Alexander the Great
Wiatt 1 King of Macedonia and conqueror of the world, Alexander overthrew the Persian Empire and extended his rule from Greece to Egypt and all the way to India. ... He was thought to be a King, conqueror, overlord, but most importantly, “The Great”. Alexander was born on or around July 20, 356 B. ... Under Aristotle, Alexander learned philosophy, ethics, politics, and healing, all of which became of the utmost importance for Alexander in his later life. Philips military innovations created the fighting power that Alexander inherited, making it a force to be reckoned with. ... Philip and Alexander used light auxiliaries, archers, a siege train, and a cavalry (Borza 9). With all of these working well together, both Philip and Alexander rarely, if ever, lost any battle. Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne after the murder of his father, and the kingdom was in trouble immediately. ... However, Alexander felt that the best thing to do was to be decisive and swift. Therefore Alexander marched quickly north and drove the rebelling barbarians beyond the Danube River and out of the way (Borza 13). There is quite a story as to how Alexander dealt with Thebes and Athens. There were rumors in these cities that Alexander had been killed, and that the time was right for them to separate themselves from Macedonia (Green 28). ... , Alexander marched up to the gates of Thebes, and let them know that it was not too late for them to change their minds. The Thebans responded with a small contingent of soldiers, which Alexander repelled with archers and light infantrymen. ... Perdiccas broke through and into the city, and Alexander moved the rest of his force in behind to prevent the Thebans from cutting Perdiccas off from the rest. ... Athens then rethought its decision to abandon Alexander. ... While visiting Athens to seal the pact, Alexander visited the Oracle at Delphi, despite it being a day when giving prophecy was forbidden. ... " That was all that Alexander wanted to hear, and he departed from Pella, in the spring of 334 BC, for Asia (Green 36). Wiatt 3 Alexander was driven to launch his Asian campaigns by his firm belief that he was invincible and godlike. His family was thought to be descended from Hercules, and Alexander often emulated him as well as his personal hero, Achilles (Hammond 18). Throughout his life, Alexander was encouraged by favorable omens and miracles that his diviners interpreted for him. ... Alexander, however, conquered lands outside of the Persian Empire because he had a personal longing to see the Ocean that was believed to encircle Europe and Asia at the edge of the Earth (Arrianus 24). ... , Alexander threw his spear from his ship to the coast and it stuck in the ground. ... Alexander courageously plunged his cavalry into the swiftly flowing river and fought his way up the steep riverbank to meet the Persians, who were defeated in fierce hand-to-hand combat (Fuller 87). Alexander proceeded to march south where he liberated the Greek cities of Asia Minor, Sardes, Ephessus, Melitus, and Alicarnassus, from Persian rule (Bosworth 45). ... Alexander simply slashed the knot with his sword and unraveled it (Hammond 60). ... , Alexander met Darius in battle for the second time at a mountain pass at Issus, which would be Alexander’s most important victory over the Persians. Although the Persian army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, the narrow field of battle allowed Alexander to defeat the Persians, even though Darius escaped. Following the battle, Alexander captured Darius war chest and his family.