Erica Heetderks

History 134
July 23, 2016
The Mystery of Alexander the Greats Tomb
Alexander the Great was one of the worlds greatest leaders. He
accomplished many things in a short time. One of those including conquering
Persia, which was one of the biggest empires at the time. He left an
unforgettable legacy. Today, there whereabouts of his tomb and body are
unknown, although there are many theories.
When Alexander was dying he said that he wanted to leave his kingdom To the
strongest. That is not what happened. The kingdom was split up into regions and Ptolemy
reigned over Egypt. (Hemingway 25) After Alexander died in 323 BC the catafalque of
Alexander left Babylon, and was going to be taken to Aegae in Macedonia, even though
Alexander wanted his body in Egypt. Ptolemy ended up working hard to make sure he obeyed
Alexanders wish and proceeded to make sure his body was in Egypt. His son, Philadelphus,
moved his body to the capitol Alexandria. The fourth Ptolemy built a beautiful mausoleum in the
middle of Alexandria and placed his body in it. Many people came to visit his tomb including
Caesar who, visited the tomb in 48 BC and Octavian broke a piece of the nose off, whilst
viewing the mummified corpse in 30 BC (Chugg 321). Around 400 AD the tombs location was
unknown and the mausoleum may have been destroyed earlier by wars or an earth quake.
(Alexanders Final Resting 19)
Since then, it has been said that the body may be in a chapel, or the mosque next to it,
found on a map that was labeled Domus Alexandri Magni which means house of Alexander.
Later in this mosque, scholars found an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus which was supposed to be
the tomb for Nectanebo II. Nectanebo II was never entombed here, and so it is possible that is

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where Alexander was laid to rest. Others believe his body can be found underneath the city
Alexandria. (Beyond the Movie) Another theory is that, In 1907 Breccia discovered what
appears to be the alabaster antechamber of Macedonian-style tumulus tomb in pieces in the
modern Latin Cemeteries, which lie within the western districts of the ancient city. Achille
Adriani subsequently reconstructed the chamber and proposed that this Alabaster Tomb might
have been part of Alexanders sepulcher (Alexanders Final Resting 18).

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Works Cited
"Alexander's Final Resting Place." History Today 54.7 (2004): 17. Web. 20 July 2016.
"Beyond the Movie: Alexander the Great." Snagfilms. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2016.
Chugg, Andrew Michael. The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great. S.l.: Lulu.com, 2007.
Print.
Hemingway, Sean A. Tomb of Alexander. London: Hutchinson, 2012. Print.