050131310 CAH8010 Why did Alexander burn Persepolis? After defeating Darius III at Gaugamela in 331, Alexander took Babylon 1 and Susa 2 before entering Persepolis. According to the literary sources, Alexander burned the palace complex before resuming his pursuit of Darius 3 . The reasoning behind this act of vandalism is difficult to establish since the sources do not paint a clear picture of the event; consequently, modern scholars have been unable to determine the cause of the fire. Since there is ambiguity within the literary evidence, this paper will also draw on the archaeological evidence. Finally, the merits and weaknesses of the explanations for the conflagration within modern scholarship will be analysed. The disagreements between the sources form the underlying problem with establishing why Alexander burned Persepolis. Arrian’s ‘official’ version, explaining that the fire was a calculated act of vengeance, derives from one or both of Ptolemy and Aristobulus 4 , while the ‘vulgate’ authors’ account and the story of Thais is formed from Cleitarchus’ history 5 . The motive of vengeance is explored below, but there are two questions that must be asked here. Firstly, was Thais a historical character or an invention of Cleitarchus? Secondly, is Arrian’s truncated account due to a lack of information from his source and, if so, why was information withheld? Arrian’s version has been labelled the ‘official version’ 6 due to the nature of his own sources: Aristobulus and Ptolemy. Hammond argues both authors “knew what happened at 1 Arr. 3.16.3. 2 Arr. 3.16.7. 3 Arr. 3.18.11-12, Curt. 5.6.1-7.12, Diod. 17.70.1-72.6, Plut. Alex. 38.1-8. Justin’s account is too brief to be of use. 4 Hammond 1992: 359. 5 Hammond 1992: 359. 6 E.g. Bloedow and Loube 1997: 349. 1