Together with the mayor of Mannheim and representatives of both the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums and the German Archaeological Institute, the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Gernot Erler is opening a new special exhibition today (2 October) at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim titled “Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World – Asia’s Cultures in Transformation”.

With around 400 items, some of which are being displayed in Europe for the first time, the exhibition offers a unique glimpse into Alexander the Great’s influence in Central Asia. The exhibition documents the trail left by Alexander over the course of his eleven-year campaign in the Persian empire.

The exhibition is a joint project of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums and the Eurasia Department of the German Archaeological Institute, and will be on display in Mannheim from 3 October 2009 to 21 February 2010. Thereafter, it will be presented at the Kunsthalle museum in the city of Leoben, Austria.