Alexander the Great
	Civilization:	Greek: Macedonia
	Era:	Macedonian
356–323 BC	Field of Renown:	monarch: King

He ran towards the horse and seized the bridle.

Alexander the Great is considered one of the most successful military commanders of all time. He was the son of Philip II, a King of Macedonia who had spent twenty years bringing Thrace, Thessaly, and eventually all of Greece under Macedonian control. When Alexander came to the throne at age 20, he therefore had the most powerful army in the region at his disposal, as well as several of his father's best generals. Even considering these advantages however, the progress of his military success was astounding. Macedonia was still a poor and backward country when Alexander crossed the Hellespont in 334 B.C. with the notion of conquering all of Persia. He had only 40,000 troops and little money to begin with, but within three years he was master of a fabulously wealthy empire, whose domains spanned thousands of miles and included tens of millions of people.

Alexander was the eldest son of Philip II and his first wife, Olympia. During Alexander's entire youth, his father was engaged in a series of wars of conquests, first of the neighboring regions of Thrace, and later of Northern Greece. During this time Alexander learned the arts of war and when only 18, led a cavalry wing at the decisive Battle of Chaeronea. With this victory, Macedonia became the over-lord of all of Northern Greece. Only two years later, Philip was murdered and as a result, there were several rebellions within the Macedonian realm. Alexander acted immediately upon coming to the throne to put down the rebellions, first in Thrace, and later in Thebes with great severity. As a result of its rebellion, Thebes was razed to the ground, and there were no further revolts within Alexander's domain.

As soon as his rule was everywhere firmly established, Alexander began actively planning an invasion of Persia. With an army of just over 40,000 Macedonian and Greek troops, Alexander met the Persians in three major battles over a three year period. In each case the Macedonians were greatly outnumbered but prevailed everywhere due to superior tactics and generalship. Following each victory, Alexander spent a year consolidating his power and besieging a few fortified towns. His first victory, at Granicus, gained him all of Asia Minor. His second major battle, at Issus, opened up all of Syria, Mesopotamia, and ultimately Egypt. His final victory at Gaugamela crushed the last vestige of Persian power and opened up all of Central Asia. He continued his campaign in the eastern regions of the Persian Empire for several years after his victory at Gaugamela, but fought only local skirmishes rather than full-scale battles.

During the early years of Alexander's reign in Persia he tried to blend the Persian and Greek cultures to some extent, but his acceptance of some Persian customs caused resentment among some of his Greek generals. He preferred conquest to administration however, so in 326 embarked on another campaign which took him to the outer realm of the empire. He fought King Porus for control of northern India at the Battle of Hydaspes River, but his army refused to proceed when he tried to lead them into the Ganges Valley. They were exhausted after years of campaigning and wanted to return home. Disappointed, Alexander returned to Babylon. The final years of his life were considerably less creditable than his early years. He became paranoid and abrasive, and was responsible for the murder or assassination of several of his longtime friends and advisors. His death after an acute illness in 323 was certainly due to excessive drink and dissipation.

Since Alexander died without a clear plan of succession, his death resulted in a long series of wars between his generals for control of his kingdom. By the time of his death however, the process of "Hellenization", involving the introduction of Greek culture and learning into all the domains of the eastern Mediterranean was well along. Within 20 years of his death his empire had evolved into three long term empires, but all retained a Greco-Macedonian character in their administration.

	Image Links
Alexander and Bucephalus  in Alexander the Great	The Bathing in the River Cydnus  in Alexander the Great	It is this that I cut all Gordian knots'  in Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
Who but Dulkarnein reddened with anger?  in Child's Book of Warriors	Alexander the Great in Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks	Alexander and Bucephalus in Story of the Greeks
Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot in Story of the Greeks	Death of Alexander in Story of the Greeks	Alexander tames Bucephalus  in Famous Men of Greece
The family of Darius at Alexander's feet, Crane  in Famous Men of Greece	Porus before Alexander, Chappel  in Famous Men of Greece	The death of Alexander, Piloty  in Famous Men of Greece
Aristotle teaching Alexander, Laplante  in Famous Men of Greece	Alexander the Great  in Greek Gods - Heroes - and Men	Thais Suggests the Burning of Persepolis  in Greatest Nations: Greece
Wedding of Alexander and Statira  in Greatest Nations: Greece	The Death of Alexander  in Greatest Nations: Greece	Alexander the Great in Soldiers and Sailors
Alexander discovering the body of Darius  in Soldiers and Sailors	Alexander taming Bucephalus in Our Young Folks' Plutarch	Alexander and Diogenes in Stories from Greek History
Alexander scales the walls with three men in Stories from Greek History	He ran toward the horse and seized the bridle.  in Story of Greece	With an effort he looked at them as they passed.  in Story of Greece
The Death of Alexander the Great  in Historical Tales: 10—Greek	Alexander Training Bucephalus  in Stories of the Ancient Greeks	Alexander (From a bust in Tivoli, Italy) in Story of the Greek People
Alexander (From a bust found in Tivoli, Italy, in 1779.)  in Old World Hero Stories	Alexander and Diogenes in Plutarch's Lives	Quarrel between Alexander and Clitus in Plutarch's Lives