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Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE)

Alexander the Great

  • He was born in the summer of 356 BCE in a town named Pella.
  • Philip of Macedon was his father, and his mother was Olympias.
  • Plutarch, who wrote his Life of Alexander around 100 CE, is the only source that provides information about Alexander's birth and early years.
  • Alexander received a classical education when he was young, with Aristotle serving as one of his instructors.
    • Lysimachus, one of his teachers, encouraged Alexander to associate himself with the Greek hero Achilles.
  • At 18 years old, Alexander and his father commanded a troop against the Athens and Thebes troops, which were waging the final Greek resistance against Philip's victory.
    • Alexander's cavalry sprung the trap that Philip had laid with his maneuver at the crucial time.
  • Philip's conquest of Greece was completed with his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea in August 338.
  • In 336, Pausanias, a bodyguard, assassinated Philip.
  • After his father passed away, Alexander and his mother Olympias eliminated all of his potential heirs in politics.

Alexander the King

  • In 336, Alexander sat on the throne.
    • He ruled Macedonia with absolute power and reigned over the city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes.
    • He had to establish his authority as king by outdoing his late father, Phillip II.
    • Thrace was the first place where people rebelled against his rule.
    • In 335, Alexander and his army routed the Thracians and crossed the Danube River into the Triballian kingdom.
    • Greek cities opposed Macedonian sovereignty while Alexander was in the Triballian kingdom.
  • Demosthenes, an orator from Athens, circulated a rumor that Alexander had suffered a fatal wound during an assault.
    • The death of Alexander sparked uprisings in other Greek states, including Thebes.
    • The Macedonian general Parmenio was driven from Theban territory after the Thebans attacked the Macedonian garrison there. Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary, was responsible for their victory.
    • Parmenio was driven back to northwest Asia Minor after Memnon defeated him at Magnesia.
    • After his victories, Alexander returned to Thebes and encountered fierce resistance from the Thebans, whom he swiftly routed.

Campaign Against Persia

  • In the spring of 334, Alexander began a campaign against Persia.
    • In 480, the Persians attacked Athens, plundering Ionian Greeks and setting fire to the revered Acropolis temples.
    • Alexander, a Macedonian, gained popularity among the Greeks by uniting them against Persia.
    • He set out with a force that included 120 warships, a fleet of 120 warships, and 30,000 infantrymen.
    • The infantry phalanx, consisting of 9,000 men and equipped with sarissa, was the main force.
    • About 200,000 warriors, including Greek mercenaries, made up the Persian army. The Persian force was commanded by the Greek mercenary general Memnon.
  • Alexander was well versed in Persian military tactics from a young age.
    • He entered Persian territory by crossing the Hellespont (Dardanelles) in the spring of 334.
    • On the eastern bank of the river Granicus, the Persian army set up camp in an uphill position on rocky, treacherous terrain.
    • In May 334, they encountered Alexander's army for the first time at this location. Despite being attacked from all sides, Alexander managed to flee while still being wounded.
  • With only their Greek mercenaries left to fight, the Persians left the battle believing they had won, which led to a very high death toll on their side.
    • Along the Ionian coastline, Alexander's armies moved south. Some cities simply gave up.
    • Greek cities, such as Ephesus, welcomed him as a liberator from the Persians.
  • Alexander was still in danger from Memnon's army.
    • They set up camp at sea, but Alexander refused to take part in a naval conflict, so they were powerless to halt his land advances.
    • Alexander and Memnon engaged in combat once more in the city of Halicarnassus.
    • Ada, a supporter of Alexander's, was made queen after he had taken control of the city and destroyed it.
    • Following that, the Persian cities of Termessus, Aspendus, Perge, Selge, and Sagalassus were easily captured.
    • This ease of conquest persisted up until Celaenae, where he gave his general Antigonus the order to appease the area.

The Divine Ruler of Asia

  • In November 333, a pivotal battle took place in the Gulf of Iskenderun called the Battle of Issus.
    • The Persian army was commanded by Darius, the Persian king.
    • He possessed a powerful army that was far greater than Alexander's.
    • The battle was fought across the steep-sided river Pinarus on a small plain that was insufficient for the enormous armies.
    • As a result, the Persians lost the upper hand, and Alexander triumphed as King Darius III fled.
  • From the Greek kingdoms he had freed, Alexander moved to Persian-inhabited territory.
    • Byblos and Sidon fell to him without resistance. He faced significant opposition in Tyre.
    • His prospects were made worse by the fact that the city fortress was on an island in the middle of the ocean.
    • Tyre's army and inhabitants were defeated; the majority were tortured and killed, while some became slaves. Then, other coastal cities quickly submitted.
  • He entered Persia that year to hunt down Darius.
    • He conquered the lands surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
    • At Gaugamela, Alexander confronted Darius and routed the Persian army.
    • He benefited financially from the fall of Susa and Babylon.
    • He seized the Persian capital of Persepolis, took some time to recover there, and then pursued Darius. However, Darius had already been murdered by his own men.
  • In order to merge Greek and Persian culture into a new, larger empire, Alexander began to adopt Persian attire and customs.
    • Some of his Greek supporters turned against him after he married Roxane, creating a queen who was not Greek. Even so, he amassed sufficient military backing to invade India in 327.
    • After making numerous conquests, he came across Porus, a formidable Indian king, who put up a fierce fight close to the river Hydaspes.
    • Alexander's armies withdrew from India after he suffered a serious chest wound.
  • On June 10, 323 BCE, Alexander passed away at the age of 33.