Alexander the Great and the Conquest of the Persians: A Reconstruction of Cleitarchus

The most influential account of the career of Alexander the Great was penned by Cleitarchus decades after Alexander’s death. But every copy was destroyed in antiquity and only derivatives survive. Now the work is revived in a riveting reconstruction based upon ancient works that it inspired. This volume covers Alexander’s conquest of the Persians, from the Battle of Issus in 333BC to the death of Darius in July 330BC. This was when the earth began to shake at Alexander’s tread and everything began to seem possible. It was to this that Christopher Marlowe alluded when he asked, ‘Is it not passing brave to be a king and ride in triumph through Persepolis?’ Yet often in Cleitarchus’ account Alexander had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Greatly outnumbered at Issus, he was also outflanked and encircled at Gaugamela. He nearly abandoned the siege of Tyre and he almost died when he was lost in the Libyan desert. This is the thrilling tale of Alexander’s successive triumphs in the face of dire adversity.