Did Alexander the Great die of a rare neurological disorder?
All of you have read about Alexander the Great. Also known as Alexander III or Alexander of Macedonia, he was one of the most successful and well-known military leaders that the world has ever seen. in history. Born in 356 BCE in Pella, Macedonia, he was the son of Philip II, king of ancient Macedonia and Olympias, Greek princess of the Molossians.
After his father's political assassination, Alexander inherited the throne of Macedon in 336 BCE at the young age of 20. Before his demise in 323 BCE, he established one of the biggest continental empires in history. Here are three interesting facts about this historical hero that you haven’t heard of.
Alexander didn’t lose a single battle
Alexander was on conquest for 15 years without ever losing a war. That’s saying a lot! He was involved in at least seven battles, three before his conquest of the Persian Empire and four more during and after the invasion (between 336 BCE to 323 BCE). Alexander was greatly outnumbered in several of his most important and decisive battles. While Alexander deeply understood military tactics and his army consisted of well-trained veterans. All of these ensured victory after victory.
It’s said that he never lost a battle, thanks to his use of the phalanx (the military tactic of forming a block of heavily armed soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder) and cavalry (soldiers who fought mounted on horseback), which he combined with an instinctive sense of leadership. The versatile army had heavily equipped foot soldiers who formed a phalanx and pushed fiercely behind raised shields and spears. Alexander led his troops in combat while taking multiple wounds, winning their loyalty. Clearly, everything turned out in his favor.
He was the pupil of Aristotle
Alexander grew up in the tutelage of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE.) Aristotle had left Athens soon after his teacher Plato's demise and at the request of King Philip II, began tutoring Alexander in 343 BC. He agreed to teach on the condition that the king would reconstruct Aristotle’s mansion, Stageria, that had earlier been destroyed by Philip II himself. He sent young Alexander to Aristotle so that he could emerge as an enlightened ruler. Aristotle trained him from the age of 13 to 16 years, which sparked his interest in philosophy, medicine, and scientific inquiry. However, Alexander moved ahead of his teacher's constricting belief that non-Greeks should be treated as slaves!
The death of Alexander the Great is
The towering leader passed away unexpectedly in Babylon at the young age of 32. According to legend, his illness started after a wild night of drinking. He had drank 12 pints of wine. The following morning, Alexander complained of being worn out and having "generalized aches." Yet he consumed another dozen pints of wine. A day later, Alexander began to experience terrible abdominal pain and a fever that was getting worse. Only eight days after his symptoms started, the great leader was bedridden. He was in severe pain and progressively lost his capacity to move, retaining only the ability to blink his eyes and twitch his hands. Alexander was declared dead by the end of the 11th day. However, we cannot be sure.
According to a new study published in the Ancient History Bulletin, the fearsome military genius died of rare disease that incapacitated him. This rare disease is known as leukodystrophy and causes myelin to be destroyed. Now, myelin is a fatty sheath that protects nerve fibers and facilitates the quick transmission of nerve impulses. Because of this illness, which left him immobile and mute, his men could not realize that their king was still alive! It implies that the Macedonian king was most likely still alive while his devoted men prepared his body for burial. He was probably declared dead early on because his muscles were immobilized. So physicians couldn't detect if he was still breathing.