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CONTENTS
Alexander:
An Overview
His
Life and Works
His
Legacy
Links
to More Information on Alexander
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Alexander surprised everyone at age 20 by quickly revealing himself to be every bit the man (even moreso) than his father, the awesome Philip II (382-336) of Macedon. Alexander had been carefully raised by his father in Greek ways, studied under Aristotle (when not off somewhere fighting battles!)--and had a mind to outdo his father in achievements.Coming immediately to power in 336, he quickly put down challenges to his kingship in Macedonia and in Greece. He then moved to galvanize his rule by turning the combined Macedonian-Greek state he ruled toward the idea of ending the Persian threat to Greece forever. He intended to invade Persia--and not just wait as they had in the past for the Persians to take the initiative in their strained relations.
When he and his army set off toward Asia Minor in 334 BC no one had any idea of how far Alexander's ambitions in Asia were going to take them.
In the next decade Alexander not only destroyed the Persian Empire, but extended the dominions of the Greek world into central Asia, leaving a legacy there that continues to this day.
But he quickly became captivated by Persian and Asian ways--and proved to be as adaptive to Asian culture as he had been to Greek culture. Alexander became determined to effect a grand synthesis of Greek and Asian cultures.
But just as he was really getting started in this venture, worn out from years of over-taxing his body, he suddenly got sick and died--at only 33 year of age.
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Young Alexander was as ambitious as his father, Philip II (382-336) of Macedon--and as capable. His father saw to it that Alexander was raised in the best manner possible both in the art of Macedonian warfare and in the knowledge of Greek philosophy and science (Aristotle was his tutor). Yet the relationship between father and son was strained--competitive in fact. Philip died when Alexander was only 20 years old. Yet even then the image of the father loomed over the son, contributing no doubt to Alexander's obsession with the achieving of greatness. By all calculations, Alexander eventually succeeded! King Philip and His Son Alexander
Alexander's first task was meeting the challenges to his rule, both in Macedonia and in Greece. Having accomplished this, he then set off to complete his father's vision of a strong, unified Greece offering serious resistance to the Persians. He divided his Macedonian army (leaving some behind to keep his power secure in Greece) and added a number of Greek soldiers to his numbers and then crossed into Asia Minor to raise the flag of anti-Persian rebellion by the various subject peoples living there under Persian tutelage. Consolidating His Position in Preparation for Entrance into Persian Territory
Persian royal power had been in decline for a while, corruption within the bureaucracy was growing rapidly and the subject peoples were quite restless. Alexander saw his incredible opportunity as liberator or deliverer of these subject peoples. To meet this challenge from Alexander, Darius (III) sent his army out to crush this upstart Greek, only to have Alexander crush the Persian army instead at the Battle of Granicus (334 BC). The Persians retreated in dismay--and Alexander used the next months to consolidate his position as the new master of Asia Minor. Granicus (334 BC)
The next year the Persian army came out to meet him again--only to be defeated again by Alexander at the battle of Issus. This opened up the eastern end of the Mediterranean to Greek expansion. Indeed, Alexander then easily entered Syria and Palestine as liberator/conqueror, facing serious resistance only from Tyre and Gaza, both of which he destroyed. Most other cities opened their gates to the conqueror without resistance--and were met with fair treatment. Issus (333 BC) and Syria/Palestine
From there he pushed on around the Mediterranean shores to enter Egypt, being received there also as liberator rather than as an enemy. Indeed, Egyptian priests greeted him as a divine instrument of their god Ammon and crowned him Pharoah. While in Egypt, he planted a Greek colony at the edge of the Nile delta--a fabulous Greek-Egyptian city bearing his name, Alexandria. Egypt
But soon it was time for Alexander to turn his attentions back to the Persians. The Persians had been assembling the largest multi-ethnic army ever seen before in western Asia. But Alexander's army was more disciplined, more maneuverable and more personally loyal to its leader than the Persian army. Two prior defeats of the Persians also contributed to the high morale of the Greeks and the nervousness of the Persians. In 331 the Greeks and the Persians met in a mighty clash at the Battle of Gaugamela (or Arbela). Once again the Greeks were victorius, and once again the Persians and their king Darius were routed. Darius was eventually hunted down (330)--and put to death for his cowardice by his own men as Alexander approached.
Gaugemela/Arbela (331 BC)
Victorius in battle, Alexander now focused his attentions on consolidating his rule over his newly acquired territories. Interesting, and convenient for Alexander, even in the very heart of the Persian empire Alexander was greeted as a liberator/conqueror. Babylon and even Susa, the old Persian capital, greeted him as a liberator, and indeed Alexander did what he could in service as "protector" of these grand cities. He wanted to rule over a land of wealth, not ruin.
