Heaven Cannot Brook Two Suns Nor

Plutarch attributes this remark to Alexander the Great in the context of the confrontation with the Persian king Darius III before the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE), where one of Alexander's generals suggested a night attack. Alexander refused, saying he would not steal a victory, and this saying reflects his absolute insistence that there could be only one supreme ruler. Gaugamela proved decisive: Alexander's forces routed a Persian army vastly larger than his own, and Darius fled, effectively ending Achaemenid resistance.