Alexander the Great : the death of a god : what - or who - really killed the young conqueror of the known world? / Paul Doherty.

In 5/323 BCE Alexander of Macedonia fell ill in Babylon. Within ten days he was dead. A military genius who raged thru the Persian empire, Alexander believed he was the son of God, with a desire for everlasting glory & an urge to march & conquer the world. The Death of Alexander the Great critically analyzes this extraordinary conqueror who achieved so much before he died at the age of 33. Alexander was a man who wanted to be a God, a Greek who wanted to be a Persian, a defender of liberties who spent most of his life taking away the liberties of others, & a king who could be compassionate to the lowliest yet ruthlessly wipe out an ancient city like Tyre & crucify 3000 of its defenders. Doherty scrutinizes the circumstances surrounding Alexander's death as he lay sweating beside a swimming pool in the summer palace of the Persian kings. Did Alexander die of alcoholism, a hideous bout of malaria or were other factors involved? Alexander had been warned not to enter Babylon, so he surrounded himself with outstanding captains of war.