history has it that alexander the great was the most powerful man on earth in the 300 bcs even
after his death he was revered by kings of other territories and by extension their people in fact
to some he was considered a god due to his godlike status alexander's treasures and remains were
hoarded by his admirers people fought over the possession of the warriors remains his tomb which
had become a popular tourist attraction was looted quite often many of his valuable possessions were
either stolen or destroyed one of alexander's most valued possessions which was also lost was
his signet ring in this video we'll take a journey through history and explore how alexander's famous
signet ring was passed down a long list of people and the efforts of archaeologists to retrieve it
in the olden times the great kings had different objects that were physical representations of
their great power although the king's power was etched into everything he owned some of the king's
properties were more significant than others alexander the great had a signet ring with which
he ruled over his vast kingdom the band of this ring was crafted using pure gold and at its head
there was a huge red sapphire crystal on which the portrait of the great warrior was imprinted
the warrior's famous signet ring was one of the greatest symbols of his power and it was hugely
coveted by rulers of other territories as well as members of alexander's court upon his death
the young warriors ring traveled the world for more than 100 years and was lost in transit
the search for this historical treasure has gone on for many years
and archaeologists may finally have something worthwhile to say about the long-lasting search
the story of the search for this ring includes several elements
including betrayal and murder but let's look at the story from the beginning
a quick introduction to who alexander was would help you understand why the very long search for
his signet ring is so important to practically every civilization to exist after his death
alexander iii of macedon was a king of the ancient greek kingdom of mastodon his father philip ii was
murdered at a royal event and shortly after his demise alexander succeeded he was just 20 years
old when he ascended the throne and for most of his time as king he conducted lengthy military
campaigns all over the world conquering cities killing their rulers and expanding his territory
by the time he was 30 he had created the largest empire in the world at the same time
spanning from greece to the end of asia he fought many battles but he never
suffered defeat he was considered a god in the eyes of his people and others after he conquered
a new territory he would take on the title of the ruler of said territory thus he was a man of many
titles apart from being king of macedon he was pharaoh of egypt king of persia and lord of asia
although he had a very prosperous reign alexander's reign was short after being
king for a little over 12 years alexander's life was cut short at the young age of 32. at the time
of his death in 323 bc the great warrior was in babylon he suffered from a fever for a few days
without any signs of improvement despite the efforts of the most skilled babylonian physicians
as the days went by his condition worsened and he couldn't speak sadly he passed a
few days later although the actual case of his death remains unknown some historical accounts
claim that he was poisoned others claimed that alexander's fever resulted from one of
the prevalent illnesses in ancient babylon like typhoid or malaria the death of alexander threw
his kingdom into chaos and disarray mostly because he did not appoint any successor and his only heir
alexander iv was born later that year while the leaders of macedonia were arguing about
alexander's succession plans perticas the highest-ranking babylonian official had a plan
perticus was one of alexander's most loyal followers and a trusted military commander apart
from their military ties particus and alexander go way back as they were childhood friends they
were both educated at the temple of the nymphs at maesa a school for nobles under the tutelage
of greek philosopher aristotle they learned science arts and literature for most of his
life perticus fought side by side with alexander and believed in the world he was trying to create
to uphold the kingdom that alexander had spent 12 years trying to build herticus decided that he
was the most suited successor to alexander after alexander's death pertica stepped up and became
regent for philip iii alexander's intellectually disabled half-brother and alexander iv alexander's
infant child he also became custodian of the treasury and supreme commander of the royal army
his succession plan was met with much resistance by other macedonian nobles and commanders however
unknown to them perticus had already acquired a triumphant card he had alexander's signet ring
when his opposition saw that he had alexander's backing they withheld their opinions and made an
offer with perticus this offer afforded the various commanders a small territory out of
the vast empire they had helped alexander build with the king's signet ring in his hand perticus
ruled over what was left of the macedonian empire keeping the rest of the kingdom intact
this part of the story is where the battle of alexander's admirers begins due to the chaos that
alexander's death created throughout the kingdom macedonians forgot about making funeral plans for
their deceased king however when perticus took control he started making grand burial plans for
alexander first he ordered that the king's remains be embalmed and he spent the next two years of his
reign planning a grand funeral fit for a king contrary to alexander's wish to be buried in
