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Alexander The Great was one of the greatest emperors and leaders of the world. In fact, he was the only emperor to be called, “The Great.” He had studied under a great Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, who taught Alexander literature, science, medicine, philosophy and to speak and write well. Alexander was the son of Philip of Macedonia. Philip became king of Macedonia in 359 B.C., but died in 336 B.C. He left his kingdom to Alexander.
Alexander ruled for only thirteen years but he succeeded far beyond what his father had planned. After his fathers death in 336 B.C., Alexander became king of Macedonia. He strengthened his claim of king by quickly stopping revolts by Athens, which tried to break away from Macedonia, by destroying the city of Thebes, and by defeating neighboring lands for breaking away from his rule. Alexander united Greece.
In 334 B.C. Alexander led his army into Persia and, By an invasion of the Persian dominions, Alexander took up the interrupted campaign of his father. The army was concentrated and certain forces had already been sent on to occupy the opposite shore of the Hellespont. He also needed the Persian wealth to maintain the army built by his father and pay off the 500 talents he owed to the ten thousand Greek professional troops, and to Agesilaus of Sparta. Alexanders army in its successful campaign in Persian territory had demonstrated the weaknesses of the Persian Empire. With the Companion Cavalry he could expect to preside over any Persian army. The reason for the invasion of Asia was to liberate the Greek cities taken by the Persians some years before. In the spring of 334, Alexander crossed the Dardanelles,(i.e. Hellespont), with an army of 30,000 men, Macedonians, Illyrians, Thracians and the contingents of the Greek states, into Asia. Alexander himself commanded about 30,000 foot soldiers and over 5,000 cavalry, of whom nearly 14,000 were Macedonians and about 7,000 allies of the Greek League.
In 332 B.C., Alexander first conquered Tyre, Gaza and then Egypt in 327 B.C. With the intention to isolate the Persian fleet from its maritime bases and so to destroy it as an effective fighting force, from Issus Alexander marched south into Syria and Phoenicia.The Phoenician cities Marathus and Aradus came over to Alexander with no resistance. In reply to a letter from Darius offering peace, Alexander replied with detemination, demanding unconditional surrender to himself as lord of Asia.
After taking Byblos and Sidon, he met serious resistance at Tyre, where he was refused entry into the island city. It was one of those obstinate sieges which often mark the history of the Semitic races. The Tyrians walled them-selves inside their island fortress. Alexander could not leave them to attack his rear and he could not attack by sea so he decided to build a land bridge, which still exists. He succeeded finally only after seven months, not on land but in a very brutal naval battle; the Tyrians fired red hot sand at Alexanders fleet. The storming of Tyre in July 332 When it fell, Alexander had the old Tyrian people scattered to the winds, 30,000 sold as slaves.
In the meantime (winter 333-332) the Persians had counterattacked by land in Asia Minor, but they were defeated by Antigonus, the satrap of Greater Phrygia. In the meantime, at sea, the Persians succeeded in recapturing various Ionian cities and islands.
During the siege of Tyre, Darius opened negotiations in which he ultimately went so far as to offer a partition of the empire, sending a letter with his offer: he wanted to pay ransom of 10,000 talents for his family and cede all his lands west of the Euphrates. Alexander refused the bargain and definitely claimed the whole. This was Alexanders greatest victory and declared himself the king of Persia.
In 327 B.C., Alexander led his armies into India. Soon after that, the Macedonians refused to go further and wanted to return to their homes and families because they had been fighting for six years. Reluctantly, Alexander agreed to turn back. He arrived in Babylon in 323 B.C. but shortly caught a fever and died. He was not yet 33 years old.
Alexander the Great admired Athens and the Greek culture so he brought many Greek ideas to the non-Greek people of his empire. He spread Greek civilization throughout wester Asia, and opened the east to Greek trade. Alexander had a very open mind. He adopted ideas and customs from the people he had conquered. He married a Persian princess and Persians served in his army. Wherever he conquered lands, he made new cities. The most famous city he named Alexandria, in Egypt.
Greek civilization, after Alexanders death, is called the Hellenistic age. Hellenistic means “Greek-speaking” or “acting like a Greek.” The Hellenistic world spread far beyond the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands. After Alexanders death, the center of the Hellenistic world shifted from Greece to Alexandria. This happened because without Alexander to rule his empire, his generals divided it among themselves and the city-states were not strong enough to defend themselves. The power of Greece weakened. In Alexandria, Greek civilization got stronger because the Ptolemies brought Greeks to Egypt to help them rule and develop it. Many mechanical, scientific, mathematical and medical discoveries which were made during the Hellenistic age in Alexandria, Egypt, are still used today.
Alexander and his exploits were admired by many Romans who wanted to associate themselves with his achievements, although very little is known about Roman-Macedonian diplomatic relations of that time. Julius Caesar wept in Spain at the mere sight of Alexanders