What Do We Know About Alexander The Great?

Was Alexander the Great a good general? Was he blond? How big was his empire at its height?

Tristan Hughes, Ancient Historian and host of the podcast The Ancients answers Google’s Most Popular Questions About Alexander The Great.

00:00 Intro
00:45 Was Alexander the Great… a real person?
01:33 Was Alexander the Great… Greek or Macedonian?
02:52 Who were Alexander the Great’s… parents?
04:20 Was Alexander the Great’s… Christian?
05:20 Was Alexander the Great… blond?
05:57 Was Alexander the Great… taught by Aristotle?
06:32 Did Alexander the Great… tame Bucephalus?
08:06 Why did Alexander the Great… destroy Thebes?
09:57 Why did Alexander the Great… invade Persia?
11:36 Was Alexander the Great… a good general?
12:20 Was Alexander the Great… a Pharaoh?
13:16 Was Alexander the Great… a God?
13:57 Why did Alexander the Great… invade India?
14:49 Why did Alexander the Great… cry?
16:49 Did Alexander the Great… conquer the whole world?
18:20 Who was Alexander the Great’s… lover?
21:33 Did Alexander the Great… have a son?
23:02 Who killed Alexander the Great?
23:56 Was Alexander the Great… buried alive?
26:44 Why didn't Alexander the Great... conquer Rome?
28:03 Why was Alexander the Great… great?
Is Alexander the Great… in the bible?
29:06 Was Alexander the Great… a good person?
29:34 Outro

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.

#historianreacts #expertanswers #alexanderthegreat

[heatherrobertson]

I assume that the question "Why did Alexander cry?" is meant to elicit the answer "He wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer" which is a sort of modern paraphrase of Plutarch.

[ilirlluka]

The person who asked "Was Alexander the Great a Christian?" appears to have a worrying lack of basic historical timelines awareness.

[AceMoonshot]

Just my worthless opinion but I think the, "Why did Alexander the Great cry?" question is in reference to the story that "Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer."

[rddim]

Thank you for clarifying that he was Greek, people cannot understand history without its context ! cheers

[tommysalty]

I really enjoy the Ancients!

Tristan has such a nice energy and I love his voice.

The guests are always wonderful people with inspiring stories.

Thanks for all the good things you bring us :)

[Hydro]

Saying Alexander isn’t Greek is like saying Christopher Columbus isn’t Italian, yes the countries as we know it didn’t exist but they were born in the land that would eventually be part of those countries. The city Alexander and his father were born are parts of northern Greece

[rafaellagaribaldi]

What is known about the ancient Macedonians?
1) They spoke a Greek dialect
2) They had Greek personal names
3) They had Greek Royal names
4) They had Greek place names (e.g Pella, Aegae, Thessaloniki, Amphipolis etc
5) They worshipped Greek gods
6) they proudly proclaimed that they were Greeks
7)They had Greek names for the months of the year
8) They participated in the Olympic games where only Greeks were allowed to participate
9) The cultural milieu of the Macedonians was Greek
10) The coins they minted in their millions was Greek
11) The Temples they built were Greek
12) The legacy they left from Egypt to India was Greek.

[ChargeCity]

It's refreshing to just hear someone say Macedonia is Greek

[williamromine]

Alexander the Great died some 300 years before Jesus was born. Of course he couldn't have been Christian. Who could have asked such a question?

[vangelisskia]

"It should be noted that there is NO CONNECTION between the ancient Macedonians of the time of Alexander the Great who were related to other Greek [Hellenic] tribes, and the modern so called "Macedonians" of today [of the Former Yugoslav Rep..of north Macedonia]who are of Slavic origin and related to the Bulgarians"
[David H Levinson, Anthropologist, Encyclopaedia of World Cultures, p. 239]

[iordanistzivas]

Greetings from ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΑ, ΕΛΛΑΣ. Thank you for the video. Short and very informative 👍

[OrriTheFox]

Iron Maiden playing this song on the latest tour was INCREDIBLE. Up the irons!

[momasher]

I had assumed he’s called “the Great” because he conquered Persia, and was portrayed therefore as a sort of successor to Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great. Basically, putting him on a level with the Persian Great Kings to legitimize his rule. (Mind you, I’m no expert on Alexander or the Persian Empire LOL I’m just reading Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and extrapolating a bit 🤷🏻‍♀️)

[dh]

Kids these days call him Alexander the GOAT

[Charge]

It’s not the republic of Macedonia. It’s the republic of northern Macedonia. Which is not ethnically connected to ancient Macedonia.

[williamrobinson]

This works well, this format.
Nice one Tristan and team. 🌟👍

[adsctt]

Love this! Very interesting history and a great presenter!

[williamberven-phig]

Alexander must have been one of the most charismatic men who ever lived. Thousands of Alpha men followed and fought for him through a decade or more of war and deprivation: this boy, no more than 5'7" whose greatest love was one of his generals. In his presence one of have felt himself in the company of a god.

[Theodoros_Kolokotronis]

Great documentary ! All answers still lie in “Vergina”, for over two millenniums now, to this very day..

Two monumental works regarding the legacy of the Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia are:

“The Rise of the Greeks” by Michael Grant and

“Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 B.C.: A Historical Biography” by Peter Green.

Truly masterpieces.

[LograyX]

It's fascinating that one of the Alexandrias he founded, Alexandria Eschate was still around and held some Greek culture into the 1st Century BCE. They had diplomatic ties to the Han Empire in China.