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| Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), the king of Macedonia that conquered the Persian empire and annexed it to Macedonia, is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He is the first king to be called "the Great." | |||
| {{About|the ancient king of Macedon|other uses|Alexander the Great (disambiguation)}} | |||
| {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} | |||
| Alexander is supposed to have been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest. Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians, Alexander liked his liquor, but his fondness for wine also caused some of his outbursts of rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the lyre, poetry and hunting, but what he truly wanted in his life, was a glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch. | |||
| {{Infobox monarch | |||
| |name =Alexander the Great | |||
| |title =] of ] | |||
| |image =] | |||
| |caption =<small>Alexander fighting the Persian king ]. From ], from ], ], ]</small> | |||
| |reign =336–323 BC | |||
| |othertitles = ] of the ], ] of ], ] of ] and ] | |||
| |full name = Alexander III of Macedon | |||
| |native_lang1 = ] | |||
| |native_lang1_name1= Μέγας Ἀλέξανδρος{{cref|iv}} (Mégas Aléxandros)<br />Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας (Aléxandros o Mégas) | |||
| |predecessor =] | |||
| |successor =]<br /> ] | |||
| |suc-type = | |||
| |spouse 1 =] | |||
| |spouse 2 =] | |||
| |spouse 3 = | |||
| |spouse 4 = | |||
| |spouse 5 = | |||
| |spouse 6 = | |||
| |spouse 7 = | |||
| |spouse 8 = | |||
| |spouse 9 = | |||
| |spouse 10 = | |||
| |issue =Alexander IV of Macedon | |||
| |royal house = | |||
| |dynasty =] | |||
| |royal anthem = | |||
| |father =] | |||
| |mother =] | |||
| |date of birth =20 or 21 July 356 BC | |||
| |place of birth =], Macedon | |||
| |date of death =10 or 11 June 323 BC (aged 32)<!--32 years, 10 months and 20 days (approx)--> | |||
| |place of death =] | |||
| |date of burial = | |||
| |place of burial = | |||
| |}} | |||
| '''Alexander III of Macedon''' (356–323 BC), popularly known as '''Alexander the Great''' ({{lang-el|Μέγας Ἀλέξανδρος}}, ''Mégas Aléxandros''), was a ]{{cref|i}} king (]) of ]. He is the most celebrated member of the ] and created one of the largest empires in ]. Born in ] in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by the famed philosopher ], succeeded his father ] to the throne in 336 BC after the King was assassinated and died thirteen years later at the age of 32. Although both Alexander's reign and empire were short-lived, the cultural impact of his conquests lasted for centuries. Alexander was known to be undefeated in battle and is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time.<ref>Yenne, W. ''Alexander the Great: Lessons from History's Undefeated General.'' Palmgrave McMillan, 2010. 244 p.</ref> He is one of the most famous figures of ], and is remembered for his ] ability, his conquests, and for spreading ] into the East (marking the beginning of ]). | |||
| Olympia, | |||
| Philip had brought most of the ] of mainland Greece under ] ], using both military and diplomatic means. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He succeeded in being awarded the generalship of Greece and, with his authority firmly established, launched the military plans for expansion left by his father. He invaded Persian-ruled ], and began a ] lasting ten years. Alexander repeatedly defeated the Persians in battle; marched through ], Egypt, ], ], and ]; and in the process he overthrew the Persian king ] and conquered the entirety of the ].{{cref|ii}} Following his desire to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he ], but was eventually forced to turn back by the near-mutiny of his troops. | |||
| mother of Alexander the Great | |||
| Golden medal, Albukir treasure | |||
| Alexander died in ] in 323 BC, before realizing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of ]. In the years following Alexander's death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, which resulted in the formation of a number of states ruled by Macedonian aristocracy (the ]). Remarkable though his conquests were, Alexander's lasting legacy was not his reign, but the ] his conquests engendered. Alexander's importation of Greek colonists and culture to the East resulted in a new '']'' culture, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the ] until the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of ], and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which generals, even to this day, compare themselves, and ] throughout the world still teach his tactical exploits.{{cref|iii}} | |||
| Archaeologic Museum, Salonika, Greece | |||
| {{TOC limit|2}} | |||
| Philip II of Macedonia, | |||
| father of Alexander the Great | |||
| Alexander, born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympia, a princess of Epirus. Philip and Olympia wanted nothing less than the best for their son, so when he was 13, his parents hired Aristotle to be his personal tutor. Alexander was trained together with other children of the nobility at Aristotles Nyphaeon. It is here that Alexander met Hephastion, his future best friend and alter ego. Aristotle gave Alexander a thorough training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of the utmost importance for Alexander in his later life. The two later became estranged, due to their difference of opinion on the status of foreigners; Aristotle saw them as barbarians, while Alexander sought to unite Macedonians and foreigners. | |||
| ==Early life== | |||
| ===Lineage and childhood=== | |||
| {{Quote box | |||
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| |quote= "The night before the consummation of their marriage, she dreamed that a thunderbolt fell upon her body, which kindled a great fire, whose divided flames dispersed themselves all about, and then were extinguished. And Philip, some time after he was married, dreamed that he sealed up his wife's body with a seal, whose impression, as he fancied, was the figure of a lion. Some of the diviners interpreted this as a warning to Philip to look narrowly to his wife; but ], considering how unusual it was to seal up anything that was empty, assured him the meaning of his dream was that the queen was with child of a boy, who would one day prove as stout and courageous as a lion." | |||
| |source= Plutarch describing Olympias and Philip's dreams.<ref name=PA2/>}} | |||
