alexander

PREFACE
xv
Alexander’s exploits are documented in four good and
extant classical sources: Plutarch, Arrian, Diodorus, and
Curtius. All four provide secondhand histories, but with the
benefit of the authors’ direct access to the original reports.
This would be like historians in 2,000 years finding four
histories of George Washington (whose authors had access
to all original documents or copies), but essentially no original
documents, except for carved inscriptions that survived
with the four secondhand histories. Each history will have
some problems, but if we take them all together, we can
construct a pretty accurate picture. That is exactly what historians
have done with the four classical sources. As a result,
we seem to have a quite accurate picture of Alexander’s
campaigns.
In business, one could point out that truth, honest reporting,
stretching the rules, opinion, fact, and fraud often
are not easy to separate. That is why we rely on independent
audits, due diligence, and outside consultants. While each
is fallible, taken together, like the classics on Alexander, they
give a better, more accurate picture.