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In Search Of The Lost Testament of Alexander the Great
A unique ‘backstory’ of Alexander and his the biased historians, deceits, wars, generals, and the tale of the literature that preserved them.
‘Babylon, mid-June 323 BCE, the gateway of the gods; prostrated in the Summer Palace of Nebuchadrezzar II on the east bank of the Euphrates, wracked by fever and having barely survived another night, King Alexander III, the rule of Macedonia for 12 years and 7 months, had his senior officers congregate at his bedside. Abandoned by Fortune and the healing god Asclepius, he finally acknowledged he was dying. Some 2,340 years on, five barely intact accounts survive to tell a hardly coherent story. At times in close accord, though more often contradictory, they conclude with a melee of death-scene rehashes, all of them the first portrayed Alexander dying silent and intestate; he was Homeric and vocal in the second; the third detailed his Last Will and Testament though it is attached to the stuff of romance. Which account do we trust?’
In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is the result of a ‘decade of contemplations on Alexander’ presented as a rich thematic narrative Grant describes as the ‘backstory behind the history’ of the great Macedonian and his generals. Taking an uncompromising investigative perspective, Grant delves into the challenges faced by Alexander’s unique the forgeries and biased historians, the influences of rhetoric, romance, philosophy and religion on what was written and how. Alexander’s own mercurial personality is vividly dissected and the careers and the wars of his successors are presented with a unique eye. But the book never loses sight of central to unravel the mystery behind Alexander’s ‘unconvincingly reported’ intestate death. And out of Grant’s research emerges one unavoidable after 2,340 years, the Last Will and Testament of Alexander III of Macedonia needs to be extracted from ‘romance’ and reinstated to its rightful place in mainstream Babylon in June 323 BCE.
Although the result a decade of academic research, In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is written in an entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king and the men who ‘made’ his story. It concludes with a wholly new interpretation of the death of Alexander the Great and the mechanism behind the wars of succession that followed.
‘Babylon, mid-June 323 BCE, the gateway of the gods; prostrated in the Summer Palace of Nebuchadrezzar II on the east bank of the Euphrates, wracked by fever and having barely survived another night, King Alexander III, the rule of Macedonia for 12 years and 7 months, had his senior officers congregate at his bedside. Abandoned by Fortune and the healing god Asclepius, he finally acknowledged he was dying. Some 2,340 years on, five barely intact accounts survive to tell a hardly coherent story. At times in close accord, though more often contradictory, they conclude with a melee of death-scene rehashes, all of them the first portrayed Alexander dying silent and intestate; he was Homeric and vocal in the second; the third detailed his Last Will and Testament though it is attached to the stuff of romance. Which account do we trust?’
In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is the result of a ‘decade of contemplations on Alexander’ presented as a rich thematic narrative Grant describes as the ‘backstory behind the history’ of the great Macedonian and his generals. Taking an uncompromising investigative perspective, Grant delves into the challenges faced by Alexander’s unique the forgeries and biased historians, the influences of rhetoric, romance, philosophy and religion on what was written and how. Alexander’s own mercurial personality is vividly dissected and the careers and the wars of his successors are presented with a unique eye. But the book never loses sight of central to unravel the mystery behind Alexander’s ‘unconvincingly reported’ intestate death. And out of Grant’s research emerges one unavoidable after 2,340 years, the Last Will and Testament of Alexander III of Macedonia needs to be extracted from ‘romance’ and reinstated to its rightful place in mainstream Babylon in June 323 BCE.
Although the result a decade of academic research, In Search Of The Lost Testament Of Alexander The Great is written in an entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king and the men who ‘made’ his story. It concludes with a wholly new interpretation of the death of Alexander the Great and the mechanism behind the wars of succession that followed.
- GenresNonfiction
897 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 16, 2017
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
David Grant
3 books4 followersDavid Grant has a masters degree in ancient history. He is responsible for a number of international patents stemming from ideas that set out to challenge the status quo in one way or another, life experience which gave him his tenets : always challenge accepted norms, the past is never dead, and believe what you read at your peril.
Unsurprisingly, he set out to question and contest the ‘standard model’ (as he puts it) of the Macedonian king. The result is In Search of the Lost Testament of Alexander the Great. Grant explains his rationale for writing it: ‘After reading the available texts, both the ancient testimony and modern reconstructions, I was dissatisfied with conclusions drawn to date and suspicious of an opacity that ought to have been black and white.’
‘I graduated from an easy grazer of information, to an inquisitive browser of competing sources, to a chewer of contentious fat, and on to a voracious devourer of the still unexplained, in my own gradus ad Parnassum and a correspondent Masters degree with a thesis on Alexander. This book retraces the path of that ascent, and it was substantially written to answer my own questions about the man and his era. The journey took me in many unexpected directions, some oblique, but all relevant to the heart of the investigation, and all retained here.’
