Alexander founded numerous settlements during his campaigns, naming them after himself or close followers. These have been the subject of intense debate, as the accounts of ancient and medieval scholars differ wildly and are often contradictory.
Plutarch provides the maximum estimate of seventy cities in his Life of Alexander, but most texts attest to between ten and twenty foundations. The
GreekAlexander Romance lists between nine and thirteen cities, depending on the
recension; the
Syriac,
Armenian,
Hebrew, and
Ethiopic versions of the Romance also record twelve or thirteen foundations.
Persian sources such as
al-Tabari,
al-Dinawari,
Hamza al-Isfahani, and
Qudama ascribe between nine and twelve settlements to Alexander.
Stephanus of Byzantium recorded around twenty settlements. Some authors additionally document the number of cities established in a specific area: for example,
Strabo records that Alexander founded eight cities in
Bactria.
The accounts of Alexander's campaigns, primarily those of
Arrian, Plutarch,
Diodorus,
Curtius Rufus, and
Justin, provide supplementary evidence. Finally, the geographers
Eratosthenes,
Ptolemy, and
Pliny draw upon the otherwise-lost evidence of Alexander's
bematist distance-measurers.[2]
When attempting to decipher the above sources, modern scholars face numerous problems. Classical writers tended to name every settlement a polis (πόλις, 'city'), from large population centres to small military garrisons; this leads to much confusion, especially considering the possibility that a settlement started out as a military colony and only later grew into a true polis.[3] Although it is often said that Alexander named all his foundations after himself, this is incorrect;[4] nonetheless, the abundance of these settlements led to many taking on
epithets such as Eschate or Oxeiana. As some settlements may have taken on multiple such sobriquets, it is likely that "different authors, undoubtedly reflecting different local traditions, might have been referring to the same Alexandreia by different epithets", in the words of the historian
Getzel Cohen.[5] In addition, the precise locations of many foundations are unknown. The classicist
William Woodthorpe Tarn noted on the matter that "the difficulties of the subject are considerable, the margin of uncertainty often substantial, the sources of confusion numerous".[6]
Possible foundations
This list contains
settlements established or re-established on the order of
Alexander the Great himself, often in his presence and always before
his death in 323 BC. It does not include any posthumous foundations or refoundations; nor does it include settlements which only claimed a relationship to the Macedonian king. A discussion of these settlements is found
below.
Settlements whose very existence has been questioned are marked as Uncertain; those which are known to exist, but on whose foundation theories scholars disagree, are marked as Disputed; and the settlements which are both known to exist and which are acknowledged by scholars as foundations of Alexander are marked as Accepted.
Alexandria Troas is most commonly identified as a 311 BC foundation of
Antigonus I, which was refounded a decade later by
Lysimachus, another of the
Diadochi. The historian
W. W. Tarn however theorized that it was a foundation of Alexander; identifying it as Alexander of the Granicus, Tarn asserted that Alexander promised to build a city as a remembrance of
his recent victory on the Granicus. This identification is rejected by historians such as Cohen and Fraser.[7]
Curtius Rufus recorded that the inhabitants of Samareia rebelled while Alexander was in Egypt; on his return, he punished the rebels and settled Macedonians in the area. It is probable that
Perdiccas was ordered to settle the city; alternatively,
Victor Tcherikover speculated that he might have refounded the city after Alexander's death in 323 BC.
Josephus noted that the inhabitants regained their ruler's favour and were granted permission to rebuild their temple and defences.[8]
The first major foundation of Alexander's reign,
Alexandria was established on the western
Nile Delta between
Lake Mareotis and the
Mediterranean Sea in early 331 BC. Whether the city was founded before or after Alexander's visit to the
Siwa Oasis is disputed; his motives for founding Alexandria are also controversial, with
military,
political,
economic and
trading factors often cited. The settlement would later grow into one of the most important cities in the world, with an estimated population of 500,000–600,000 in 1 AD.[9]
A late tradition mentioned by
Iamblichus connecting the name "Gerasa" to Alexander is probably fanciful.
