Alexander the Great conquered a vast territory stretching from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan. But had he turned his attention westward, it’s quite possible he could have taken Rome, defeating the Roman Empire before it even had a chance to rise. Scientific author Owen Jarus asked contemporary scholars to imagine events that will never come to pass.
So why didn’t Alexander the Great attempt to conquer Italy? The answer may lie in the fact that he died before he had the opportunity, according to Live Science.
Did Alexander the Great Have Such Plans?
The ruler of Macedonia was in power from 336 to 323 B.C. He died from an unknown illness in Babylon at the age of 32. Alexander’s empire fell apart shortly after his death. However, had he not died, it’s likely he would have set his sights on Rome and conquered the Eternal City.
Some ancient texts suggest that Alexander the Great did indeed plan a military campaign to the West, which included the conquest of parts of Italy and other regions of the Mediterranean. The Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, who lived in the first century A.D., claimed that Alexander intended a series of conquests that, if successful, would have expanded his empire all the way to the point that now corresponds with the Strait of Gibraltar. Alexander was said to have planned to build 700 ships for this invasion, Rufus noted. Other ancient authors expressed similar theories.
Some ancient writers claimed that after Alexander’s death, his secretary Eumenes passed on plans for the conquest of part of Italy to one of the legendary commanders—Perdiccas. This was highlighted by independent scholar Robin Waterfield, an expert in ancient history.
“Now some scholars believe that those plans were not genuine, that perhaps they were a forgery by Eumenes, or maybe this story emerged later,” Waterfield remarked. However, he maintains that the plans were indeed authentic.
What Might the Invasion Have Looked Like?
Ultimately, it’s unclear what would have happened had Alexander the Great attempted to invade Italy. The Romans were so convinced that Alexander would make an attempt that the Roman historian Titus Livius (who lived around 59 B.C. – A.D. 17) wrote a text speculating on how it might have ended. In this text, the historian predicted that the Romans would have defeated Alexander. Livius noted that Alexander’s uncle, Alexander I of Epirus, attempted to conquer part of Italy but was killed in battle in 331 B.C.
Alexander I of Epirus – uncle of Alexander the Great
As Waterfield pointed out, descriptions of Alexander’s plans indicate that he would have invaded other parts of the Mediterranean before landing on the Italian mainland. This suggests that Alexander’s forces would have been overwhelming, even if the Romans had allies to fight against him.
Philip Freeman, a professor of humanities at Pepperdine University in California, believes that had Alexander invaded Italy, he likely would have succeeded, as there were several Greek colonies in Italy that could have supported his rule.
“The Romans were tough and put up a fight, but they were not yet a powerful force,” Professor Freeman said. In his view, had Alexander the Great invaded Rome, there would have been no Roman Empire, as the local power would have been “crushed, so to speak, in its infancy.”