Alexander didn't burn his boats. That was Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Muslim general who conquered Spain (well, Gibraltar - which is named after him) in 711. http://bo

Alexander didn't burn his boats. That was Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Muslim general who conquered Spain (well, Gibraltar - which is named after him) in 711. http://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC&pg=PA85 http://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC&pg=PA85 According to Plutarch, Alexander did burn some wagons, but that was because he wanted to make his army lighter so it could move faster.