hello everyone and welcome back to royalty now where we recreate famous figures from the past and talk about their history today's subject is alexander the great one of the most well-known figures of all time we'll talk about his brief but mythical life and then discuss what he could have looked like before revealing brand new recreations of his appearance so let's go ahead and get started [Music] alexander iii of macedon known to us as alexander the great was born in the summer of 356 bce in pella macedonia his father philip ii of macedon was a brilliant
man that could have earned the title of great in his own right his policies led to the reformation of the macedonian army which would become one of the finest armies the ancient world would ever see this army paired with effective diplomacy and strategic marriage alliances allowed philip ii to bring macedonia from near irrelevance to dominance in under 25 years alexander's mother olympia known as an eccentric and mythical woman was from an ancient noble line from epperis her love for alexander was undeniable and she would show time and time again that she would do anything for
her son according to the greek biographer plutarch the night before olympias was set to marry philip she dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused flame to spread far and wide olympia would later tell her son that zeus was the one that visited her that night and that he was alexander's true father that alexander was a god amongst men alexander's legacy is full of things like this history mixed with legend up to his early teens alexander lived the typical life of a macedonian noble he learned to read play musical instruments ride fight
and hunt but when alexander turned 13 his father would hire a tutor just for him aristotle one of the most legendary minds of all time would be the man that philip chose he would teach alexander everything he possibly could about philosophy morals religion logic and art his influence on alexander would be immense aristotle would give alexander an annotated copy of the works of homer and alexander would be seen reading it everywhere he went for the rest of his life by the age of 18 alexander would fight alongside his father against athens and thebes in the
battle of kierania this would be the first of many times that alexander would show his military prowess he was the first to break the ranks of the joint army of thebes in athens which would then turn the battle into one of the most decisive winds in ancient history athens and thieves would be forced to align themselves with king philip ii electing him as the commander of their armies this completed macedon's rise to dominance under philip in under 25 years but philip's relationship with alexander had become more difficult to handle although incredibly influential to him as
a boy alexander had grown into an intelligent and ambitious man someone worthy of the macedonian throne and he was beginning to question his father's authority over the next few years philip and olympia would go through a bitter and jealous divorce and to make things worse king philip was set to marry a macedonian woman named cleopatra this would make any child they had full-blooded macedonian and it would have a better claim to the throne than the half-greek half-macedonian alexander olympia always protective of her son shirley whispered things into alexander's ear to sew the seeds of doubt
why would philip do this was this all despite her and alexander's claim [Music] at king philip's wedding to cleopatra the tense alexander heard the words confirming his worst fears and his mother's whispers cleopatra's father atalis decided to toast the marriage urging all revelers to pray for a true macedonian heir alexander ragefully launched his cup at atlas hitting him right in the head and yelled out what am i then a bastard king phillip would rise from his chair draw his sword and lunge towards alexander but before he could reach him he drunkenly collapsed over a table
alexander and his mother would leave in self-exile after the wedding in reality philip had no plans of disowning his son he would talk with alexander and convince him that his fears were all nonsense so alexander did return to macedonia with his father but his mother's whispers would stay in the back of his mind what happened next is arguably the most consequential moment in recorded history in october of 336 king philip was in his kingdom's capital of iae celebrating the marriage of his daughter cleopatra alexander's only full sibling philip would go into the capitals theater to
welcome greek diplomats to the celebration but just as he entered he was violently stabbed in the ribs from behind king philip ii of macedon was dead murdered by a macedonian's blade what we don't understand is why there are historians who say that the assassin possonus of verestus was philip's former lover whom philip had left for a younger man the crime was then one of passion and revenge there are others that say that the instigator is painfully obvious olympias and alexander were the ones who gained the most from philip's death whoever the instigator they could not
have possibly imagined the effect on history this one night would have alexander would succeed his father but he was met with rivals and rebellions everywhere he looked he would have to earn his throne he ordered the execution of anyone he deemed a threat including many of his father's children from other marriages and atlas the man who had given the toast at his father's wedding he would crush the rebellions in his kingdom even going as far as burning thieves completely to the ground with his kingdom secured alexander was free to fulfill his lifelong dream in 334
