Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem

[1] It is the primary source for most of the tales of the marvellous and fabulous found in later Alexander traditions.

[3] An abridged version, including much fabulous material, was incorporated into the Alexander Romance no later than the third century AD.

Although one of these translations is lost, its version of the Epistola was incorporated into a separate, popular romance about Alexander, the Sīrat al-Iskandar.

Material derived from the Arabic Epistola can also be found, no longer in the form of a letter, in the Persian Shahnameh and Iskandarnameh.

[11] The letter begins with Alexander's attack on the Indian king Porus in July 326 BC.

When he notices a castle of reeds on an island in the river, he orders some men to swim to it, but they are killed by hippopotamuses.

Some Indians from the island approach in a boat and lead Alexander to a freshwater lake.

[13] Following the "Night of Terrors", the army continues the campaign against Porus and his war elephants.

They visit the oracle of the "Trees of Sun and Moon", which predict Alexander's premature death.

The letter ends with Alexander announcing that he has built two tall statues in Babylon and Persepolis containing an account of his feast in India.