Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world by age thirty, but Josephus tells a story about the one city he did not need to take by force. When Alexander marched on Jerusalem after the siege of Gaza, the High Priest Jaddua was terrified. He had sworn loyalty to the Persian King Darius and refused Alexander's earlier demand for tribute and troops. Now the conqueror was coming to punish him.
Jaddua prayed. God spoke to him in a dream: open the gates, dress the priests in white, and go out to meet the Macedonian army. The next morning, the Jewish procession marched out of the city in full priestly regalia—white robes, the High Priest wearing the golden plate inscribed with God's name on his turban.
What happened next shocked everyone. Alexander, who had just sacked Tyre and Gaza, who was feared across Asia—fell on his face before the High Priest. His generals were baffled. Parmenion, his most trusted commander, asked why the conqueror of the world was bowing to a Jewish priest. Alexander's answer was extraordinary: before he had left Macedonia, he had seen this exact figure in a dream, wearing these exact garments, who promised him that God would grant him dominion over Persia. When he saw Jaddua, he recognized the man from his vision.
Alexander entered Jerusalem peacefully. He went up to the Temple and offered sacrifice to God according to the High Priest's instructions. They showed him the book of Daniel, which prophesied that a Greek king would destroy the Persian Empire (Daniel 8:21). Alexander was delighted and believed the prophecy referred to him. He told the Jews to ask for whatever they wanted. They asked for one thing: the right to keep their ancestral laws and an exemption from tribute every seventh year, since the Torah forbids farming during the shemittah (שמיטה), the sabbatical year. Alexander granted it all.