bce alexander iii of macedon barely 20 years old declared war on the persian empire and began one of the greatest military campaigns in history the persian empire at this time was the largest the world had ever seen stretching all the way from india to the border of alexander's territories in greece it'd been around for more than 200 years beginning with cyrus the great and reaching its peak under xerxes the first darius iii had begun his reign in persia only months before alexander and although he was told repeatedly not to engage with alexander's elite infantry by
greek spies he couldn't bring himself to take the threat seriously he ordered his son-in-law mithridates and 40 000 men from the region to meet alexander head on alexander's army was from all over greece they spoke different languages had different tactics and it even fought one another before many of them had a hard time finding the respect for a young macedonian king but he would soon prove his worth to all of them when the persian army first met alexander at the crossing of the river granicus in what is now turkey it's obvious to everyone that alexander
was outnumbered eighteen thousand soldiers against the much larger persian force of forty thousand but being outnumbered meant nothing to alexander it was all about the worth that each man had he would lead the charge against the persians in the first major battle of his life clashing his cavalry against the persians with almost thoughtless regard in the midst of the chaos alexander would nearly lose his life his charge would leave him surrounded by persian nobles one of them landed a nearly lethal strike directly to alexander's head his helmet shattered and would take most of the blow
but leave alexander concussed another persian sword in hand galloped towards alexander from behind and he had no idea certain death would come from the persian strike but the sword rose in the air and just as it was coming down to kill alexander it was cut off by one of alexander's generals clydus the black alexander was lucky to be alive but his battle plan had worked perfectly what had appeared to the persians as a foolish charge revealed itself to be a distraction made by alexander and his cavalry alexander's superior infantry much slower than his horses now
we're safely crossing the river the macedonian phalanx was made up of 9 000 rigorously trained men holding 18-foot spears called cyruses outnumbered 2-1 alexander would only lose a hundred men they had killed 000 persians [Music] over the course of the next 18 months alexander would lay claim to the persian empire without much opposition it was not until alexander's army crossed into syria that king darius revealed himself ancient sources state that a hundred thousand persian forces stood between alexander and darius it's moments like this when you realize why he's called alexander the great massively outnumbered and
trapped with nowhere to run but there was no hesitation alexander would again charge the persian army head on the speed and audacity of alexander's charge would break the persian right line almost immediately as he turns his eyes down the battlefield he sees that his infantry has become disoriented crossing a river and they're taking casualties from the enormous persian force alexander immediately charges the back of the persian army attacking his men and as he arrives the persians are forced to face him and defend themselves his infantry are given time to reform and begin across the river
again and the persians begin to panic alexander's forces outnumbered two to one have already turned the tide alexander scans the battlefield for his long time rival darius it doesn't take him long to find him and he charges when king darius realized that alexander was coming straight towards him he turned from the battlefield and fled much of his army would attempt to do the same and the battle would quickly turn into a massacre forty thousand persians would lose their lives at the battle of isis this would mark the beginning of the end for the persian empire
in his sheer panic darius had left his mother wife and two daughters behind they would become alexander's prisoners but he would treat them very well nevertheless the women were forced to follow alexander's armies into egypt where he would spend the next two years alexander would be welcomed with open arms by the people of egypt as their king and liberator he would be named pharaoh soon after arriving and come to truly respect egyptian culture and religion he restored temples that had gone into ruin under persian rule and even built new monuments to the egyptian gods before
leaving egypt alexander created the city of alexandria which would become one of the greatest cities of the ancient world as alexander's armies marched back into persia he would receive a letter from king darius the letter demanded that alexander release his family back to him darius stated that there had once been a friendship between their kingdoms but alexander had ruined it he claimed that he had only fought alexander because he crossed into persian territory but their fight could now be over king darius would be prepared to forgive him from one king to another if he only
released his family back to him alexander would send him a scathing reply in alexander's letter he would remind darius that the persians had burned athens to the ground they had funded macedonia's enemies they had turned macedonia's allies against them and finally alexander would blame darius for his father's death he was now just claiming to punish darius for his aggressions towards him in future whenever you communicate with me send to me as king of asia do not write me as an equal but state your demands to the master of all your possessions if not i shall
