Ten years from Alexander of Egypt to Afghanistan... ending with an award
British historian Edmund Richardson won the 2026 Bill Gifford Award for Non-Fiction for his book "Alexander" after a decade of research.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
British historian Edmund Richardson spent ten years tracing Alexander’s journey from Egypt’s underground tunnels to Afghanistan’s mountain passes, striving to uncover the man behind the image of the conqueror. The journey culminated in his winning the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
His book, “Alexander,” was announced as the winner in London, earning him a prize of £50,000.
This marks the first time a book on ancient history has won the award since its inception in 1999.
The book begins with a young man who inherited the Macedonian throne at age twenty, ruling a kingdom burdened by debt and an anxious army, before his authority stretched from Greece to the Indian subcontinent, ending with his death in Babylon at the age of 32.
Richardson, a professor of Classical Studies at Durham University, drew on research spanning four continents, including new translations of sources in twelve ancient languages, and leveraged archaeological discoveries and modern technologies to re-examine Alexander’s life story.
The judging panel praised the book’s ability to combine rigorous historical research with compelling, cinematic storytelling.
The work was selected from more than 350 eligible submissions, outperforming five finalists on the shortlist.