Grant now resides in London and is embarking upon his next book about Alexander’s campaigns in the Persian Empire. He is fortunate enough to be in contact with the anthropologist who heads the osteoarchaeological research at the tomb sites in ancient Macedonia, results from which are providing unique insight into their occupants, who may well include the family of Alexander the Great.
Unsurprisingly, he set out to question and contest the ‘standard model’ (as he puts it) of the Macedonian king. The result is In Search of the Lost Testament of Alexander the Great. Grant explains his rationale for writing it: ‘After reading the available texts, both the ancient testimony and modern reconstructions, I was dissatisfied with conclusions drawn to date and suspicious of an opacity that ought to have been black and white.’
‘I graduated from an easy grazer of information, to an inquisitive browser of competing sources, to a chewer of contentious fat, and on to a voracious devourer of the still unexplained, in my own gradus ad Parnassum and a correspondent Masters degree with a thesis on Alexander. This book retraces the path of that ascent, and it was substantially written to answer my own questions about the man and his era. The journey took me in many unexpected directions, some oblique, but all relevant to the heart of the investigation, and all retained here.’
Grant now resides in London and is embarking upon his next book about Alexander’s campaigns in the Persian Empire. He is fortunate enough to be in contact with the anthropologist who heads the osteoarchaeological research at the tomb sites in ancient Macedonia, results from which are providing unique insight into their occupants, who may well include the family of Alexander the Great.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 9, 2017
4 stars
The book description states that this is book “entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king.” Not so very much I’d say. While it is very well written, I would not say that this literate and erudite work is for the casual reader of history. It is pretty dense, not as bad as some I’ve read certainly, but also not easily accessible.
The research that went into this book is both exhausting and deep. The author examines the various theories, stories and legends that make up the “history” of Alexander the Great. While he died at only thirty-three years of age, his reputation and history generated hundreds of thousands of pages of “research.” (I put that in quotes because some of the research was not exactly scientific or accurate.) And the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous.
I want to thank Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Limited/Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this fine work of scholarship to me to read.
The book description states that this is book “entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king.” Not so very much I’d say. While it is very well written, I would not say that this literate and erudite work is for the casual reader of history. It is pretty dense, not as bad as some I’ve read certainly, but also not easily accessible.
The research that went into this book is both exhausting and deep. The author examines the various theories, stories and legends that make up the “history” of Alexander the Great. While he died at only thirty-three years of age, his reputation and history generated hundreds of thousands of pages of “research.” (I put that in quotes because some of the research was not exactly scientific or accurate.) And the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous.
I want to thank Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Limited/Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this fine work of scholarship to me to read.
February 9, 2017
4 stars
The book description states that this is book “entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king.” Not so very much I’d say. While it is very well written, I would not say that this literate and erudite work is for the casual reader of history. It is pretty dense, not as bad as some I’ve read certainly, but also not easily accessible.
The research that went into this book is both exhausting and deep. The author examines the various theories, stories and legends that make up the “history” of Alexander the Great. While he died at only thirty-three years of age, his reputation and history generated hundreds of thousands of pages of “research.” (I put that in quotes because some of the research was not exactly scientific or accurate.) And the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous.
I want to thank Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Limited/Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this fine work of scholarship to me to read.
The book description states that this is book “entertaining and engaging style that opens the subject to both scholars and the casual reader of history looking to learn more about the Macedonian king.” Not so very much I’d say. While it is very well written, I would not say that this literate and erudite work is for the casual reader of history. It is pretty dense, not as bad as some I’ve read certainly, but also not easily accessible.
The research that went into this book is both exhausting and deep. The author examines the various theories, stories and legends that make up the “history” of Alexander the Great. While he died at only thirty-three years of age, his reputation and history generated hundreds of thousands of pages of “research.” (I put that in quotes because some of the research was not exactly scientific or accurate.) And the cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous.
I want to thank Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Limited/Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this fine work of scholarship to me to read.
September 22, 2021
Very interesting but not exactly light reading. The vocabulary could be pretty scholarly, I had to look up a few words I couldn’t be sure of from the context, and there are quite a few Greek terms that are only defined once. Also, trying to pronounce the Greek names in my head really slowed me down. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
March 17, 2017
A well researched, scholarly text comparing the legend, the literature, the recorded history and the facts available in an effort to come to a better understanding of the death of Alexander the Great and the battles for succession afterwards. Ten years worth of extensive research went into this very thorough work.
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April 9, 2018Review in the works.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews