Death in Babylon

Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BC in Babylon at age 32. He had conquered an empire stretching from Greece to India. The cause of death remains debated — typhoid fever, poisoning, or alcohol-related illness are the leading theories.

His body became the most valuable political relic of the ancient world. Whoever controlled the corpse could claim legitimate succession to his empire.

Alexander reportedly left no clear successor, saying only that his empire should go "to the strongest." The resulting succession wars lasted forty years and tore his empire into competing kingdoms.