Roman coins found at the site, minted under
Septimius Severus,
Caracalla, and
Elagabalus, are engraved with imagery and inscriptions relating to Alexander, while a pedestal, dated to the early third century BC, mentions the Diadochus
Perdiccas. It is thus considered possible that Perdiccas established the settlement on Alexander's orders. However, the
epigraphic,
numismatic, and literary evidence is late, and it is very possible that the connection to Alexander was a later fabrication.[10]
The existence of
Alexandria Ariana is attested to by geographers such as
Erastothenes and
Pliny and the Islamic chroniclers
al-Tabari and
Yaqut al-Hamawi, but not by Greek historians such as
Arrian or
Diodorus Siculus. It is generally accepted that the city was located close to present-day
Herat, which is situated in a fertile
oasis and on several
trade routes; its precise location is unknown because Herat has not been excavated. Alexandria Ariana has sometimes been identified as a refoundation of the Achaemenid settlement
Artacoana, but as the available sources outline a clear distinction between the two localities, this is considered unlikely.[11]
Various sources attest to the existence of a city called Alexandria in Arachosia, Arachotoi, or Arachosiorum oppidum; however, the biographers
Arrian and
Justin do not mention such a city. Both Fraser and Cohen emphasise that identifying the above names as the same city is an assumption, albeit strong. If true, Alexandria in Arachosia is traditionally identified with
Old Kandahar. There is
epigraphic evidence to support this theory, with Greek inscriptions such as the
Chehel Zina Edict and the
Sophytos dedication found in the area. In addition, the early
Islamic polymath
al-Khwarizmi identified Kandahar as an "Alexandria of the east".[12]
Arrian records that shortly after besieging
Cyropolis, Alexander founded a settlement on the lower
Jaxartes to defend the area against
Scythian tribesmen. The construction of the city took three weeks, and it was settled with Greek
mercenaries, local tribesmen, and injured Macedonian veterans. It has traditionally been identified with
Khujand, which controlled the
Bukhara-
Samarkand trade route and the entrance to the fertile
Ferghana Valley. Excavations of the modern city have suggested that the
Achaemenids had occupied the site. As the refoundation of Cyropolis, a settlement founded by
Cyrus the Great, Alexandria Eschate was culturally and militarily important; Fraser terms it "the most politically significant [foundation] since Alexandria in Egypt".[13]
All the major historians and
Pliny attest to the existence of this settlement, but none use its primary modern toponym. Alexander settled 7,000 natives here alongside 3,000 retired soldiers after journeying from
Prophthasia. Returning the following spring, he dismissed the
hyparch he had placed in charge and appointed the
CompanionNikanor instead. The existence of Alexandria in the Caucasus is generally accepted, but its location is unknown; most theories place it south of the
Hindu Kush near modern
Begram.[14]
Pliny was the first to attest to the existence of this settlement; he was followed by
Strabo, who added that
Antiochus I rebuilt the fortifications and founded a city he called Antioch. This latter name is mentioned in the accounts of
Ptolemy and
Isidore of Charax. Antiochus' walls have been identified at
Gyaur-Kala near
Merv, which appears as a foundation of Alexander in Muslim sources such as
al-Tabari,
al-Dinawari,
Hamza al-Isfahani, and
Qudama. However, there is considerable debate on whether Alexander founded the settlement, or the later
Seleucids.[15]
According to
Arrian, shortly after defeating the Indian king
Porus in
battle on the Hydaspes River, Alexander founded two cities facing each other across the river. The battle had taken place on the eastern bank, so Alexander named the eastern city Nikaia; he gave the western city the name Bucephala, after
his favourite stallion who had recently died. The location of the cities is unknown: some place them at present-day
Jhelum, while others place them thirty miles south at
Jalalpur. Considering the
marshy nature of the ground and the frequent
monsoons, it is unlikely much archaeological evidence could be found. Bucephela survived until the first century AD; much less is known about Nikaia.[16]
Alexander invaded the territory of the
Oritae tribe on his march back from India, taking their headquarters at
Rhambakia.
Arrian records that he approved of the location and ordered
Hephaistion and
Leonnatus to construct and settle the city, respectively.
