[00:10] On the 11th June 323 BC, Alexander the Great
passed away.
[00:21] Following his death in Babylon, his body became
a continuing source of war, intrigue and mystery.
[00:29] His body and his tomb were lost; yet the legend
lives on and historians are still trying to
[00:35] uncover clues to their whereabouts.
[00:38] But how did this all come about?
[00:41] Why did all records of Alexander’s tomb
abruptly cease?
[00:45] In this two-part documentary, we shall unravel
the history surrounding Alexander’s tomb
[00:50] and attempt to answer this question.
[00:53] This is the story behind Alexander’s body
and his tomb.
[00:59] Almost immediately after Alexander’s death,
chaos erupted, as the Macedonians quickly
[01:05] began arguing over the fate of the empire,
leaving his body unattended for many days
[01:11] in the Babylonian heat.
[01:14] Legend has it that upon returning to the corpse,
to everyone’s amazement, they found it in
[01:19] pristine condition – untouched by decay.
[01:22] Perdiccas, the highest-ranking commander in
Babylon, then had Alexander’s body embalmed
[01:29] and placed in a golden coffin.
[01:34] For the next two years Alexander’s body
remained in Babylon, as Perdiccas and his
[01:40] followers oversaw the construction of a funeral
carriage unlike any other the world had seen.
[01:47] The carriage was designed to resemble a great
temple: it had beautiful Ionic columns encircled
[01:54] by paintings depicting Alexander and his army
and was covered with gold.
[01:59] It was to be pulled by 64 mules, each bearing
a golden crown and bell.
[02:07] Upon its completion, Perdiccas ordered that
Alexander’s body to be escorted home to
[02:12] Aegae in Macedonia – the traditional resting
place of the Macedonian Kings.
[02:19] Yet the plan went horribly wrong.
[02:24] The governor of Egypt Ptolemy was aware of
the great wealth and potential of his domain
[02:30] and soon grew ambitious, eager to get rid
of Perdiccas’ control.
[02:36] He believed he might achieve this by taking
possession of Alexander’s body, as it was
[02:42] a superhuman talisman representing authority
and legitimacy in this new post-Alexander
[02:49] world.
[02:50] Whoever controlled the body held great sway.
[02:55] Ptolemy was not deterred by Perdiccas’ precautions
to keep the body, but he needed a daring plan.
[03:05] In 321 BC, Alexander’s elaborate funeral
cart left Babylon for Macedonia.
[03:12] Yet as the procession was making its way through
Syria, Ptolemy made his move, bribing the
[03:18] escort, seizing the body and diverting it
to Egypt, where he had it housed in Memphis
[03:24] – the traditional Egyptian capital.
[03:29] Perdiccas was furious, as his authority as
regent had been severely tarnished.
[03:35] It was the opposite for Ptolemy, as Alexander’s
soldiers came from far and wide to swell the
[03:41] ranks of his army.
[03:43] Perdiccas immediately marched on Egypt with
his army – his main aim to regain control
[03:49] of the body and restore his authority.
[03:53] In the ensuing war, covered in our documentary
which you can see here, Ptolemy emerged victorious
[03:59] and Perdiccas was murdered.
[04:01] Alexander’s body was now securely in Ptolemy’s
possession.
[04:09] He quickly began proclaiming the link between
himself and Alexander, becoming the first
[04:14] of the Diadochi to put Alexander’s image
on his coinage, and emphasising that he was
[04:20] a favourite of Alexander in his account on
the conquest of Asia.
[04:25] Ptolemy also cultivated a local legend of
Alexander.
[04:29] Rather than being the son of Philip of Macedon,
Egyptian tales soon became widespread that
[04:35] Alexander was the son of the last Egyptian
pharaoh Nectanebo II.
[04:40] In 343 BC, the Persians had deposed Nectanebo,
who had then died in exile.
[04:47] His pre-made sarcophagus in Memphis had therefore
remained empty.
[04:53] It is likely Ptolemy had first placed Alexander
in this empty coffin and it was from here
[04:58] that this fabulous story took root.
[05:01] A pharaoh of Egypt could only be legitimate
if he was related to his predecessor, so this
[05:07] tale helped portray Alexander as Nectanebo’s
rightful heir.
[05:12] It also established a connection between the
Macedonian and Egyptian dynasties – a connection
[05:18] that only helped Ptolemy’s cause.
