Ussher's chronology represented a considerable feat of scholarship: it demanded great depth of learning in what was then known of ancient history, including the rise of the Persians, Greeks and Romans, as well as expertise in the Bible, biblical languages, astronomy, ancient calendars and chronology. Ussher's account of historical events for which he had multiple sources other than the Bible is usually in close agreement with modern accountsfor example, he placed the death of Alexander in 323 BC and that of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Ussher's last biblical co-ordinate was the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, and beyond this point, he had to rely on other considerations. Faced with inconsistent texts of the Torah, each with a different number of years between Flood and Creation, Ussher chose the Masoretic version, which claims an unbroken history of careful transcription stretching back centuriesbut his choice was confirmed for him, because it placed Creation exactly four thousand years before 4 BC, the generally accepted date for the birth of Jesus; moreover, he calculated, Solomon's temple was completed in the year 3000 from creation, so that there were exactly 1000 years from the temple to Jesus, who was thought to be the 'fulfilment' of the Temple.