.jpg "Alexander the Great/Alexander III of Macedon. The Alexander Mosaic. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.")
Quick history answer: Yes, no and maybe.
Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III of Macedon, was an all conquering ruler and a military genius. He was born in the Ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion (modern day July) 365 B.C. in Pella, Central Macedonia, in today's Greece. He became king after his father was assassinated in 336 B.C.. During his reign, Alexander expanded his territories significantly, including in Egypt, Persia and Northern India.
His death in his new capital city of Babylon, in today's Iraq, on the 13th June 323 B.C. has long raised questions and possibilities. Could he have been buried alive? Was the 32 year old murdered or did someone make a gargantuan mistake when they checked whether he was alive or dead?
The truth is that we will never know whether Alexander the Great was alive when he was buried. We do know that his body didn't start to decompose for 6 days.
The official explanation for his death was that he enjoyed a 10 days long drinking binge and feasting session that somehow left him ill and he subsequently died at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon. His huge empire struggled to survive past his rule and it was later broken down between several rulers.
Could Alexander the Great Have Been Buried Alive?
The "buried alive" version of events goes as follows: Alexander the Great was unwell with a fever and severe back pain after going out drinking in Babylon. His symptoms also included paralysis, breathing difficulties and a loss of speech.
Possible illnesses have been suggested over the centuries including typhoid, pneumonia and Gillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare auto-immune disease that strikes suddenly and muscle weakness and paralysis can occur.
The Greek Historian Arrian related his version 400 years after the event, using sources from Alexander the Great's time, claiming that Alexander's loyal soldiers were ushered into his room to see him as he lay (as they thought) dying.
They missed his shallow breathing; in those days no one checked for a pulse or heartbeat. The soldiers concluded that his lack of movement and speech meant that he was dead and so they embalmed him.
His body didn't start to decompose for 6 days according to the historian, scribe and philosopher Plutarch who wrote a couple of centuries after the event. That claim suggested to many historians that he was alive when he was buried and that he suffocated.
His lack of decomposition was explained by declaring that he was a divine figure so he didn't break down as a normal person would.
Was Alexander the Great Murdered?
The case for murder, apart from the embalming and burial of a potentially still alive Alexander the Great, revolves around the sons of Antipater, Alexander's Regent of Greece and Macedon, in his absence.
Suspiciously to some, Alexander's cupbearer (drink servant) was Iollas, Antipater's son and the brother of the eventual ruler of Macedon, Cassander. Motive for poisoning, opportunity and no proof.
One thing is certain, no matter how Alexander the Great died, the loss of his incredible military might and perceived invincibility left his realm with a constitutional crisis that it failed to recover from.
Alexander's only surviving child, a posthumously born son called Alexander IV, was murdered in 309 B.C., aged 14, when it was time for him to rule in his own right, rather than through a regent. The murderer? Cassander.
We don't know the precise location of Alexander the Great's tomb so that adds another layer to the mystery.
So, taking into account all of the above, the answer to whether Alexander the Great was buried alive is yes, no and maybe.
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/was-alexander-great-pronounced-dead-prematurely-180971419/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antipater-regent-of-Macedonia
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