Alexander the Great: References & Edit History

The original sources for Alexander are lost; among secondary authorities are Diodorus Siculus, Book XVII; Quintus Curtius Rufus; Plutarch, Life of Alexander; Justinus’s abridgment of Trogus; and Arrian, Anabasis and Indica, especially in the edition titled Arrian, trans. and ed. by P.A. Brunt, 2 vol. (1976–83), in the Loeb Classical Library. Pseudo-Callisthenes, The Romance of Alexander the Great, trans. by Albert Mugrdich Wolohojian (1969), is the first English translation of a 5th-century Armenian version of the Historia Alexandri Magni, which was composed in Greek, probably in the 4th century ce, by an unknown poet and falsely ascribed to Callisthenes. Studies of ancient sources include Lionel Pearson, The Lost Histories of Alexander the Great (1960, reprinted 1983); J.R. Hamilton, Plutarch: Alexander, a Commentary (1969); N.G.L. Hammond, Three Historians of Alexander the Great: The So-Called Vulgate Authors, Diodorus, Justin, and Curtius (1983); and A.B. Bosworth, From Arrian to Alexander: Studies in Historical Interpretation (1988).

Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 bc, rev. and enlarged (1974, reissued 1991), is a complete biography, with genealogy and an annotated bibliography. W.W. Tarn, Alexander the Great, 2 vol. (1948, reprinted in 1 vol., 1981), surveys ancient sources and offers a favourable portrait of Alexander. J.R. Hamilton, Alexander the Great (1973), a historical account, treats Alexander as an efficient politician. A.R. Burn, Alexander the Great and the Middle East, rev. ed. (1973), is a biographical study that is both scholarly and popular. Mary Renault, The Nature of Alexander (1975, reissued 1983), is a popular illustrated biography. An examination of Alexander drawn from newer research is found in Robin Lane Fox, The Search for Alexander (1980). A.B. Bosworth, Conquest and Empire (1988), a biography, is divided into a narrative of Alexander’s reign and four thematic studies and includes an extensive bibliography. E. Badian, Studies in Greek and Roman History (1964), a scholarly collection, includes criticism of Alexander. Controversial issues are discussed in G.T. Griffith (ed.), Alexander the Great: The Main Problems (1966). John Maxwell O’Brien, Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy (1992), contains an extensive bibliography. Later volumes of note are Michael Wood, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia (1997), published to accompany a BBC television series of the same name; and Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great (2011). Richard Stoneman, Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend (2008), traces the legends of Alexander throughout the world. James S. Romm, Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire (2012), treats the aftermath of Alexander’s death.

Studies of Alexander as a military leader include J.F.C. Fuller, The Generalship of Alexander the Great (1958, reprinted 1989); E.W. Marsden, The Campaign of Gaugamela (1964); R.D. Milns, Alexander the Great (1968); Donald W. Engels, Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army (1978); N.G.L. Hammond, Alexander the Great: King, Commander, and Statesman (1980); the appropriate chapter in John Keegan, The Mask of Command (1987); and Paul Cartledge, Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past (2004). A book that treats the context of Alexander’s conquests is Pierre Briant, Alexander the Great and His Empire: A Short Introduction (2010; originally published in French, 1974), translated by Amélie Kuhrt. Diana Spencer, The Roman Alexander (2002), presents the myth of Alexander’s greatness more or less as a creation of the Romans. Frank L. Holt, Alexander the Great and Bactria (1989), examines Alexander’s impact on Central Asia. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Search for Alexander (1980), is an exhibition catalog with essays on Alexander and on Macedonian history and art.