consist primarily of that of Diodorus, the Bibliotheca historica, and Quintus Curtius Rufus, with his Historiae Alexandri Magni.[3]

Completed at some point between 309 and 301 BC,[4] it was the most popular work depicting Alexander in its time, but is valuable today for its unique perspective on the conqueror, in particular his psychological disposition and specifics of how the soldiers under him lived. It is considered an unreliable source, with modern scholars considering Cleitarchus to have been more dedicated to writing an entertaining story than a reliable historical account.[5] This dedication was also challenged by ancient historians such as Arrian, who wrote his The Anabasis of Alexander in what is believed to be a deliberate attempt to counter Cleitarchus' "Vulgate Tradition", and in doing so created a work regarded by modern scholars as the best source on Alexander.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Cleitarchus". www.iranicaonline.org. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  2. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cleitarchus" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 481.
  3. ^ Chugg, Andrew. "Concerning Alexander: The History of Alexander the Great by Cleitarchus" (PDF). alexanderstomb.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Cleitarchus – Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Alexander 3.2 The Vulgate – Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  6. ^ Bosworth, A.B. (1988). From Arrian to Alexander. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1–37.