Alexander the Great (Alexander III), King of Macedonia

b. 356; d. 323 BCE

Son of Philip II and Olympias of Epirus, born at Pella. Aristotle was his tutor from 342 until his accession in 336. Alexander first distinguished himself at the battle of Chaeronea (338), which established Macedonian supremacy in Greece. On his succession, after the murder of Philip, he found himself surrounded by enemies. Having put down rebellion in his own kingdom, he moved into Greece, where his activity soon quietened opposition. Thebes opened its gates, and Alexander set about the invasion of Asia, leading the projected expedition against Persia. First however, he turned to deal with the northern barbarians and crossed the Danube (335). A report reached Greece that he had been killed, and the Thebans flew to arms. Alexander returned and descended upon Thebes, killed or enslaved most of the inhabitants and razed it, sparing only the temples and Pindar's house.

Early in the spring of 334, with a view to liberating the Greek cities of Asia, he crossed the Hellespont with about 40,000 troops, and won his first victory over the Persians under Darius III, Codomannus, on the River Granicus in Mysia (May 334). In the next year he assembled his army in Phrygia, marched on Issus and there won his second victory over Darius. The latter escaped, but his mother, wife and children fell into Alexander's hands. Alexander now occupied the cities of Phoenicia, though the capture of Tyre, his greatest military achievement, was not completed until 332. Next he marched into Egypt and founded the city of Alexandria (331). In the spring of 331 he set out once again to meet Darius, and in October defeated the Persian Grand Army near Guagamela beyond the Tigris. He then marched on Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, all of which submitted. Alexander was now master of Asia, and assumed the title of 'Great King'.

After Guagamela, Darius had been seized by Bessus, satrap of Bactria, and at the beginning of 330 Alexander went in pursuit, only to find on reaching Parthia, that Darius had been murdered by his captor. In 329 therefore Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush into Bactria. Here Bessus was surrendered and put to death. The next three years were spent mainly on the conquest of Bactria and Sogdiana. As a gesture of reconciliation, Alexander married Roxana, daughter of the Bactrian king.

In 327 he invaded India and advanced unopposed to the Hydaspes (Jhelum), where he defeated Porus. Then he penetrated to the Hyphasis (Sutlej); but this was his journey's end. The Macedonians would go no further, and Alexander was obliged to turn back. He sailed down the Hydaspes with some of his troops, while the remainder marched along the banks in two divisions. They reached the Indian Ocean about the middle of 326, and Nearchus was sent with the fleet to sail along the coast of the Persian Gulf, while Alexander marched overland with the rest of his forces to Susa, arriving there early in 325. Here he allowed himself and his men some rest, and anxious to form his European and Oriental subjects into one people, he assigned Persian wives to many of his senior officers, himself marrying into the Persian nobility. Towards the end of the year he went to Ecbatana and thence to Babylon, which he intended making capital of his empire. At Babylon, however, he contracted a fever which killed him in 11 days (May or June 323 BC).

Alexander was one of the greatest generals of all time, particularly in his use of cavalry and in varying strategy according to his opponents methods of fighting. But his achievement was wider. His interest in exploration and science brought advances in both these fields, and his conquests spread Hellenistic influence into Asia, creating possibilities for trade and an common civilisation from Europe to India. He founded over 70 cities, including Alexandria in Egypt and Bucephala, at the place where his horse Bucephalus, died. Alexander was less successful in his policy of uniting the Persians and Macedonians, the latter resenting his allocation of important positions in administration and the army to Persians, and his demands to be treated as a god. The stories attached to Alexander in his lifetime, such as that of the Gordian knot, increased after his death to create an enduring heroic legend.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com

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