New theory about Alexander’s death

As we still don’t know for sure what caused Alexander’s untimely death at the age of 32, many theories are circulating, and from time to time, a new one appears.

This time we hear from toxicologist Professor Leon Schep at the New Zealand National Poison Centre who, based on the symptoms as described by Diodorus, concludes that the king’s death might be caused by drinking wine made of a poisonous plant called veratrum album or white false hellebore. This plant that grows all over the Eurasian continent was known by the Greeks as a medicine, for instance, to induce vomiting. It is, however, also one of the four classic poisons along with deadly nightshade, hemlock, and aconite. Hellebore has been used over centuries in Europe for poisoning arrows and daggers.

Well, after poisoning by arsenic, pneumonia, excessive drinking of wine, fevers, malaria, we might as well add this theory to those circulating about the death of Alexander in Babylon. However, IF the Macedonian king, ruler of Asia, was indeed poisoned, the question that remains to be answered is: who administered the poison? This is more food for speculations about the culprit who has to be looked for among Alexander’s inner circle.

Of course, there is no 100% guaranty for any of the proposed theories, the more since events occurred 2,500 years ago. The Great Alexander died too young, and no speculation whatsoever can bring him back.

[Picture from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Tigerente]