George W Bush has arrived triumphant in Baghdad, well he snuck in under the cover of darkness with the lights turned off on his aeroplane but he got there to share a bit of turkey with the boys. Which is somewhat synergistic really, since The Green Man suspects that Turkey is anticipating George will be sharing a bit of Iraq with it. But that is off the topic. As we all know, conquering Persia (that is modern day Iraq folks) entitles you to append "The Great" after your name.

Of course he is not the first conquerer of the known world have this privilege. In the spring of 331 BC Alexander The Great, fresh from a triumphant campaign in the Balkans turned his sights on Persia. Instead of flying in under the cover of darkness, world conquerers of Alexanders time lead from the front. Alexander, resplendant on the ancient equivalent of Airforce One, an elephant, headed for Baghdad. On the 20th of September 331BC his Macedonian army crossed the Tigris under the cover of a lunar eclipse to challenge the mighty Persian army that had been amassed to confront it. Whilst outnumbered, his Macedonian army was skilled in battle and overcame the Persians. Thus it was that Alexander arrived at the Baghdad International Airport for a chow down with his troops.

From Persia Alexander proceeded to work his way through the middle east, conquering Iran and eventually what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Green Man suspects that these countries must be on some secret "to-do" list that super powers are given when they attain their superpower status.

By this stage Alexander was in control of the entire known world. He was 32 and had the world at his feet, literally. Flavius Arrianus, a 2nd century roman historian, said

For I myself believe that there was at that time no race of mankind, no city, no single individual, to which the name of Alexander had not reached.

Alexander had attained god-like status but he was not a god, he was a man and inexplicably he fell ill and, over a two week period, died. Much discussion has been had on the cause of his death, poisoning, flu and typhoid fever have all been suggested. Now research suggests that the cause of his death may have been West Nile Fever, a viral infection that is common in the area. In another interesting intersection of histories, West Nile Fever, is currently on the ascendancy in the USA after being accidentally introduced there in 1999.

Read more about Alexander The Great here.
Read more on West Nile Fever and its alledged role in his death here.