Why were Alexander's Body and Tomb So Important?

[Music] this video was sponsored by the great courses plus go to the great courses plus calm today to start your free trial on the 11th of June 323 BC Alexander the Great passed away following his death in Babylon his body became a continuing source of war intrigue and mystery his body and his tomb were lost yet the legend lives on and historians are still trying to uncover clues to their whereabouts but how did this all come about why did all records of Alexander's tomb abruptly cease in this two-part documentary we shall unravel the history surrounding Alexander's tomb and attempt to answer this question this is the story behind Alexander's body and his tomb almost immediately after Alexander's death chaos erupted as the Macedonians quickly began arguing over the fate of the Empire leaving his body unattended for many days in the Babylonian Heat legend has it that upon returning to the corpse to everyone's amazement they found it in pristine condition untouched by decay Perdiccas the highest-ranking commander in Babylon then had Alexander's body embalmed and placed in a golden coffin for the next two years Alexander's body remained in Babylon as per Dacus and his followers oversaw the construction of a funeral carriage unlike any other the world had seen the carriage was designed to resemble a great temple it had beautiful ionic columns encircled by paintings depicting Alexander and his army and was covered with gold it was to be pulled by 64 mules each bearing a golden crown and bell upon its completion / - kiss ordered that Alexander's body was to be escorted home to a guy in Macedonia the traditional resting place of the Macedonian Kings yet the plan went horribly wrong the governor of Egypt Ptolemy was aware of the great wealth and potential of his domain and soon grew ambitious eager to get rid of Perdiccas his control he believed he might achieve this by taking possession of Alexander's body as it was a superhuman talisman representing authority and legitimacy in this new post Alexander world whoever controls the body held great sway Ptolemy was not deterred by purchases precautions to keep the body but he needed a daring plan in 321 BC Alexander's elaborate funeral cart left Babylon for Macedonia yet as the procession was making its way through Syria Ptolemy made his move bribing the escort seizing the body and diverting it to Egypt where he had it housed in Memphis the traditional Egyptian capital purchase was furious as his authority as regent had been severely tarnished it was the opposite for Ptolemy as Alexander's soldiers came from far and wide to swell the ranks of his army Perdiccas immediately marched on Egypt with his army his main aim to regain control of the body and restore his authority in the ensuing war covered in our documentary which you can see here Ptolemy emerged victorious and Perdiccas was murdered Alexander's body was now securely in ptolemies possession he quickly began proclaiming the link between himself and Alexander becoming the first of the diadochi to put Alexander's image on his coinage and emphasising that he was a favorite of Alexander in his account of the conquest of Asia Ptolemy also cultivated a local legend of Alexander rather than being the son of Philip of Macedon Egyptian tale soon became widespread that Alexander was the son of the last Egyptian pharaoh nectar Nebo ii in 343 BC the Persians had deposed nectar Nebo who has been died in exile his pre-made sarcophagus in Memphis had therefore remained empty it is likely Ptolemy had first placed Alexander in this empty coffin and it was from there that this fabulous story took root a Pharaoh of Egypt could only be legitimate if he was related to his predecessor so this tale helped portray Alexander as neck Tony Bo's rightful heir it also established a connection between the Macedonian and Egyptian dynasties a connection that only helped Ptolemies cause at the same time Ptolemy began spreading the rumor that he was in fact an illegitimate son of philip ii and thus the half-brother of alexander both stories spread rapidly and helped Ptolemy secure his rule in Egypt thanks in good measure to his clever use of Alexander's body following the climactic battle of ipsus in 301 BC Ptolemy had Alexander's body moved to the center of his new capital at Alexandria and placed in a new elaborate tomb the city has been founded by Alexander back in 331 BC but had only recently been completed immediately Ptolemy set about promoting Alexander adulation not only did he have Alexander publicly honored as the founder of Alexandria but he introduced a state cult of Alexander throughout Egypt his statues were erected far and wide while processions and festivals centered around the great Conqueror also appeared in 283 BC Ptolemy the first passed away for the next 150 years Ptolemies descendants would rule Egypt and the memory of the great King was crucial for their dynasty almost immediately after his father's death ptolemy ii Philadelphus had him deified and worshipped alongside alexander the message was clear in both life and death these two kings were inseparable Philadelphus also created a new religious festival in honor of his father the Tala Maya hosted every four years this festival attracted many thousands of visitors not only from Egypt but all around the Greek world fortunately for us a description of the toll Amaya staged in 275 to 274 BC survives dubbed the grand procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus it was an extremely lavish parade through the center of Alexandria soldiers animals gems gold and images of gods especially Dionysius all featured emphasizing the unbounded wealth splendor and power of tomake Egypt Alexander was central to the procession first his statue appeared on top of a great float accompanied by another statue of the now deified Ptolemy the first both wearing gold diadem's of IV leaves following this came a golden statue of Alexander in a chariot towed by four elephants and surrounded by statues of the gods this procession reminded the onlookers not only that Alexandria was the home of Alexander's body but also of the inseparable link between it and the Ptolemies desiring to further emphasize this link Ptolemy the fourth Philopator placed Alexander's body in a new royal burial complex in circa 215 BC it soon became known as the soma or the body named after its main exhibits this new mausoleum was almost certainly visually majestic perhaps inspired by the famed tomb of more sillas at halicarnassus the complex may also have been circular in its turn possibly inspiring the great tombs of the Roman emperors or Custis and Hadrian inside the enclosure Alexander's body was placed in an underground chamber along with remains of the Ptolemies once again emphasizing the closest possible link between the ptolemies and Alexander the soma soon became an iconic feature of Alexandria from far and wide visitors would journey to Alexander city and is marvelous - it was a place of pagan pilgrimage still no dynasty can last forever and by the beginning of the first century BC the tomake dynasty had become a shadow of its former power so great was its turmoil that in 89 BC King Ptolemy the tenth had done the unthinkable in desperate need of money to pay his mercenaries he melted down Alexander's golden sarcophagus replacing it with one made of glass regardless tomake power continued to dwindle and within 70 years a new power would be ruling Alexandria a power that also had a keen interest in Alexander's tomb but for very different reasons Rome while creating this documentary we used the series of lectures called understanding Greek and Roman technology from professor Stephen Ressler provided by the sponsor of this video the great courses plus this very detailed 24 part series covers the most important inventions and technologies of antiquity and is essential if you want to learn more about the technology of the Ancients you can subscribe to the 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Channel: Kings and Generals

Views: 2,004,449

Keywords: persian empire, alexander the great, alexander the great (military commander), tomb of alexander the great, queen victoria, julius caesar, alexandria, perdiccas, ptolemy, egypt, diadochi, gaza, ipsus, seleucus, ptolemies, roman republic, augustus, caesar, philip, war of the diadochi, eumenes, antigonus, demetrius, antony, cleopatra, philapator, mystery, alexander's tomb, alexander's body, ancient greece, macedon, ancient history, kings and generals, armies and tactics, phalanx

Id: 9V9CXcH07Ic

Length: 11min 43sec (703 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 09 2018