Alexander the Great
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Alexander the Great is remembered as a conquering man who built one of the largest empires. Some describe him as a man with a vision of world harmony. Others see him as a blood thirsty man with a mental illness. One thing that cannot be argued is that he and his empire are fascinating studies. From his rise to power to his mysterious death is interesting, but even after he died the story is fascinating. Due to his death, his empire was divided and a long power-struggle began starting with his generals. Each account has its own story of war and betrayal. These days must have been hard for those in power; they never knew who they could trust. Only the ones who were skilled in the strategy of war and ruthless enough to maintain their power would be the ones to make a name. The first to do this was Alexander the Great. He was born 356 BC in Pella. His father was Philip II and his mother was Olympias. She was a very spiritual woman who taught Alexander that he was a descendant of Achilles and Hercules.
Alexander the Great was thought to be super-human almost from birth. He was compared to the Greek god, Zeus, and that is what Alexander believed too. His life seemed to show that he would achieve greatness and his great metal ability and strong personality ensured his incredibly high status where his father failed, Alexander would succeed by the Victory of Persia. In Egypt Alexander was worshiped as a god and considered to be a liberator. There he brought to existence the city of Alexandria, and then he would overtake the Asian jewel of India. In the early 30s Alexander the Great dies of Malaria, and not from intoxication as originally thought. His empire extended from the Ionian Sea into Northern India.
Alexander the Greats most important achievement was the cultural variety he encouraged. He spread the Greek culture throughout the world. Due to the efforts of Alexander the Great, the western culture achieved global dominance. He was considered as one of the greatest military thinkers of all time.
Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC and Alexander took the throne at the age of 20. Alexander went on to spread his empire. In 334 BC he crossed the Hellespont with 42,000 soldiers and took the Persian Empire and soon after a part that was then India but today Pakistan. He 326 BC Alexander became ill. He apparently came down with a fever that progressed worse and worse until killing him. There is suspicion of poison but it is not confirmed. He died at the age of 32. Alexander did not have an heir to rule his vast empire. His generals disputed over who this should be. Alexander had an unborn child by Roxana and a half brother by the name of Arrihaeus. Perdiccas, the cavalry commander wanted to wait until Alexanders son (Alexander IV) was born. Meleager and the infantry supported Arrihaeus. They compromised and settled on Arrihaeus and Alexander IV would become joint kings. Perdiccas would become Regent of all the empire and Meleager would be his lieutenant. However, Perdiccas had Meleager arrested and murdered and took full control.
Alexander the Great changed the historical development of his country. While his father has made major changes inroads in expanded Macrdonia beyond the Balkan Peninusula, it was Alexander who expanded the sphere of influence well beyond even his fathers great expectations. Alexander also carried the message of Greek democracy to Asia and into the dark continent of Africa, the journey that the concept would have never taken place. It was Alexander who introduced the individual freely participating in government, and it was this idea that government was for everyone, not simply for the wealthy. This influenced not only the historical development of his own country, but also inspired other countries to establish the same systems of government.
The Generals of Alexander who supported Perdiccas were given parts of the Empire in the partition of Babylon. This sparked later wars between them which are known as the wars of the Diadochi (which means “successors”). Ten years earlier in 333 BC Alexander conquered Egypt and was regarded by the people as a liberator or a deliverer. At this time he also established Alexandria which became the capital of Egypt for many years. Alexander left Clemonenes of Naucratis as nomarch of the Arabian district of Egypt. Clemones was a dishonest man who did anything for money. He cheated his own soldiers out of a months pay. He made money by taking advantage of the people and even used their superstitions to earn money at their expense. He held his position until Ptolemy arrived in Egypt. Ptolemy was the son of Arsinoe of Macedon and his father is unknown. Some ancients described him as an illegitimate son of Philip II of Macedon; if true this would make him a half brother to Alexander the Great. He was one of Alexanders most trusted generals. He was also a close friend ever since childhood.
After the death of Alexander, Ptolemy was appointed Satrap by Perdiccas during the partition of Babylon. Clemonenes was left as hyparch under him. Ptolemy was not fond of Perdiccas; He later put Clemones to death because of his suspicion that he favored Perdiccas. Ptolemy ruled Egypt under the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. As Alexander the Greats empire was becoming weaker, he established himself as ruling under his own right. In 321 BC Perdiccas invaded Egypt and Ptolemy successfully defended his empire. He then took the title of King as Ptolemy I Soter and established the Ptolemaic dynasty. This dynasty would rule for nearly 300 years. 322 to 320 BC were the years of the first war of the Diadochi.
During this time Perdiccas was assassinated by his officers Peithon, Antigenes and Seleucus. Peithon was the son of Cratueuas. He was from Eordaia in Macedonia, and one of the bodyguards of Alexander. He later became satrap of Media. Because of his involvement in assassinating Perdiccas, Ptolemy made Peithon and Antigenes regents in his palace, But the other Diadochi rejected this and Antipater was made the regent of the empire. Antipater was a Macedonian general and later became regent over all of Alexanders empire. He was a good friend of Olympias and it was rumored he was the father of Alexander.
Seleucus was a Macedonian officer under Alexander the Great. He was the son of Antiochus from Orestis; his mother was Laodice of whom nothing is known. He was born in Europos located in Macedonia. In 334 BC Seleucus went with Alexander to Asia. By 327 BC he had risen in command. He is said to have led his troops against the elephant of King Porus during the Battle of the Hydaspes River. Three years after Ptolemy was appointed satrap of Egypt, Seleucus was nominated satrap of Babylon in 320 BC after being appointed court chiliarch by Perdiccas. He established himself in Babylon in 312 BC which will be discussed