Crazy Facts About Alexander The Great

  •  In 15 years of conquest, Alexander The Great never lost a battle.
  • Alexander The Greatsucceeded his father, Philip II, to the throne of Macedonia at the age of 20.
  • Alexander the Greatwas tutored by Aristotleuntil the age of 16.
  • Alexander The Great began his reign by eliminating potential rivalsto the throne, including his cousin, the former Amyntas IV, who was executed.
  • Alexander the Great was simultaneously the King of Macedonia, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Persia, 
  • and King of Asia.
  • Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian, all made pilgrimages to Alexander the Great's tomb in Alexandria.
  • Alexander the Great founded 70 cities, naming at least 20 after himself and one after his horse.
  • Alexander the Greatwashed his hair in saffron to keep it shiny and orange.
  • Alexander The Great died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32. He was a king for just 12 years.
  • A 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed Alexander The Great's death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis.
  • Alexander The Great's testament called for a transplant of populations from Asia and Europe to "bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties."
  • Alexander the Great was not much admired in his lifetime, and was seen by many as a drunken tyrant.
  • Alexander The Great's bodywas laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagusthat was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket.
  • After defeating the Persians, AlexanderThe Great started dressing like themand took two Persian wives.
  • Alexander the Great had heterochromia iridum: one of his eyes was blue and the other was brown.
  • Alexander earned the epithet "the Great" due to his unparalleled success as a military commander.
  • Alexander The Great may have been bisexual, which in his time was not controversial.
  • Alexander the Great married three times: Roxana, out of love; and the Persian princesses Stateira II and Parysatis II, for political reasons.
  • Alexander the Great once held a drinking contest among his soldiers. When it was over, 42 people 
  • had died from alcohol poisoning.
  • Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler, all suffered from ailurophobia, the fear of cats.
  • Three of Fidel Castro's sons are named after Alexander the Great: Alexis, Alejandro, and Alexander.
  • Alexander the Great's army conquered the world while wearing armor made of linen that could stop any arrow made at the time.

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