Is wine behind the death of Alexander the Great?

Alexander the Great, a conqueror defeated by wine

Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander the Great, Alexander the Conqueror or Alexander the Macedonian, is one of the most colossal figures in history, ambiguous and mysterious, he is still today surrounded by an aura of mystery.

Especially regarding his death, new hypotheses seem to have emerged today.

He was born in Pella in 356 BC and was the heir of Philip II of Macedon.
In twelve years he conquered the Persian Empire, reaching as far as China; his success is to be attributed to remarkable military and diplomatic intelligence, his great leadership abilities, and the crisis conditions of the Persian Empire.

He died in Babylon in 323 BC, generating the last mystery of his life linked to his very end – mysterious indeed were the causes of his death: poisoned? Previously contracted malaria? Liver cirrhosis? Or killed by wine?

According to a group of scholars, it was precisely the love of wine that brought a tragic and premature end to one of the greatest commanders in history.

In particular, according to a new study published in the journal "Clinical Toxicology", reported by the Times, conducted by a group of toxicologists and ancient history experts at the University of Otago (New Zealand), during one of his famous banquets Alexander allegedly ingested wine containing a toxic substance derived from a plant called "white hellebore", used by the ancients (in small quantities) because it was believed to have the power to drive demons from the body through sneezing and vomiting.

Alexander died after 12 days of fever, delirium and convulsions associated with muscle weakness, hypotension and a declining heart rate – symptoms that led scholars to point to poisoning from this type of plant if taken in excessive quantities.

It must be said that Alexander the Great was already weakened by his well-known dependence on alcohol, a substance he used to forget the wounds suffered in battle and the loss of his friend and lover Hephaestion, who had died a few months earlier.

According to historical sources, the commander had never recovered from his grief and drinking was his only escape, yet who had put that plant in his wine? His enemies? A wrong choice on his part regarding the dosage?