[05:21] At the same time, Ptolemy began spreading
the rumour that he was in fact an illegitimate
[05:26] son of Philip II and thus the half-brother
of Alexander.
[05:32] Both stories spread rapidly and helped Ptolemy
secure his rule in Egypt – thanks in good
[05:38] measure to his clever use of Alexander’s
body.
[05:42] Following the climactic battle of Ipsus in
301 BC, Ptolemy had Alexander’s body moved
[05:49] to the centre of his new capital at Alexandria
and placed in a new, elaborate tomb.
[05:56] The city had been founded by Alexander back
in 331 BC but had only recently been completed.
[06:04] Immediately, Ptolemy set about promoting Alexander
adulation.
[06:09] Not only did he have Alexander publicly honoured
as the founder of Alexandria, but he also
[06:15] introduced a state cult of Alexander throughout
Egypt.
[06:19] His statues were erected far and wide while
processions and festivals centred around the
[06:25] great conqueror also appeared.
[06:30] In 283 BC, Ptolemy I passed away.
[06:35] For the next 150 years Ptolemy’s descendants
would rule Egypt, and the memory of the great
[06:42] king was crucial for their dynasty.
[06:48] Almost immediately after his father’s death,
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, had him deified and
[06:54] worshipped alongside Alexander.
[06:57] The message was clear: in both life and death
these two kings were inseparable.
[07:04] Philadelphus also created a new religious
festival in honour of his father: the Ptolemaia.
[07:11] Hosted every four years this festival attracted
many thousands of visitors not only from Egypt,
[07:17] but all around the Greek World.
[07:22] Fortunately for us, a description of the Ptolemaia
staged in 275-274 BC survives.
[07:30] Dubbed, ‘the Grand Procession of Ptolemy
Philadelphus’, It was an EXTREMELY lavish
[07:36] parade through the centre of Alexandria.
[07:38] Soldiers, animals, gems, gold and images of
Gods – especially Dionysios - all featured,
[07:47] emphasising the unbounded wealth, splendour
and power of Ptolemaic Egypt.
[07:56] Alexander was central to the procession.
[07:58] First, his statue appeared on top of a great
float accompanied by another statue of the
[08:04] now-deified Ptolemy I - both wearing gold
diadems of ivy leaves.
[08:11] Following this came a golden statue of Alexander
in a chariot, towed by four elephants and
[08:16] surrounded by statues of the Gods.
[08:20] This procession reminded the onlookers not
only that Alexandria was the home of Alexander’s
[08:25] body but also of the inseparable link between
it and the Ptolemies.
[08:31] Desiring to further emphasise this link Ptolemy
IV ‘Philopator’, placed Alexander’s
[08:37] body in a new royal burial complex in c. 215
BC.
[08:43] It soon became known as the ‘Soma’ or
the body – named after its main exhibit.
[08:48] This new mausoleum was almost certainly visually
majestic – perhaps inspired by the famed
[08:56] tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus.
[08:59] The complex may also have been circular, in
its turn possibly inspiring the great tombs
[09:05] of the Roman emperors Augustus and Hadrian.
[09:09] Inside the enclosure, Alexander’s body was
placed in an underground chamber along with
[09:14] remains of the Ptolemies, once again emphasising
the closest possible link between the Ptolemies
[09:20] and Alexander.
[09:22] The Soma soon became an iconic feature of
Alexandria.
[09:27] From far and wide, visitors would journey
to Alexander’s city and see his marvellous
[09:33] tomb.
[09:34] It was a place of pagan pilgrimage.
[09:36] Still, no dynasty can last forever and by
the beginning of the First Century BC, the
[09:43] Ptolemaic dynasty had become a shadow of its
former power.
[09:48] So great was its turmoil that in 89 BC King
Ptolemy X had done the unthinkable: in desperate
[09:55] need of money to pay his mercenaries, he melted
down Alexander’s golden sarcophagus, replacing
[10:01] it with one made of glass.
[10:03] Regardless, Ptolemaic power continued to dwindle
and within 70 years, a new power would be
[10:09] ruling Alexandria.
[10:11] A power that also had a keen interest in Alexander’s
tomb – but for very different reasons: Rome.
[11:18] The second video on the story behind Alexander’s
tomb and his body will we released soon, so
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[11:35] who make the creation of our videos possible.
[11:38] This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.