Diodorus notes that he named it Alexandria, while
Curtius Rufus states that its settlers came from
Arachosia. Its purpose was likely to control
trade routes, with a harbour for naval trade and access to the strategically important
mountain passes of the region. Its location is in doubt, as the coastline has changed significantly since antiquity; one hypothesis places it near present-day
Welpat, while another locates the settlement on the
Miani Hor lagoon.[17]
Sometimes given the
toponym Alexandria in Susiana by modern historians, Charax Spasinu was the later name of a settlement founded by Alexander on the
confluence of the
Tigris and the
Euphrates. The foundation of the settlement was attested to by both
Arrian and
Pliny the Elder. Likely established to serve as an
entrepôt for
Babylon, it was later refounded as Antioch by an unknown
Seleucid king (probably
Antiochus IV Epiphanes) after being damaged by
floods. It was again refounded
c. 141 BC by the Iranian prince
Hyspaosines, who renamed it Spasinou Charax after himself. Although probably located at
Naysan in modern
Iraq, the city's location has been disputed as the region's
hydrography has near-continuously changed since antiquity.[18]
Plan of the archaeological site of
Naysan, the probable location of
Charax Spasinu
Other settlements
Europe
While
Philip II was
besieging Perinthus, Alexander, as regent, subdued the
Maedi, a
Thracian tribe, in what is now southwestern
Bulgaria. According to
Plutarch, he founded a small settlement in the region and named it
Alexandropolis; the name mirrored his father's foundation of
Philippopolis and was probably given on Philip's order. The settlement's site is unknown, and some scholars have found its historicity questionable.[20]
Many ancient settlements claimed a significant relationship to Alexander. In
Asia Minor, such cities included
Ilion,
Priene, and
Smyrna. In 334 BC, Alexander visited Ilion, site of the ruined Troy. He ordered that the town be made exempt from taxes and its buildings be rebuilt; he later promised to make Ilion a great city. However, none of these plans came to fruition in Alexander's lifetime. A local tribe called the Alexandris were probably named after the legendary
Paris, sometimes called Alexander, not the Macedonian king.[21] Although Alexander certainly took a great interest in Priene (including dedicating the city's
temple to Athena and granting exemptions to the populace), and even though it is probable that the town was refounded in the late fourth century, there is no direct evidence to claim Alexander carried it out. Excavations of the site could not find pre-
Hellenistic remains.[22] While the later authors
Pausanias,
Pliny, and
Aelius Aristides recorded traditions which held that Alexander refounded Smyrna,
Strabo, writing in the first century BC, instead noted that the settlement was revived by
Antigonus I Monophthalmus after Alexander's death.[23] Other settlements in the region, with much less viable claims, include
Aegae,
Alexandria by the Latmos,
Amorium,
Apollonia,
Chrysopolis,
Eukarpia,
Kretopolis,
Nicaea, and
Otrus.[24]
Egypt, Phoenicia, and Syria
In
Syria, the city of
Antioch, later to become one of the major cities of the ancient world, claimed a relationship with Alexander. According to
Libanius, a 4th-century AD native of the city, Alexander planned to found a city on the future site of Antioch but did not have enough time to do so; he instead set up a shrine to
Zeus and a small fortress. It is likely that this tradition was merely a local legend.[25] The nearby settlement of Alexandria by Issus, located in the general area of modern
İskenderun, is only recorded as a foundation of Alexander by
Pseudo-Scymnus, and some
recensions of the
Alexander Romance; a
seal found nearby bears the king's portrait. Considering the emphasis on Alexandria in Egypt as his first foundation, it is considered very unlikely that Alexander founded the settlement, although it almost certainly existed.[26] In
Phoenicia and
Egypt, the cities of
Gaza and
Tyre are sometimes recorded as refoundations of Alexander.
Tyre was besieged and destroyed in 332 BC, and
Gaza experienced a similar fate later in the same year. Although Alexander rebuilt and resettled both cities, they are not usually considered foundations, but rather large-scale rehabilitations.[27] Other less well-supported claims include that of
Alexandroschene,
Capitolias,
Dion,
Larisa Sizara,
Nikopolis,
Paraitonion,
Pella, and
Seleucia Abila.[28]
The eastern provinces
In
Mesopotamia,
Nikephorion (present-day Raqqa) was occasionally attributed to Alexander, but it was more probably founded by
Seleucus I.[29] The 19th-century
OrientalistH. C. Rawlinson proposed that the Macedonian king founded a settlement shortly after and near the
Battle of Gaugamela in
Assyria.[30] There are numerous attestations that Alexander founded a city in
Lower Mesopotamia: many city-names such as
Seleucia-on-the-Hedyphon,
Alexandria near Babylon, Alexandria near the Pallakopas, and Alexandria on the Tigris have been proposed; but it is likely that some of these names refer to the same city.[31]Alexandria Carmania may have been founded in
Carmania, but its existence is only weakly supported; if it existed, it was likely a later foundation. Similarly, the Altars of Alexander and the Portus Macedonum, reputedly located near Carmania, may have been
elephant-hunting stations established by
Nearchus.[32] A settlement named Alexandropolis was supposedly founded near
Nysa, but there is no evidence to support a foundation so soon after the army's passage of the
Caspian Gates.[33]