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How does one commander conquer an empire—and how does a later soldier decide which stories to trust?
Alexander inherits a strong army and his father Philip II's plan to attack Persia. In The Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian follows the young Macedonian king into a campaign of marches, battles, sieges, and river crossings. At Issus, Alexander faces Darius III on narrow ground between sea and hills, where the land itself helps the smaller force.
Arrian writes long after the campaign, but he turns to Ptolemy and Aristobulus, two men who serve in it. Where their accounts agree, he follows them; where they differ, he weighs the choices. His account offers a soldier's view of Alexander: admiring his achievements, attentive to his decisions, and willing to acknowledge his faults.
What you’ll discover
- A kingdom suddenly inherited Meet Alexander as his father's murder places a young king at the head of Macedon.
- Ground that shapes battle See how narrow ground at Issus helps Alexander's smaller force face the Persian king.
- The work behind conquest Follow the marches, sieges, and river crossings that carry an army through a campaign.
- Sources weighed with care Watch Arrian compare conflicting accounts and explain which version he finds more likely.
- Admiration without closed eyes Consider a commander whose achievements inspire Arrian without keeping his faults out of view.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love military history, ancient Greece and Persia, and the study of leadership. It also rewards anyone curious about how a historian weighs rival sources.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Arrian weighs the stories he inherits
- Speed makes the young king feared
- Alexander wins the sea from land
- Tyre turns conquest into engineering
- Winning does not settle every judgment
- Suspicion reaches inside Alexander's circle
- Mountain resistance tests Alexander's will
- The army sets a boundary
- Conquest carries a human price
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The Anabasis of Alexander
by Arrian · 150
Alexander leads his army across the Hindu Kush and the Indus, extending his conquests into India before turning back.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Treat me, Alexander, like a king!”
In short
How do you stop a charge of rolling wagons on a steep mountain pass? In the Thracian hills, Alexander tells some of his heavy infantry to open their ranks and the rest to lie flat under locked shields.
The Anabasis of Alexander at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 50 min7 h fast, 10 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 125,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- about AD 150by Arrian
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Arrian trusts two eyewitnesses and weighs the rest
Arrian opens with a rule. He accepts as firm whatever Ptolemy and Aristobulus both report. Where they disagree, he chooses the version that seems more credible.
He explains why he trusts them. Aristobulus served on the expedition. Ptolemy marched with Alexander and later became a king himself, so a false story would shame him. Both wrote after Alexander was dead, when no one could force them to bend the facts. With the Gordian knot, Arrian gives the sword version and the peg version, then admits he cannot say what happened.
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Details
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Cite this edition
Arrian. The Anabasis of Alexander. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-anabasis-of-alexander.
Arrian. (2026). The Anabasis of Alexander. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-anabasis-of-alexander (Original work published ca. 150)
Arrian. The Anabasis of Alexander. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-anabasis-of-alexander.
@book{arrian2026anabasis,
author = {Arrian},
title = {The Anabasis of Alexander},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-anabasis-of-alexander},
note = {First published ca. 150}
}
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What is the Anabasis of Alexander about?
It tells the story of Alexander's campaign against Persia, from his accession and the fall of Thebes through Issus, Tyre, Gaugamela and India, to his death in Babylon, in seven books.
Who was Arrian and what sources did he use?
Arrian was a Greek author who died in 175. He relied mainly on Ptolemy son of Lagus and Aristobulus, who both served with Alexander, and he compares their accounts with other writers.
What does Anabasis mean?
The word means a march up country, inland from the coast. Arrian used it for Alexander's advance into Asia, echoing the title of Xenophon's account of the march of the Ten Thousand.
The author
Arrian
89–175 · Ancient Greek historian and philosopher
Arrian was a Greek historian and Roman provincial governor whose Anabasis of Alexander is widely considered the most reliable surviving ancient account of Alexander the Great's campaigns, drawn from firsthand accounts left by men who served under Alexander himself.
“Treat me, Alexander, like a king!”
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