Rabbinic Constructions of the Past: Alexander the Great

The Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and ruled the Near East until the rise of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Alexander waged a series of successful campaigns against the Persians from 333 BCE, when he defeated King Darius III at Issus, to 331 BCE. Like the Persians before him, Alexander fortified local institutions and divided his kingdom into provinces called satrapies, which his generals governed. At the same time, Alexander and his successors bolstered his kingdom through the dissemination of Greek language and culture.

Some of the rabbinic texts about Alexander the Great describe his interactions with the Jewish community and include motifs that appear in Josephus’ writings, including an encounter between Alexander and the high priest and a conflict between Samaritans and Jews (see “Alexander and the Jews”), although the historicity of Josephus’ account is dubious. Others convey legendary traditions about Alexander’s encounters with inhabitants of and peregrinations to distant lands in a quest for knowledge. Such fantastical stories about Alexander’s life circulated throughout the Near East, as well as in India and China.