On This Day In History: Alexander The Great Died In Babylon – On June 11, 323 BC

MessageToEagle.com – On June 11, 323 BC, Alexander the Great, son of King Philip II of Macedon, died in Babylon after suffering ten days of high fever.

Theories concerning his cause of death have ranged from poisoning to malaria to meningitis to bacterial infection from drinking contaminated water (among others).

According to Plutarch, 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained his fleet admiral Nearcus and his friend Medius of Larissa with a long bout of drinking, after which he fell into a fever from which he never recovered.

When he was asked who should succeed him, Alexander said, “The strongest”, which answer led to his empire being divided between four of his generals: Cassander, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Seleucus (known as The Diadochi or `successors’).

Alexander  became king upon his father’s death in 336 BC and went on to conquer most of the known world of his day. He is known as ‘the great’ both for his military genius and his diplomatic skills in handling the various populaces of the regions he conquered.

He is further recognized for spreading Greek culture, language, and thought from Greece throughout Asia Minor, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to India and thus initiating the era of the “Hellenistic World”.

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