Arrian on the death of Alexander
The story of Alexander's death in Babylon is a bit mysterious, because our sources mention a "Royal diary" that is not very well-known. However, the information taken from it seems sound, even though there are some very strange elements in it.
Alexander died on 11 June 323 BCE, in the late afternoon; this can be deduced from the Astronomical Diaries, a Babylonian source. Several scholars have argued for 13 June and 10 June, but the first of these dates is based on an inaccurate Greek source that uses a confused Egyptian calendar, and the second is based on inaccurate reading of the Astronomical diary.
The following text is taken from the Anabasis by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia (7.24.4-27.2), translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt.
The death of Alexander |
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[7.24.4] A few days later Alexander was sitting at dinner with his friends and drinking far into the night. He had previously celebrated the customary sacrificial rites in thanks for his success, adding certain others in obedience to his seers' advice, and had also, we are told, distributed wine and sacrificial victims among the various units and sections of the army. According to some accounts, when he wished to leave his friends at their drinking and retire to his bedroom, he happened to meet Medius, who at that time was the companion most closely in his confidence, and Medius asked him to come and continue drinking at his own table, adding that the party would be a merry one. |
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