Alexander the Great: short but bright life of the great commander

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Alexander the Great: short but bright life of the great commander
Alexander the Great. Picture: Vasilis Ververidis | Dreamstime
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In 356 BC, in the Macedonian capital city of Pella, King Philip II and his wife Olympias gave birth to the future great commander for all time and the conqueror of many lands – Alexander the Great.

Childhood and youth

At the age of 13, the future commander was taken up by Aristotle. The main effort was made on the study of ethics and politics, and a love of literature and medicine was also instilled. Alexander greatly respected and revered his teacher. He often liked to say that it was Aristotle who taught him to live with dignity.

The young man considered the hero of the Iliad, Achilles, his idol, so he tried to imitate him in everything. In sports competitions, Alexander was almost invincible, he was famous for his physical fitness. While still quite a young man, he caught and tamed a wild horse, which he named Bucephalus and became his warhorse for many years. Thanks to his courage and bravery, Alexander won the battle of Chaeronea at the age of 18.
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The wayward character of Alexander began to manifest itself quite early. The young man, without his father’s consent, tried to marry. Then, because of the marriage of Philip II to Cleopatra, as a result of which there was a divorce from Olympias, Alexander had a strong quarrel with his father, because he loved his mother very much. The son’s relationship with his father was so disrupted that later there were even rumors about Alexander’s involvement in Philip’s death. The circumstances of the murder remain unclear. The killer himself was the personal bodyguard of the king, and after the assassination attempt, he was immediately killed by the guards, so the name of the customer of the attack remained unknown.

New king

In the autumn, in 336 BC, Alexander the Great came to the throne and immediately began to deal with all possible conspirators against his father, and at the same time with other potential rivals. Basically, they were credited with conspiring with Persia. Were executed: Cleopatra, her uncle Attalus, accused of treason, because he wanted to put her son on the throne. Alexander’s cousin was also killed. The people of Macedonia and the nobility supported the young king, thanks to the abolition of many taxes.

The rebellious Thracian and Illyrian tribes, as well as discontent in major Greek cities such as Athens and Thebes, intensified Alexander’s actions. Taking power into his own hands, he undertook a campaign through the major cities of the Peloponnese, went through Thessaly, Thermopylae, Thebes and created a congress in Corinth. At the congress, an agreement was re-signed with the Greek tribes on peaceful coexistence with each other and the issue of war against Persia was resolved. Alexander the Great was recognized as the leader of all Hellenes. Only Sparta stood aside and did not join the alliance.

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great. Picture: Bonhour | Dreamstime

In the spring, in 335 BC, with a 15,000-strong army, the young king carried out a campaign against the rebellious tribes of the north. Having crossed the Balkans, Alexander seized the lands of the Triballi, then reached the banks of the Danube, where the Getae lived, and, having forced them to peace, turned southwest into Illyria. The campaign was completed with great success – mutually beneficial allied agreements were signed with the northern tribes.

At this time, rumors spread around Greece about the alleged death of Alexander, and this provoked a new uprising. Particularly strong unrest swept in the largest cities of Hellas: Athens and Thebes. But, unlike the Athenians, who only grumbled about the too young age of the king, for which Alexander only had to send them a message that no one doubted his maturity, the Thebans seriously conceived a coup and called on all of Greece to revolt. Most of the Greeks seemed to agree with the rebels, but were in no hurry to join them, preferring to remain mere observers from the outside.

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Alexander, without wasting time, led his army on the fastest march and soon reached Illyria. Having laid siege to Thebes, the king offered the city to surrender for several days and negotiate a peace. But the rebels did not want to meet halfway and each time refused a peaceful settlement of the issue. When Alexander’s patience ran out, the assault began. It happened in the autumn of 335 BC and the assault was short-lived.

What exactly caused the victory of the Macedonians is not exactly known. However, there are several reasons: from the downfall of the Theban troops themselves to the sortie of a small detachment of Macedonians into the city through a secret passage. In any case, Alexander’s army entered the city quite easily and quickly. Thebes was plundered to the ground, and all the inhabitants, who numbered about 30 thousand people, were sold into slavery.

Having learned about such a rapid fall of one of the strongest and largest cities in Hellas, the inhabitants of the rest of the Greek regions decided not to tempt fate, and without thinking twice, surrendered, swearing allegiance to the new king, for which they were generously pardoned by Alexander.

Conquests of Alexander the Great

Having quickly put an end to the rebellious regions, the army turned back to Macedonia, where Alexander began to prepare and gather troops for a campaign against the countries of Asia.

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Leaving an army of 13.5 thousand people in Macedonia. under the leadership of Antipater, in the spring of 334 BC. e., Alexander went on a campaign with an army of 35 thousand soldiers. The first in the way of the young king was Persia. Having met the Persian army near the Granik River, which was slightly larger in number, Alexander did not hesitate to enter the battle and, almost dying, won the first victory.