deal with you as a wrongdoer if you wish to lay claim to the title of king then stand your ground and fight for it do not take to flight as i shall pursue you wherever you may be within a year alexander would defeat darius decisively at the battle of gal gamella ending the persian empire and taking control of all of its territories when alexander entered the legendary city of babylon he was absolutely entranced he saw the mythical hanging gardens above and the streets lined with flowers silver and thousands of people hoping to get a glimpse
of him he had defeated the persian empire in only six years he was the pharaoh of egypt and the newly crowned king of kings he was the most powerful man on the planet earth at only 25 alexander wanted nothing more than to be loved by the persian people but unfortunately for alexander he had begun to drink to excess which led him to have extreme fits of anger during his visit to persepolis alexander drunkenly ordered for the city to be pillaged and burned as revenge for the persians burning athens 150 years before the fire would end
up destroying hundreds of years worth of art and culture when he finally sobered up he would bitterly regret his decision and he would leave the city and not come back for years to come although defeated darius had escaped the battle of galgamella and alexander became obsessed with finding him unfortunately before alexander could find him darius would be betrayed by one of his own generals alexander would find his body in order for him to be buried as the king that he was out of respect to darius's wife mother and children although darius's family were originally prisoners
of alexander's they'd become extremely close in fact alexander was beginning to adopt persian customs and dress like a persian these were things that his countrymen were beginning to resent but they did understand that alexander was just attempting to get the persian people on his side it was only when he began to demand that everyone even his officers kiss his hand and bow before him that they felt he crossed a line in greek culture the kissing of limbs and bowing is strictly reserved for the gods and some of his officers took this offense very deeply a
side effect of these offenses turned out to be plots against his life alexander would soon discover the first of several it had only been six years since his father had been assassinated by one of his own men and the idea was very fresh in alexander's mind one of his most respected commanders philitis confessed that he knew of the plot but kept it secret from alexander he would have philatus and his father parmenion executed immediately spiraling further into paranoia and continuing to close off to his men alexander would begin to bring in persian advisors and replace
the old macedonian ones he would press his army further and further into asia they were chasing king darius's killer while fighting off local tribes but they continued to crush anyone that got in their way in 328 bce they arrived at the edge of the persian empire alexander wood continuing his tradition name a city after himself there alexandria escate meaning furthest alexandria one night partying with some of his closest friends a drunk alexander began boasting that his conquests were greater than all the men who came before him even his father philip ii clydus the black who
had fought alongside philip angrily disagreed with alexander finding it incredibly disrespectful to his father phillip clyde has argued that philip had laid the foundation for everything that alexander had achieved soon a shouting match had erupted between the two men and in his drunken rage alexander seized a spear and threw it directly through clydus's chest killing him instantly alexander had just murdered the man who had saved him from certain death in his first battle against the persians it said that alexander was so regretful that he had to be restrained from taking his own life with the
same spear a second assassination attempt would then push alexander further and further away from his old greek companions in 327 bce alexander married a local persian nobleman's daughter roxanna after supposedly falling in love with her on-site at the age of 29 this was alexander's first marriage and it was met with skepticism from his comrades historians debate whether or not this relationship was for love or just to have a political alliance in the heart of persia his men questioned why he didn't choose a macedonian bride to have a true macedonian heir and continue his legacy alexander
had once again chosen persia over his men [Music] alexander would order his army into modern-day pakistan and india what greeks consider to be the edge of the world [Music] alexander would defeat yet another king at the battle of hydaspus but would lose the most men he ever had whispers began to spread throughout the camp of an enormous army full of elephants and millions of men waiting for them in india it had been eight years countless battles and even more miles for the men of alexander's army they had conquered the world but now they just wanted
to go home they would not take another step not lose another man they demanded that alexander turn around and although he was furious he obliged them it would take them two years to return only shortly after his return in the fall of 324 bce feistin alexander's lifelong friend and possible lover died suddenly at the age of 32. alexander's grief would be uncontrollable he would not eat or drink for days he shaved his head and ordered the death of the physician who was supposed to be looking after havaishin and demanded temples be burned to the ground
alexander would never recover from papistan's death and in only eight short months he too would be dead in 323 bce exhausted from their march back home alexander and his men decide to rest in the ancient metropolis of babylon as usual they plan to party and revel in their latest victories alexander's army was continuing their proud tradition of extremely high alcohol consumption and this night would be no different the only odd thing was that alexander excused himself from the party early to get some sleep indicating that he didn't feel very well the following day alexander felt
