Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer [Hardcover]

Nicholas J. Saunders (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2006

Alexander the Great is a towering figure in world history, but despite our long-held fascination with him, his burial site is unknown. Alexander’s Tomb is the epic tale of the ongoing quest to unlock one of the world’s great mysteries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although the heroic exploits of Alexander the Great have been memorialized in fiction, films and biographies, the location of his tomb remains a mystery. British anthropologist Saunders (People of the Jaguar), an armchair Indiana Jones, deftly chronicles the various searches for Alexander's tomb by pharaohs, Christian emperors and archeologists from antiquity to the present. As Saunders tells it, while Alexander's corpse lay in state in Babylon in 321 B.C., a power battle among his generals led one of them, Ptolemy, to steal the corpse and carry it to Memphis in Egypt for burial. Later Ptolemy moved the body to Alexandria; 70 years later, one of Ptolemy's sons moved the body yet again to a more ostentatious home in Alexandria. Cleopatra plundered the tomb, and when Christianity became Rome's official religion in the fourth century A.D., Alexander's tomb may have been among the many pagan shrines and tombs destroyed throughout the empire. In 2004, one scholar speculated that Alexander's body lay beneath the altar of St. Mark's Church in Venice, buried by ninth-century Christians who mistook Alexander's remains for those of Saint Mark. Saunders's lively prose draws readers into this compelling tale of conquest, political intrigue and the aura surrounding one of history's great heroes. 16 pages of b&w photos. (July)
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Review

"Alexander's tomb has long been as powerful as an idea as it ever was as a place and (Nicholas Saunders') enjoyable book does justice to the continuing strength of that view." Sunday Times "A tantalising glimpse into the possibilities surrounding Alexander's Tomb." Publishing News" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; First Edition edition (July 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046507202X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465072026
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,757,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Obsession with the Soma, August 23, 2006

By 

Nadia Azumi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer (Hardcover)

The Soma.What is it? It is the name given to Alexander's tomb or Mausoleum.
Were is it, it is a mystery as the mystery of the man itself.
This book narrates the history of the Ptolomaic dynasty what they accomplished and what ruined Alexandria Egypt under their, reign.It further goes to describe the Roman Period, the Ottoman Period the Christian period,and the look for Alexander's Soma.The recent digs in the Oasis of Siwa, to the discovery of the Ptolomaic Alexandria right under the Actual Alexandria only 40 feet under.
HOw through the centuries the Soma appeared and dissappeared from history. Is it still in Alexandria, is it in Memphis,or Siwa? Or is it all together gone? What about the sarcopagus at the Nebi Daniel Mosque,did it containe Alexander's body or not?
This book has been published in 2006, and is incredible the research that the author has done.The latest excavations in the Latin cemiteries in the hope of discovering Alexander.What an astonishing accomplishment this would be, in my opinion better than the King Tut's tomb. Alexander accomplished much more than Tut.I hope that he will soon be found,intact with his glass sarcophagus and his mummified body.
It is a very easy book to read.
5 plus stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fascinating Story of Alexander's Tomb, April 10, 2007

By 

G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer (Hardcover)

The first couple of chapters of this book briefly present the highlights of Alexander's life, accomplishments and ultimately his death. The remainder is about Alexander's corpse, mummy and tombs (he had more than one) and what has and may have happened to them throughout the ages. The story is quite fascinating and full of uncertainty, speculation, false leads and wishful thinking; this is mainly due to the lack of ancient documents that clearly describe what happened to Alexander's body and his "final" resting place during the course of time. The writing style is quite engaging, clear and authoritative. However, for some, the many ancient names and places that are mentioned in the earlier parts of the book can be a bit confusing. Fortunately, the author has included glossaries at the end that the reader may refer to as needed. This intriguing book will likely be of most interest to history and archaeology buffs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Archeological Mystery, April 2, 2007

By 

Skylark Thibedeau "Semper Memento Audere" (Charlotte, NC USA, Terra, Solaris System, Milky Way Galaxy.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer (Hardcover)

Saunders does a good job in laying out the facts in the mystery of what became of one of the Holy Grails of Archeology, the search for the Tomb of Alexander the Great. He gives us a breif history of the life and death of Alexander and how his General Ptolomy used possession of his body to legitimize his claim to the throne of the Pharoes of Egypt.

He give us a glimpse of how the building of the Tomb by Ptolomy and his descendants built the Conqueror's namesake city Alexandria into one of the marvels of the ancient world. People traveled from all points of the Hellenic then Roman World to view the Tomb.

The location of the tomb was lost during the dark ages. Saunders postulates several possible scenarios for what became of the grave. He also records several incidents over the years involving people obcessed with its discovery.

Overall an enjoyable book for people interested in History or Archeology