The Anabasis of Alexander

Arrian c. 130 CE

This military history follows Alexander the Great's campaigns from Greece through Persia to India. It describes how his exhausted soldiers refused to march farther east at the Hyphasis River.

366 pages 7h 7m reading time

The most complete and trusted ancient account of Alexander the Great, and the main source historians still rely on for his life.
Builds its story from the memoirs of men who marched with Alexander, mainly his general Ptolemy and the officer Aristobulus, and explains openly how it chose between their versions when they disagreed.
Praises Alexander as a brilliant and brave leader but also openly criticizes his drinking, his rages, and his wish to be treated like a god.
Became a standard study of leadership and battle tactics, read by commanders from the Renaissance onward.
Gave later writers and historians much of the detail behind famous scenes, such as the cutting of the Gordian knot and the battle at Gaugamela.

Written centuries after Alexander

Arrian wrote roughly 450 years after Alexander died, piecing events together from older books.
Seeking a worthy storyteller

Arrian said Alexander lacked a great writer to honor his deeds, the way Homer honored Achilles.
Borrowed from Xenophon

Arrian took the title from Xenophon's famous march story and modeled his own style on that older writer.
Saved by one manuscript

All surviving copies seem to come from one old manuscript, and lost pages left a gap in the final book.