Alexander

by Christian Cameron

First published 2012

Amazon

4.4(477)

Ptolemy, soldier, companion and eventual king of Egypt, looks back on the life of Alexander of Macedon. He remembers the ambitious prince who fought beside Philip II at Chaeronea, inherited a dangerous throne and carried the Macedonian army into Asia to destroy the power of Darius III.

Victories at Issus and Gaugamela open an empire stretching towards India, but conquest magnifies Alexander’s appetite for glory and the strain placed on those closest to him. Ptolemy’s account measures the commander’s brilliance against executions, fractured friendships and the growing claim to divinity that transformed a heroic king into a figure his companions could no longer fully recognise.

Historical Periods

Battle of Chaeronea338 BCE Battle of Issus333 BCE Battle of Gaugamela331 BCE Alexander’s Indian Campaign327–325 BCE

Genres

Biographical Fiction Court & Political Fiction Dynastic & Royal Fiction Historical Sagas War Fiction

Historical people

Alexander the Great357 BCE–324 BCE Darius III381 BCE–331 BCE Philip II of Macedonc. 382–336 BCE Aristotle385 BCE–323 BCE Ptolemy I Soter369/368–282 BCE