Alexander The Great

Alexander, the glorious military genius of all times, was born on July 20, 356 B.C. in Macedonia (often referred to as northern Greece). He was also known as Alexander III. He was the son of king Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias, the princess of Epirus. Though Macedonia was a part of Greece, the Greeks to the south of Macedonia did not regard the Macedonians as civilized, and considered them inferior. Childhood and Youth Alexander was a student of Aristotle, and soon he developed a keen interest for literature. Homer's Iliad was his favorite, and heroes like Achilles and Hercules were his ideals and source of inspiration. No doubt, he grew up to be like one of them. He was sixteen years old when he took command of Macedonia, as his father went off to Byzantines to fight the rebels. During this period, he proved himself to be an excellent military commander by defeating the Maedi tribe. In the year 336 B.C., he became the king of Macedonia at the age of 20, after his father was assassinated. Military Achievements After becoming the king of Macedonia, Alexander tried to restore peace and order in his kingdom by subjugating some barbarian tribes in the northern region of his territory. In the meantime, rumors of his death spread across his kingdom which resulted in a revolt in the city of Thebes. However, Alexander successfully suppressed it. After subjugating his enemies within his kingdom, he set out to destroy his main opponent, the Persians. The war between Alexander and the Persians took place on the banks of the river Granicus. Darius III was the king of Persia and the strength of his army was 100,000. Alexander faced this huge enemy with just 30,000 soldiers. But, the Persian army collapsed when they saw their king fleeing from the battlefield. It was known as the Battle of Issus, as it took place near the ancient town Issus. After conquering Persia, Alexander went off to capture Tyre, a city on an island. It was a long expedition of seven months and initially his attempts were thwarted by the Tyrians. He succeeded in capturing Tyre only after building a land bridge from the mainland, and thereby taking his soldiers closer to the city. After Tyre, Alexander went to Egypt. The Egyptians were already tired of Persian rulers. Hence, instead of facing resistance, Alexander received a grand welcome from the Egyptians and they became his allies. He also established the city of Alexandria by his name, which later on, became a city of great fame, especially for commerce and trade. Later, Darius III formed a huge army to wage another war against Alexander. The second war between Alexander and Persians took place near Arbela and again the Persians had to face defeat. This war was also known as the war of Gaugamela. After conquering Persia, Alexander turned his attention towards Afghanistan and seized it in about two years. Then he set out on a campaign to conquer India and reached India in 326 B.C. The main resistance that he faced in India was from an Indian prince by the name Porus. After a hard-fought battle, Alexander defeated Porus. Alexander wanted to conquer India, but his army revolted against his decision and refused

to go to the interior parts of the country. The main reasons for their reluctance to move any further, were the size and the climate of India. They found it hard to adjust with the Indian climate and besides that, the size of the country was much bigger than what they had imagined. Ultimately, Alexander decided to return to Persia, and his campaign of conquering the world came to an end. Alexander reached Persia after an year and established his city in Babylon. Then, he focused on the efficient management of his kingdom. He introduced many administrative reforms during this period, which is also an important chapter in the world history. Death of Alexander It was believed that Alexander had plans to resume his campaign of conquering the world once again. But that plan did not materialize as he suffered from malaria and died at the age of 33 in July13, 323 B.C. His body was taken to Egypt in a gold coffin and placed in a beautiful tomb in Alexandria. Legends associated with Alexander Undoubtedly, Alexander was one of the greatest generals of all times. Many myths were associated with him. It was said, that the temple of Diana in Ephesus was burnt down the day he was born, which, according to fortune tellers, was a sign, that the force that would destroy Asia had arrived. Another myth about Alexander is that, at the age of twelve, he managed to tame Bucephalus, a wild but very beautiful horse. Yet, another legend is, one day Philip had a dream in which he sealed Olympia's womb with the seal of a lion. Philip consulted a seer named Aristander of Telmessus, and he predicted that the son of Olympia would have the character of a lion. In essence, the fascination about him has inspired many legends about this great general and placed him in a position that is held by the the ancient Greek Gods and heroes. People throughout the world still marvel at his military and administrative skills. Truly, he is one of the few geniuses that the world has seen so far.