Alexander Biography

Alexander was born in July 356 B.C. to Philip II and his third wife, Olympias. The parents were far from a happy couple, and Alexander was raised primarily under the influence of his mother. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to study with Aristotle—an education that was for the most part formal. Aristotle promoted the belief that non-Greeks were naturally slaves, thus encouraging the prince's thirst for conquest. Ultimately, however, Alexander would reject this belief, at least implicitly, as he attempted to cooperate with the Persians even as he subjugated them.

Over the years, Alexander had suffered severe wounds that weakened his health. Alexander was born on 356 BCE in Macedonia and his father was King Philip II. He was 20 years old when he first launched his invasion of the Persian Empire. He wanted to conquer India, but his army refused to go any farther. Jesus was born 300 years after Alexander died. How great was Alexander the Great? Alexander the Great not only spread Greek culture, but was also an inspiring leader.

Alexander the Great was one of the most prominent leaders on the battlefield. His war tactics and strategies have led him to become the leader of the most powerful, largest empire in the ancient world in the 300’s BCE. Alexander the Great used unique strategies shown in the battle of Tyre, Granicus and Gaugamela to defeat The Persian Empire. The Persian Empire at the time controlled most of Asia, Middle East and North Africa.

Alexander’s first taste of being a leader must have been sweet because after he earned the trust of the Greek people, he led them into battle against other nations. Alexander’s father conquered Greece, but Alexander had larger goals in mind (Bauer). Alexander was very offensive in battle, and soon had campaigns in many countries including Egypt, Babylonia, Persis, Media, Bactria, the Punjab, and the Indus River Valley (Lendering). In Alexander’s 15 years of conquest, Alexander never once lost a single battle (Barksdale). Soon, Alexander had conquered all of Asia Minor and Northern Egypt (Lendering). Alexander was the king of Macedonia, king of Greece, King of Asia Minor, and Pharoah of Egypt all at the same time, talk about a multi-tasker (Alexander the Great 1). He led very successful conquests in these countries, and was a good leader during these times. Alexander wanted just one more thing: Persia.

Alexander the Great had many success in battle. He conquered many countries and places. He conquered Persia, Thebes, and India. There were some countries that put up a fight, but they were no match for Alexander the Great and his army. When he was conquering Thebes, he had them surrounded. The Thebans were stuck in their cities. He waited

Alexander the Great, Macedonian King (365-323 B.C.), was the son King Philip II and Queen Olympias, who was one of the best kings at that time. He was known conquering the Mediterranean and Persian Empire. Alexander was called the “Great” because of his military mindset and dexterous skills in conquering lands (Mark1). As a young boy, he was put through school and was tutored by a Greek Philosopher, Aristotle (History1). He was also taught to fight and ride by Leonidas of Epirus (Mark1). Then at the age of eighteen, as a prince, he took charge of the Companion Cavalry and helped his father in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea (History1). Alexander the Great, conqueror of the Persian Empire, was noted for his leadership,

Alexander the Great was born from King Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias, princess of Epirus in 365 BCE. At a young age Alexander was taught by Aristotle. He taught Alexander politics, sports, warfare, as well as academic subjects. When King Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE, Alexander inherited his father’s army and empire. Using his outstanding knowledge, and his father’s great army, Alexander was able to conquer a great amount of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Alexander was substantially great considering he protected his empire, motivated his troops, and impacted cultural spread(ww).

After crossing the Hellespont with an army of 35,000 men, he met his first Persian battle on the banks of the Granicus River. His cavalry charged across the Granicus and overwhelmed the Persians. From there, Alexander went on to conquer all of Asia Minor with little resistance (“Alexander the Great.'; 2). After recovering from a serious illness in 333 B.C., Alexander marched to Syria, where the king of Persia, Darius III, had fortified a riverbank near Issus with 600,000 men (Durant 544). Again Alexander attacked with his cavalry and defeated the Persians. Darius III managed to escape but left behind his family and a large amount of money.

Aristotle is one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history. Still today we are using his works in philosophy and the sciences. This allowed Alexander to take in vast amounts of knowledge. Aristotle saw the love for learning Alexander had and helped him further his studies. Growing up Alexander was interested in the secrets of medicine. King Philip wanted to give his son the best education he could. He asks

“Darius's army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, but the Battle of Issus ended in a big victory for Alexander. Tens of thousands of Persians, Greeks, and other Asiatic soldiers were killed and king Darius fled” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). In all the Persians lost “one hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand cavalry while Alexander only lost twelve hundred. These numbers are Greek estimates” (Web, necromatics). The number of murdered infantry in the Battle of Issus and Alexander’s determination to kill, kill,

Later on in his life, Alexander continued to show his ability to accomplish many difficult tasks. "After three grueling years of warfare and three decisive battles, Alexander smashed the Persian armies at the Tigris River and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon" (“Alexander the Great” ushistory.org). This was a great victory that proved Alexander had what it took to be a great leader. Defeating the Persians was something many leaders could never do, but Alexander

Alexander went to Corinth for the assembly of the Greek league and was named the supreme commander of all Greece. At that time the Thebans’ revolted; he destroyed everything in their city except the temples. This served as a reminder to the other communities and tribes in Macedonia respected and honored Alexander. He proceeded to conquer the Asia Minor, and used his knowledge to plan and organize the army. During the Persian expedition Alexander had in his army more than 100 000 but only a few fought. Alexander honored veterans; he left them in charge of cities. He was a military genius and could change his army within seconds and used to make decisions as fast as possible. He could even change his plan of action if the enemy changed plans. To him it was not about numbers but leadership and plan in battle. The first commander to have backup reserves was Alexander; this affected the way wars were staged and fought in the coming years. Alexander defeated the Persians; he was an unwavering fighter and fought with his soldiers. He conquered the Phoenician coast, Syria and Egypt (Louis, W. R, 1984).

Alexander did not stop attacking Persian Empire. Darius had formed a large army which includes the best skilled soldiers and prepared them with weapons and chariots. The Persians have fight to Arbela and defeated Alexander. The fight on Arbela was considered the most crucial and decisive military encounters in history of battles (Anonymous 2005).

Alexander was born in 356 BC. As a child, he showed great signs of strength and leadership. At age 20, after his father was assassinated, he obtained the thrown and started a campaign to conquer the Persian Empire. His first battle for conquest against the Persians was n 334 BC at the Granicus River, otherwise known was the Battle of Granicus. After that, we went off to conquer the rest of Asia Minor. In 333 BC, Alexander fought the forces of the king of Persia, Darius III. This took place at Issus (Northern Syria), giving it the name the Battle of Issus. Alexander’s army notably smaller than Darius’s, he had expert tactics, which allowed him to win the battle. He was 23 years old when he could have returned home, but he decided to keep conquering more lands to the east. When Alexander the Great died in the spring of 323 BC, he wanting the kingdom to be united. But that didn’t happen. After he died, his empire broke up between his generals, with his only son killed by one of them.