I must say that the time for the campaign was chosen very well, since the Persian fleet was located in the region of Asia Minor and could not interfere with the transfer of Greek troops. Taking advantage of this, Alexander decided to play it safe and set a goal: to capture all the states in which the Greeks lived.
Alexander the Great
Picture: Lambroskazan | Dreamstime

For most of the journey, Alexander met no resistance. The cities surrendered as soon as they found out who approached their gates, because the name of Alexander was already flying ahead of him. Phrygia voluntarily opened the gates, then one of the most fortified and strong fortresses of Sardis, Mithren, surrendered, and the inhabitants of Ephesus let the inhabitants of Ephesus into their city without a fight. Everywhere Alexander appointed the governors of the Greeks or from among the local residents loyal to him.

However, there were also cities that did not want to recognize a new ruler. In Caria, only thanks to the assault, the long-resisting Miletus and Halicarnassus were taken, in which numerous troops and fleets of the Persians were gathered.

Then Alexander led the army to Phrygia, where he cut the famous “Gordian knot” in the capital. After wintering in Gordia, the king went to Cappadocia, capturing Paphlagonia along the way. Thus, in just a year and a half, by the autumn of 333 BC, Alexander the Great captured all the states of Asia Minor.

At the same time, the Persian king Darius III did not sit still and gathered an army of 60 thousand people. The meeting of the two armies took place in the valley of the Pinara River, near the city of Issa. Quite a convenient area played a cruel joke on the Persian king. The army of Darius was completely defeated, and he fled, leaving the Greeks with a rich booty camp and his entire family: his wife, mother and children were taken prisoner.

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After the victory at Issa, Alexander sent the army in a southerly direction. The campaign in Phoenicia pursued two goals – to conquer the coastal regions and cut off the Persian fleet from land bases. Darius twice offered peace terms, but Alexander was adamant. Passing without much interference throughout Phenicia, the Greeks met with a rebuff only at Tire. The large and impregnable city-fortress resisted for seven whole months, but still could not resist the power of the Greek weapons and fleet. And after the capture of Tire, at the end of the summer of 332 BC, the Persian fleet was completely destroyed.

Then the path of the talented commander continued towards Egypt through Palestine. Jerusalem surrendered immediately, but Gaza had to be taken by storm for two whole months. In Egypt, the inhabitants who suffered from Persian rule, one might say, welcomed the conquerors with joy. The gates in the cities were opened even before the arrival of the army. Alexander was respectful of local customs and beliefs, and this was another reason for the support of the local population. Macedonian stayed in Egypt for half a year, until the spring of 331 BC. During this time, he fortified himself in the conquered lands, made a pilgrimage to the Libyan desert, where, after meeting with the oracle Zeus-Amon, he spread a rumor about his divine origin and founded the city, naming it after himself. Alexandria became the largest cultural center of antiquity and to this day is the second most important city in Egypt.

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great. Picture: Tamas | Dreamstime

At this time, Darius quickly recruited a considerable army and, being in Assyria, went out to meet with Macedon. Alexander, having crossed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, met with the Persian king at Gaugamela in October 331 BC. It was one of the greatest battles in the history of the Ancient World, which ended in a decisive victory for Alexander the Great. And again, the king of Persia, like last time, fled without even waiting for the outcome of the battle.

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The Greeks moved on and almost without a fight took Babylon and Susa, then went to Persepolis, where, having rested until spring, they burned the whole city behind them. Alexander then continued to follow Darius, who continued to flee through Media and Parthia until he was killed by his own generals. Alexander carried out the funeral of Darius in Persepolis at the highest level, paying tribute to his rival.

Suppression of new rebellions

In the cold winter, in severe frosts, along the snow-covered mountain paths of the Hindu Kush, Alexander sent troops to Bactria, where the local satrap Bess, who, by the way, killed Darius, had already managed to declare himself the new king and began attempts to organize resistance. However, he was also betrayed by his own people and handed over to Alexander, who executed him.

Then, having passed Marakanda, having reached Kiropol, having calmed down several uprisings on the way and made war with the Scythians, Alexander returned to Marakanda, where he magnificently celebrated his wedding with Roxana, the daughter of Oxyartes, the local prince. Thanks to this, he attracted the entire local aristocracy to his side.

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Thus, having gained a foothold in the lands of Bactria and Sogdiana, Alexander began preparing the army for a campaign in India.

Last months of life

Deep autumn 324 BC. e. Alexander visited Ecbatany to solve problems with Media. His best friend Hephaestion died there. This was a big blow to the king. Mourning was declared throughout the country. A solemn funeral was held in Babylon.

Five days before the start of the campaign against the Arabs, Alexander became seriously ill. For ten days he was in a fever, and on June 10/13, 323 BC. e. the great commander has left this world. He was only 32 years old.
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