Just as there is not one Silk Road, there certainly is not one Alexander Romance.
The oldest known version dates probably from the third century AD and its author is unknown, although it has been attributed to Pseudo-Callisthenes - not known otherwise. This version is generally called version α and served for all subsequent versions, which appeared on a more or less regular basis until the 16th century and were written in Latin, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Persian, Hebrew, Arabic, Islamic, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, German, Ethiopic, Mongolian and many Medieval patois. Useless to say that each version added tales of its own fantasy and embellished the legend which Alexander became over the centuries.
Le Roman d'Alexandre (ISBN 9-782080-707888), which I read is the Codex Parisinus Graecus 1711, discovered at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris in the 18th century. This Greek text is entitled The Life of Alexander the Macedonian, poorly copied, with spelling mistakes and others, and composed in the 11th century. It is labeled version A since it closely relates to the original Romance.
The book has little to do with the historical Alexander, and the chronology of his conquests is entirely inconsistent and/or invented. To give it a credible resonance, we find familiar names in a utopian setting, for instance, Craterus of Olynthus as an architect in Alexandria or Parmenion lending his name to the Serapeum while Roxane is presented as the daughter of the king of Persia. Interestingly, Parmenion is accused of planning the murder of Alexander by bribing the king's doctor Philip at Tarsus. At the same time, he historically sent a letter to Alexander to warn him of Philip.
Alexander marches with a vast army to face enormous enemies without giving any detail on the battles or hardly a location but encountering one mythical or fabulous being after another. The book contains an amazing number of letters exchanged with the Athenians, Darius, Olympias, Aristotle, Porus, Kandaké, king of Meroe, and even with the Amazons and the gymnosophists. This is not a heroic Alexander but a wise man who always does the right thing, much to
the awe and admiration of his audience.
Le Roman d'Alexandre concludes with Alexander's will, which is made to fit the book's tale but can in no way be connected to historical reality.
Le Roman d'Alexandre concludes with Alexander's will, which is made to fit the book's tale but can in no way be connected to historical reality.
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