Alexander the Great was one of the greatest ruler's and conquerors of all time. He conquered the mighty Persian Empire and most of the known world at that time. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. He was the son of an excellent general and organizer, named Philip II King of Macedon. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus. She was brilliant and hot-tempered. Alexander inherited the best qualities of both his parents. But he was even more ambitious than his father. He wept bitterly when he heard of Philip's conquests and said, " My father will get ahead of me in everything, and will leave nothing great for me to do." Alexander's mother taught him that Achilles was his ancestor, and that his father …show more content…
In the spring of 334 Alex began his war against the Persians by crossing the Hellespont with an army of thirty-five thousand Macedonian and Greek troops. This army included chief officers, and Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. At Granicus, a river near the ancient city of Troy, Alex attacked and army of Persians and Greek Hoplites (mercenaries) exacting about forty thousand. Alex's forces defeated them and Alex only lost 110 men. All of the states in Asia Minor submitted to Alex after that defeat. Also while passing through Phrygia Alex cut the Gordian knot with his sword. The Gordian knot is a knot that was tied by Gordius ancient king of Phrygia. The prophecy of the knot said that the Knot was to be undone by the person who was to rule Asia. Going southward Alex and his troops came upon the main Persian army led by King Darius III, at Issus in northeastern Syria. Intelligence on both sides was imprecise, and the two armies had in fact been advancing randomly. Alex was already encamped by Myriandrus (near modern Iskenderun, Turkey) when he found out that Darius was along his line of communications at Issus. Alex came head to head with King Darius during the Battle of Issus on the northeast Mediterranean coast. Although Alexander was advancing south he was surprised to find Darius approaching from his north! Turning, Alexander found Darius drawn up along the Piraeus River. In the battle that followed, Alexander won a decisive
Alexander the Great is without doubt one of the greatest military leaders of history. Not only did Alexander of Macedon conquer enormous areas of the known world but also he demonstrated dynamic leadership and masterful strategy on a large scale and tactics on the battlefield. During his life, he ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen, which stretched from ancient Greece to India. The son of King Phillip II of Macedon, Alexander was educated by the philosopher Aristotle and first led Macedonian troops at age 18. Many times Alexander was worshipped as a god in some of the countries he ruled. He had a huge impact on world history spreading the seeds of western culture and philosophy across the world and has legends and stories
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.
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 the Great truly does deserve the word great in his name. He was fantastic leader, who conquered thousands of square miles, defeated one of the best military’s at the time. He was devoted to his work, he was an honorable and hard-working leader who cared about his army and people greatly.
In document C it states “In the end, however, the causeway was completed and Alexander’s army smashed into the city.”, this is saying that even if the fight was 7 months he would never quit (Doc C). While on the move back to Greece Alexander’s followers wanted to quit and didn’t want to go on, so some stayed behind while he went on and “conquered the world” (Doc F). “At the time, Persia was probably the most powerful kingdom in the world. This mattered little to Alexander. Using his disciplined cavalry and infantry in both ways, Alexander fought his way through lands controlled by Persia - across Asia Minor, down the Mediterranean coast, into Egypt, and then to Mesopotamia. There he defeated a huge Persian army at Gaugamela.” (BGE). This quote is saying that even though Persia may be strong and powerful Alexander would still get his way wherever he went. This evidence helps explain why Alexander was great because when going through the difficult parts of his battles he would always stay strong and brave through it all despite the hard
Darius’ troops under Datis and Artapherrnes, which included Ionians and other subject peoples as well as Persians, captured several island towns and took Eretrea on Euboea by treachery. The fleet then crossed the narrow strait from Euboea to the Greek mainland and disembarked about 25000 men, both cavalry and infantry, on the beach at Marathon in northeastern Attica. Here there was fine shelving sand that would make it easy to haul up the large Persian warships and disembarked their horses. Hippias, the tyrant of Athens who had been exiled in 510 BC accompanied the Persians. His “inside information” was obviously useful. The location also provided natural protection on the landward side, an easy line of retreat by sea, and good grazing for the Persians’ horses.
Alexander the Great, born of King Philip of Macedonia, was one of the greatest conquerors of history. In my opinion, Alexander was a great leader and warrior. For example, in Document B, Alexander used strategy to win over a battle. The strategy he used was complicated, but well thought out; Alexander moved his troops in all different directions to keep Porus puzzled, and took his cavalry to various points along the river bank where he would create a war cry so that Porus would parallel the movements on the other sides of the river until he no longer responded. Now Porus elephants were boxed in, and the elephants trampled their own men because they had no driver's upon them. In this way Alexander won a battle, and through his cleverness, he
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that
Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Even at an early age, Alexander had the promise to become a great leader. Through all his victories and conquests, he has become a great hero and has had a large impact on history. That is why I chose he book Alexander the Great, by J.R. Hamilton for my review. Hamilton does a very good job with the story of Alexander the Great.
From Halicanassus, Alexander headed north to Gordium, home of the fabled Gordian knot, a group of tightly-entwined knots yoked to an ancient wagon. Legend had it whoever unwound the knot would conquer all of
The First Persian War took place at the Battle of the Marathon near Athens and it was known as one of the infamous battle between the Athenians and the Persians. In 501 B.C.E., a Greek tyrant named Aristogorus provoked the Persian rulers by instigating an uprising in Miletus and Ionia to revolt against the Persian Empire. In order to ward off the Persian Empire’s wrath, Aristogorus reached out to his compatriots on the mainland in Greece of Athens and Sparta. “Sparta refused, but Athens sent twenty ships-enough just to anger the Persians, but not to save Miletus.” Nevertheless, the Athenians conquered the Persian’s capital of Lydian in Sardis in order to steal the golds, but they accidentally ended up burning down the richest capital of Sardis.
During the course of his life and reign, Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeating many kings and warlords throughout the ancient world. Perhaps his most recognized conquest was of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and its ‘King of Kings’ Darius III during the Battle of Issus 1. After defeating the Persians at the Battle
Alexander the Great is remembered as a conquering man who built one of the largest empires. Some describe him as a man with a vision of world harmony. Others see him as a blood thirsty man with a mental illness. One thing that cannot be argued is that he and his empire are fascinating studies. From his rise to power to his mysterious death is interesting, but even after he died the story is fascinating. Due to his death, his empire was divided and a long power-struggle began starting with his generals. Each account has its own story of war and betrayal. These days must have been hard for those in power; they never knew who they could trust. Only the ones who were skilled in the strategy of war and ruthless enough to maintain their power
King Alexander at only 25 years old, his reputation already one of greatness had led his men into Asia. To his soldiers, their invasion of Persia was to fight back after half a century of devastation brought onto Greece during the Persian wars between 499 and 448 BC. Alexander’s private desire, however, was to cast a shadow on the large Persian empire by winning all its lands and bringing it under his rule. Gaugamela, named after the village it was fought by, was the decisive battle in the struggle between Alexander III and Darius II for the Persian Empire. The battle occurred in 331 BC, this battle was one of importance as it shows a significant amount of Alexander’s tactical and military genius while including examples of his great
Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon, (Alexander the Great, Alexander III of Macedon), King of Macedonia, was born in July 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia. He was one of the greatest military geniuses in history. His father, Philip II of Macedon, was a brilliant ruler and strategist. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus, daughter of King Neoptolemus. Arixstandros Telmisy, a renowned dream interpreter, determined that Olympias was pregnant, and that the child would have the character of a lion.