Alexander the Great in the Quran into Arabic. The Greek work "Thesaurus Alexandri" was attributed to Hermes (the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology) and similarly contained supposed letters from Aristotle addressed to Alexander. A more direct Arabic translation of the "Alexander romance," called "Sirat Al-Iskandar", was discovered in Constantinople, at the Hagia Sophia, and is dated to the 13th century. This version includes the letter from Alexander to his mother about his travels in India and at the end of the World. It also includes features which occur exclusively in the Syriac version. The Arabic legend also retains certain pagan elements of the
The Nature of Alexander independent command he undertook. The hardcover edition is illustrated. The Nature of Alexander The Nature of Alexander (1975) is the only nonfiction work by novelist Mary Renault (1905–1983). The book is a biography of King Alexander the Great, (356-323 BCE/BC), ruler of Macedon, Egypt and Persia. Renault wrote several historical novels in which Alexander appears: "The Mask of Apollo" (1966), "Fire from Heaven" (1969), "The Persian Boy" (1972) and "Funeral Games" (1981). She felt these were not enough to tell the whole story of Alexander, and so she completed her nonfiction biography. The book makes no attempt to be impartial