However the new Persian capital of Persepolis proved to be a different matter. The city tried to take a military stand in its own defense--and chose the unwise tactics of parading before Alexander's army 800 badly mutilated Greeks who had been captured earlier, presumably as a ploy to demoralize the Greeks. Instead it merely infuriated them (and Alexander)--and the Greek troops went wild, slaughtering its inhabitants and burning Persepolis to the ground. The Sack of Persepolis
Though Alexander's power was clearly based on the support of his very practical-minded Macedonian-Greek army, Alexander soon began to envision himself as a great Oriental god-king sent to rebuild civilization in what he supposed was the entire reach of the world. He planted cities with Greek colonists whereever he went, urged his soldiers to take wives from among the Persians and other Oriental peoples (as he himself did in marrying the Bactrian princess, Roxana), and did what he could to rebuild Western Asian civilization on a mix of Greek and Oriental culture. His loyal troops humored him in his thoughts, though they themselves were very unlikely candidates for ever seeing Alexander as a god--as the Orientals came to see their new ruler. Attempts to Consolidate His Conquests
Alexander would not let up on his conquering ways, particularly as he began to learn of other lands that lay to the north and east beyond the Persian empire. He pressed on with his Macedonian-Greek army, first into central Asia (328), where he faced bitter conditions and bitter resistance and where there was very little of value (Roxana excepted!) to add to his already vast dominions. He then turned eastward (327), again passing through bitter situations in Afghanistan in an attempt to reach India with its rumored wealth and splendor. Crossing the Hindu Kush he descended into the Indus River valley (326) where at the Jamnia River he defeated King Porus and his army--though turning them into allies after all. Onward to Central Asia and India
Hearing of the wealth of India further East along the Ganges River he decided to press on with his conquests, only to be faced with firm resistance from his troops. They would go no further East. In fact, after nine years of conquest, they were ready to return home to Greece and Macedonia. For the first time ever, Alexander and his ambitions faced defeat. Against the resistance of his own troops, he could do nothing.
So he now turned his army south along the Indus River, facing stiff resistance from the Indian towns and armies all along the way, becoming seriously wounded himself as he personally led an effort to scale the walls of a resisting town (Malli). He escaped with his life only because of the sacrifice of his troops in their wild effort to protect him from further harm. Even then he was so badly wounded that he required several months of convalescence before he was able to continue the movement of his troops south to the Indian Ocean. Finally reaching this destination (325), he divided his army--with half returning to Persia by ship and the other half, led by Alexander himself, moving overland toward Persia. But the second group had to cross a totally inhospitable stretch of desert, which through heat and thirst left ten thousand of his soldiers dead along the way and Alexander physically and mentally exhausted in his arrival back in Persia. The Journey Back to Babylon
On arriving at Babylon he cleaned out much of the corruption that had set in on his administration during his absence. He then returned to the program of integrating his Greek and Persian supporters--including organizing (in 324) a massive marriage ceremony between his Greek soldiers and Persian women, taking two Persian princesses as additional wives of his own (a very non-Greek concept). He then had rebellions to face down, including one among his own Greek troops (also 324). His Last Days
His last enterprise (323) was to have been a massive exploration of the water link between Babylon and Egypt by 1000 ships he had built for the occasion. But his body was spending itself out--not only because of his constant exertions, but because of his deep drinking and carousing that went on for hours. Just prior his departure on this grand sailing expedition he caught a fever which his tired body could not shake--and as he lay dying ten days later his army passed silently before him to bid their hero farewell. He died the next day, June 13, 323 BC.
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Alexander the Great (BoiseStateU: Ellis Knox)
Alexander the Great (WilliamsColl: Jed Untereker, James Kossuth, Bill Kelsey)
Alexander the Great ( Adam Hackney, John Eifealdt, and Jeremy Tilsen )
Alexander the Great: From History to Eternity (Greece Forum)
Alexander the Great (Wallop)
The Campaigns of Alexander (Peloponnese) [includes 3 excellent maps of the campaign and battles]
Alexander Images (Percy Julian School) [early statues/coinage of Alexander]
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great With Michael Wood (PBS)
Alexander the Great on the Web (Timothy Spalding) [an extensive listing of Alexander links]
Go to the history section: The Hellenists (300 to 150 BC)
Return to the Home Page: The Spiritual Pilgrim
Copyright © 2000 by Miles H. Hodges. All Rights Reserved.