feverish but even while sick he was still challenging a friend to a drinking contest but in the middle of drinking he reported a stabbing pain in his back and he left the party over the next few days his condition had worsened so badly that he could not speak in a dramatic handover of power he handed his signet ring to his senior general perticus on june 11th just a month shy of his 33rd birthday alexander succumbed to his fever and died but there was no plan for the succession of his kingdom the only plan that alexander
had was when someone asked him to whom do you leave this kingdom his only reply was to the strongest although alexander's wife roxanna would give birth to a son after alexander's death the sun would never rule strangely alexander's officers didn't notice any signs of decomposition in his body until burial they assumed this was because he was a god but modern historians naturally have many questions and theories about this there's even one horrifying proposal that he wasn't dead but just paralyzed and then killed during embalming many questions remain about how he died and if he was
poisoned [Music] after his death alexander's kingdom broke into three parts called the hellenistic kingdoms each part was taken over by one of his generals the antigonids ruled in macedonia in greece the ptolemies later giving us cleopatra vii ruled in egypt and the seleucids ruled persia even with a young death alexander left quite a legacy despite his demons by all account alexander fought and behaved nobly he was honorable in combat and was an incredibly skilled and courageous warrior he also united his conquered regions under the greek language which facilitated trade and learning between the groups that
wasn't possible before encouraging generals to intermarry within these conquered regions helped establish a more unified culture he was also very tolerant of the different cultures and religions that were in these areas and permitted a lot of local autonomy in a way alexander's legacy burns more brightly than his life itself but his mark on history will not be forgotten so what did alexander the great really look like fortunately for us there are hundreds of images of alexander that can be viewed today his huge empire lent itself really well to creating a propaganda machine spreading his heroic
image far and wide but similar to his history his image mix is legend with truth it's safe to assume that most busts of alexander were created by people who never saw him or are copies of copies it's also safe to assume that most of them include some idealized traits showing him as the god that he thought he was scholars aren't sure which versions of alexander if any were created during his lifetime most are assumed to be later copies of lost originals now we do know that alexander chose only a few artists to produce his true
image the sculptor lysippos had been with his family his whole life sculpting his father and other members of the macedonian nobility his works would have been originally produced in bronze but none survived today there are few portraits that are thought to be closer than others to the life of alexander and these include the azara herm which is thought to be a direct copy of an original lysippos all of the portraits of the great ruler share the same common characteristics of this classically beautiful face crown of curly hair and strong features he's got a jutting chin
strong forehead and a strong nose given how much each portrait has in common i do think the truth of his face lies in these images and isn't totally greek fantasy because they also match some descriptions of him from his lifetime descriptions from his lifetime mostly agree that he had blonde or golden hair fair skin that may have been a bit red and a handsome face with a prominent forehead he was also stocky and muscular and may have stood around five five or five six he's also always depicted clean shaven which is interesting because it's a
departure from the way that other macedonian kings depicted themselves alexander may also have had heterochromia which is a condition where the eyes are two different colors or a speckled combination of both his hair color is probably the most debated thing about his appearance we pretty much have every color under the sun depicted in images of alexander from dark like in this roman era mosaic to red like this greek mosaic from around his lifetime kalistini is a greek historian labeled alexander's hair as lion colored we might say tawny a roman source alien says that alexander's hair
was golden but translations for the greek adjective he used could also include reddish blonde now the so-called alexander sarcophagus is an interesting piece of evidence now this is not the sarcophagus of alexander because his tomb has never been found but rather it's a hellenistic work that was commissioned for another man not long after alexander's death it depicts alexander engaging in battle and was originally brightly painted and interestingly the color analysis showed that he was given red hair in these images so i've provided a range of recreations to account for this so let's go ahead and
check out some recreations of alexander the great now [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you all so much for watching please check out the etsy store for prints and bookmarks of your favorite historical recreations and of course leave your comments of future subjects you'd love to see in the comments for us below it was a pleasure talking history with you today and we'll see you for the next video [Music] you
