Alexander was an Egyptian not a Macedonian

[Cyrus]

You can't find any ancient persian source which says that Alexander was a Macedonian but most of them (especially Book of Arta Viraf & Denkart) have clearly mentioned that Alexander was an Egyptian who lived in Egypt. According to persian sources, Alexander was an egyptian who revolted against the persians and acquired control over the Egypt and then with help of Greeks, conquered the Persian Empire.
But what Greeks say: [Egypt, The Macedonian conquest (Encyclopaedia Britannica)]
"In the autumn of 332 BC Alexander the Great invaded Egypt with his mixed army of Macedonians and Greeks and found the Egyptians ready to throw off the oppressive control of the hated Persians. Alexander was welcomed by the Egyptians as a liberator and took the country without a battle. He journeyed to Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert to visit the Oracle of Amon, renowned in the Greek world; it disclosed the information that Alexander was the son of Amon. There may also have been a coronation at the Egyptian capital, Memphis, which, if it occurred, would have placed him firmly in the tradition of the pharaohs; the same purpose may be seen in the later dissemination of the romantic myth that gave him an Egyptian parentage by linking his mother, Olympias, with the last pharaoh, Nectanebo II."
It is obvious that If Egypt was under persian control then persians would certainly fight against Alexander and if it wasn't then there couldn't be the oppressive control of Persians.

[ruthaki]

Another myth for the collection.

[blackajax1]

Absurd!!!A Myth.A Legend.Almost everyone tries to claim Alexander for
their own.

[yiannis]

Absolutely agree with you John! These kind of postings are absurd!
Especially since everyone knows that he was from Australia. (oops wait, no that was Xena...*confused*...)

[Nicator]

LOL!!!Thank you for that one Yiannis ...but i must contest! It's obvious that he was from southern Illinois.later Nicator

[marcus]

No no no no no!When will you all wake up to the fact that he was from Nuneaton?Marcus

[Polyxena]

Let's bet on the ancient cloning practice... and someone asked why he deserved to be "the Great"... it's obvious - he had so many clones

[Kit]

I can see the link!There was a Thebes in Egypt, and he destroyed a Thebes in Greece! After that it's just tabloid journalism to get a wild & wacky story!!!Kit.

[Nicator]

i beg to differ! All the circumstantial, and otherwise highly sought after, no longer extant sources indicate southern illinois...don't u know anything? geez, next thing u know someone is going to claim he came from Macedonia or something silly like that???

[stavros]

i didnt know there was persian sources. what we have learnt from persians is from the greeks?

[marcus]

Far from it, Stavros - thanks to Alexander.Because he burned Persepolis, all the clay tablets that held the Persian records were baked hard, and were unearthed during excavations. Thousands upon thousands of them.But the story about Alexander referred to must be from later Persian sources (ie. not Achaemenid ones), anyway.All the bestMarcus

[aen]

You mentioned a revolt.Around 331 there was indeed a revolt - this was shortly before Alexander crossed into the Persian sphere. Its ringleader was a guy called Khabash (if not Egyptian, Ethiopian), and I seem to recall he stormed and took Memphis, ousting its then Persian governor/satrap/whathaveyou. He had about a year's quiet before the Persian fleet sailed up the Nile delta to put their house back in order. This they did, quashing Khabash and co, and staying put for another year or so to keep a close watch on things, before having to depart in a rush to try to intercept Alexander's crossing of the Hellespont. They were late.You make the point that it appears strange that Alexander didn't meet stiffer Persian resistance; if they controlled Egypt why didnt they defend it more rigorously?First of all, they had only just regained nominal control of the place; besides they were not popular with the priestly classes who were themselves the bedrock of Egyptian political thought. Secondly, other Persian held regions had capitulated just as fast further to the north, and now, with the gruesome examples of Tyre and Gaza laid down as a marker for what future resistance could expect, there could be no sense in trying to slug it out with the Macedonians. Sounds to me like the Persian source you cite confused Khabash with Alexander and rolled them both into one.Laters.