the temple of zeus amman in siwa oasis courticus decided to send his remains to aga in macedonia
where kings are buried perticus personally oversaw the construction of a golden carriage
that alexander's remains would be transported in it was so big it required 64 mules to tow
before long the carriage containing alexander and his treasures including the ring set out
for macedonia along with a great military company all the way in egypt the ruler who
was an old friend former general and avid admirer of alexander caught wind of perticus's plan and
decided to intercept the journey alexander spent a very long time in egypt when he was still alive
in fact one of the largest cities in egypt alexandria was named after him so based on
their history ptolemy the first decided that egypt was a better resting place for alexander
apart from his sentiments towards alexander ptolemy the first in perticus had a long-lasting
rivalry this rivalry had started before ptolemy was sent to egypt by alexander after he conquered
it now that they were both rulers of the most powerful territories in their times they were
naturally enemies the possession of alexander's remains made perticus look powerful for two years
and ptolemy was jealous so he made plans to secure the remains of alexander and gain the power that
comes with it he intercepted the transport of the carriage at syria bribed the escort seized
the carriage and took everything in it with him to memphis egypt when perticus heard about this
turn of events he was furious in the heat of his rage he marched to egypt his plan was to invade
egypt defeat ptolemy and seize his territory and treasury this way he could settle the long-lasting
rivalry and restore his power unfortunately for perticus ptolemy had the home advantage
and greater battle strength as most of perticus's men had lost their lives in three failed attempts
to cross the nile perticus lost the battle before it began and he died at ptolemy's hand
as far as we know ptolemy had no interest whatsoever in the treasures of alexander
he talked more about acquiring his signet ring for himself he only wished to give a man whom
he considered a god an elaborate egyptian funeral after acquiring alexander's remains and treasures
ptolemy the first built an elaborate tomb for alexander in memphis ancient egyptians
held nothing back when it came to the funerals of their pharaohs whom they considered next to gods
ptolemy the first was the pharaoh the egyptians recognized but alexander was
his superior so imagine how grand this tomb was a few hundred years later ptolemy iv was convinced
he could build a much bigger tomb for alexander the great he moved the capital of egypt from
memphis to alexandria and there he built the most elaborate burial complex in his honor
the tomb was grand and rich in splendor all the warriors treasures were on display in the tomb
people from other parts of the world came in their numbers to experience the magnificence
of this burial chamber the exposure of this tomb in its contents led to
frequent looting as people would come in to take whatever item caught their attention
in his days alexander built and oversaw the largest empire in the world however there
were some countries he did not invade during his conquest rome was one such city in fact one of the
biggest questions in history was who would emerge victorious if rome and macedonia had met in battle
to ambitious romans alexander was a man who had attained the status they desired he was a man
worthy of their respect and emulation throughout the ptolemaic dynasty roman leaders julius caesar
augustus titus caligula hadrian and vespasian on different accounts visited the tomb of alexander
in the soma to pay their respects in about 30 bc octavian formerly referred to as augustus caesar
conquered the egyptian empire after its leader cleopatra died after the battle had settled and
egypt was now under the newly established roman empire octavian frequently visited the tomb of
alexander when he entered the tomb octavian viewed the displayed body of alexander to pay
his respects he placed the garland of flowers on the tomb and a golden crown on alexander's head
he was not satisfied with that and he proceeded to run his hands along his mummified body leading
to the tip of his nose falling off it is unknown whether alexander's golden signet ring caught his
eye on that visit or on subsequent visits to the tomb octavian took possession of the golden ring
and altered it replacing alexander's portrait with his he wore the ring for years until one night
according to roman history alexander appeared to him in a dream cursing him and calling him a thief
after octavian's death the next roman emperor tiberius kept the ring and used it to impress his
picture on ceiling wax in 37 a.d caligula gained possession of the ring after he assassinated
tiberius the ring was passed from hand to hand and it's unknown what happened to it after tiberius
some historical accounts claim that claudius another roman emperor kept the ring and
secretly gave it to his son britannicus the last mention of alexander signet ring was in 215 a.d
when karakala restored some of alexander's lost treasures according to chronicler john of antioch
karakala returned alexander's tunic belt and other precious items including the long lost
signet ring and placed them on the coffin as the search for this lost signet ring continues
some archaeologists believe that the ring still sits in alexander's tomb which has been lost for
many centuries others believe it was part of the treasures that were looted and destroyed
by the early roman christians was alexander the great's treasures sold to the highest bidder
comment below where you think his ring is don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe
if you want to learn more about history on crunch thanks for watching