Alexander The Great Primary Sources

Robinson, The History of Alexander the Great Robinson’s The History of Alexander the Great is a compilation of the Royal Ephemerides or Royal Daily Journal and the accounts of historians such as Arrian, Plutarch, and Diodorus. The fusion of the primary accounts and the secondary sources provides the reader with multiple perspectives of both the court tradition and the vulgate tradition, allowing the source to be objective. Although only fragments of the Ephemerides are preserved, they are still extremely invaluable, because these sources can offer the purpose and details of an event and can stimulate the personal engagement of the reader. It also provides detailed information about Alexander that was witnessed and documented

For example, on page 189, two routes and two battle locations, Arbela and Gaugamela, are both mentioned. There are some deficiencies in this book. It mixes mythologies such as the Dionysus tale and the Amazon tale with the reality, which might let the reader confused. Also, the source inserts phrases such as “It is said” in support of a specific statement for several times, making the evidence not so persuasive. Undeniably, the weaknesses of employing the primary source also exist. First, the Ephemerides is not thoroughly objective. It plays a role of Alexander’s political and social propaganda. For instance, this court tradition source never mentions that Alexander drunk excessively. Also, it is likely that the Ephemerides suggest the association of Alexander with the god. In page 33, the account mentions that the god’s voice gave directions to Alexander before he died. And on page 189, it talks about Alexander consulting the oracle of the god. Furthermore, the meanings of the original texts might have changed over time. However, the biases mentioned above could be offset by the vulgate sources in this