alexander the great genealogical research

Alexander the Great of Macedonia (356 – 323 BC) King of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, Lord of Asia

Aristotle and Alexander: The Power of a Teacher

A map illustrating the Hellenistic World and the successor kingdoms of the Diadochi (Alexander the Great‘s successors) c. 301 BCE.

Coin of Alexander I in the decade following the Second Persian invasion of Greece (struck in 480-470 BC).

Lighthouse of Alexandria YouTube videos

After the death of Alexander the Great of Macedonia (356 – 323 BC, a power struggle to succeed him ensued amongst his generals, principally because he left no clear-cut heirs. The Partition of Triparadisus (321 BC), which was a power-sharing agreement, divided the Macedonian Greek Empire between them. Alexander the Great’s nephew and aide-de-camp, Soter Ptolemy I (367 – 283 BC), was awarded Egypt (known later as the Ptolemaic Empire). Seleucus I Nicator (359 – 281 BC), Alexander’s agnatic cousin and agnatic forebear of Antiochus III Seleucid, Emperor of the Seleucid Greek Empire, was granted Babylon (known later as the Seleucid Empire).

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopater (69 – 30 BC) was the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Her death signaled the demise of the Ptolemaic dynasty that favorably ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries. Afterward, Octavian killed her son Caesaron, a potential heir to the throne, as an august herald of the advent of Roman Egypt that also portended him as the first Emperor of Rome. Adding Egypt to the Roman Empire’s territorial portfolio also capped the end of the Macedonian Greek Empire, mainly as a consequence that the fractured confederacy previously failed to marshal a leader of Alexander the Great’s stature as a conqueror of unparalleled gift as a military commander. Moreover, one can only reasonably speculate as to whether or not Alexander would have conquered what was to become the Roman Empire had he lived to old(er) age. Alas, only he would have had that ambition and presence of mind to succeed before the advent and rise of the Roman Empire.

His wife Roxane was a descendant of Cyrus the Great (600 – 530 BC), the primogenitor of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. His grandson Xerxes I “The Great” Achaemenid (510 – 465 BC) was the first foreign ruler to sack Athens before the advent of Alexander the Great. Alexander, of course, sacked Persepolis after the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC). The defeat of Darius III marked the end of the Achaemenid empire and the establishment of Alexander as Shahanshah of Persia.

Legend has it that Frisians inhabited Friesia since the time of the Flood. They immigrated to Punjab, India as colonists during the 14th century B.C. Alexander enlisted them as mercenaries when he invaded India. At his urging, they eventually returned to the Friesia soon after his death. Adel I Friso ( – 245 BC) became the first dynastic king of Friesland upon their return during the 3rd century B.C. (Redbad “The Pagan”, 9th King of Friesland (670 – 719), was his agnatic descendant).

Stateira (346 – 323 BC) and her sister, who were agnatic descendants of Xerxes I and daughters of Darius III were taken captive by Alexander after their father’s defeat at the Battle of Gaugamela. He treated them well and took Stateira as his second wife. She was killed by Roxane.

His victory at the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) is ranked #3 in The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1851), Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy. He’s ranked #33 in Hart’s Most Influential People in History.

Alexander is the eponym of Alexandria, Egypt.

Alexander was an agnatic cousin of Antiochus III Seleucid, Emperor of the Seleucid Greek Empire (223 – 187 BC), Cleopatra VII, Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt (69 – 30 BC), and Marcus Antonius, General, Triumvir of the Roman Republic (83 – 30 BC) They were all agnatic descendants of the legendary Aegyptus, King of Egypt.

He’s ranked #33 in Hart’s Most Influential People in History – Top 500 List (125).

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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