Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great was a Greek king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders. However, at the age of 32, Alexander was died in Babylon on 10/11 June, 323 BC. Now, a scientist has claimed that Alexander the Great was ‘killed by toxic wine.’
Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. His empire stretched from Greece to modern-day Pakistan. He founded around 20 cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. However, so far we know that this legendary person was died at the age of 32 in 323 BC.
However, some historians argued was death was due to natural causes, while others maintained he was secretly murdered at a celebratory banquet. Interesting, around 2000 years later, Dr Leo Schep, an Otago University scientist as well as a toxicologist at National Poisons Center has claimed that Alexander was died due to having “toxic wine,” made from an innocuous-looking plant.
Dr Schep, who has been researching the toxicological evidence for a decade, said some of the poisoning theories – including arsenic and strychnine – were not plausible. But, Dr Pat Wheatley, co-author of Dr Schep has mentioned that Alexander the Great was found because of the most plausible culprit, Veratrum album, known as white hellebore. Note that, the white-flowered plant, which can be fermented into a poisonous wine, was well-known to the Greeks as a herbal treatment for inducing vomiting.
It’s really tough to know whether Alexander was poisoned is still a mystery. Dr Schep said, “We’ll never know really.”
Source: Daily Mail
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