| In 340 BC, when Philip went to Byzantium to fight rebels, Alexander, a mere 16 years old, was left in charge of Macedonia as regent, with the power to rule in Philip's name in his absence. That Alexander was given such a position at such a young age indicates that he was already accomplished in battle. But Alexander never got along well with his father, although Philip was proud of Alexander for the Bucephalus incident. Alexander had always been closer to Olympia than to Philip. Philip and Olympia also did not get along all that well, owing primarily to Olympia's non-Macedonian heritage. | |||
| Alexander was born on 20 (or 21) July 356 BC,<ref name=PA3/><ref>Alexander was born on the 6 of the month ] {{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t32.html#7|title=The birth of Alexander at Livius.org}}</ref> in ], the capital of the ]. He was the son of ], the ]. | |||
| His mother was Philip's fourth wife ], the daughter of ], the king of the northern Greek state of ].<ref name=PA2/><ref name=N10-M/><ref name="Renault, p. 28"/><ref>Durant, ''Life of Greece'', p. 538.</ref> Although Philip had either seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for a time. | |||
| The family essentially was split apart irreparably when Philip married a woman named Cleopatra, a Macedonian. At the wedding banquet, Cleopatra's father made a remark about Philip fathering a "legitimate" heir, i.e., one that was pure Macedonian. Alexander took exception and threw his cup at the man, and some sources say Alexander killed him. Enraged, Philip stood up and charged at Alexander, only to trip and fall on his face in his drunken stupor. Alexander, rather upset at the scene, is to have shouted: | |||
| As a member of the ], Alexander claimed patrilineal descent from ] through ].{{cref|v}} From his mother's side and the ], he claimed descent from ], son of ];{{cref|vi}} Alexander was a second cousin of the celebrated general ], who was ranked by ] as, depending on the source, either the best<ref name=plu/> or second-best (after Alexander)<ref name=appian/> commander the world had ever seen. | |||
| "Here is the man who was making ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even cross from one table to another without losing his balance." | |||
| According to the ancient Greek ] ], Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying away. Some time after the wedding, Philip was said to have seen himself, in a dream, sealing up his wife's womb with a seal upon which was engraved the image of a lion.<ref name=PA2/> Plutarch offers a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympia was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided as to whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, some claiming she told Alexander, others that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.<ref name=PA2/> | |||
| When Philip divorced Olympia Alexander fled. Although allowed to return, he remained isolated until Philip was assassinated (some think that Olympia may have even had a role in Philip's murder), in the summer of 336 BC. | |||
| On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was preparing himself for his siege on the city of ] on the peninsula of Chalkidiki. On the same day, Philip received news that his general ] had defeated the combined ] and ] armies, and that his horses had won at the ]. It was also said that on this day, the ] in ]—one of the ]—burnt down, leading ] to say that it burnt down because ] was attending the birth of Alexander.<ref name=PA3/><ref name="Renault, p. 28"/><ref name=P21-B/> | |||
| ALEXANDER ON THE MACEDONIAN THRONE | |||
| ] with his friend ] (detail). 3rd century BC ], Pella Museum.]] | |||
| Alexander Rondanini | |||
| In his early years, Alexander was raised by his nurse, ], the sister of Alexander's future friend and general ]. Later on in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict ], a relative of his mother, and by ].<ref name=M33-34-R/><ref name=PA5/> | |||
| Glyptothek | |||
| Munich, Germany | |||
| THE CRASH OF THE GREEK RESISTANCE | |||
| When Alexander was ten years old, a horse trader from ] brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen ]. The horse refused to be mounted by anyone, and Philip ordered it to be taken away. Alexander, however, detected the horse's fear of his own shadow and asked for a turn to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. According to Plutarch, Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed him tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him.<ref name=PA6/> Alexander would name the horse ], meaning 'ox-head'. Bucephalus would be Alexander's companion throughout his journeys as far as India. When Bucephalus died (due to old age, according to Plutarch, for he was already thirty), Alexander named a city after him (]).<ref name=R64-F/><ref>Renault, p. 39.</ref><ref>Durant, p. 538.</ref> | |||
| Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne when his father died. Once in power, he disposed quickly of all conspirators and domestic enemies by ordering their execution. Then he descended on Thessaly, where partisans of independence had gained ascendancy, and restored Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC he had reestablished his position in Greece and was elected by a congress of states at Corinth. | |||
| ===Adolescence and education=== | |||
| ] | |||
| When Alexander was thirteen years old, Philip decided that Alexander needed a higher education, and he began to search for a ]. Many people were passed over including ] and ], ]'s successor at the ], who offered to resign to take up the post. In the end, Philip offered the job to ], who accepted, and Philip gave them the Temple of the Nymphs at ] as their classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of ], which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile.<ref name=PA7/><ref name=R65-F/><ref>Renault, p. 44.</ref><ref>McCarty, p. 15.</ref> | |||
| But, Greek cities, like Athens and Thebes, which had pledged allegiance to Philip, were unsure if they wished to do the same for a twenty-year-old boy. Moreover, theHellenes considered Macedonian domination in the Greek states as an alien rule, imported from outside by the members of other tribes, the, as Plutarch says, allophyloi (Plutarchus, Vita Arati, 16). Likewise, northern barbarians that Philip had subdued were threatening to break away from Macedonia and wreak havoc in the north. Alexander's advisors suggested that he let Athens and Thebes go and to be gentle with the barbarians to prevent a revolt. However, in 335 BC, Alexander campaigned toward the Danube, to secure Macedonia's northern frontier. He carried out a successful campaign against the defecting Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. Alexander marched quickly north and drove the rebelling barbarians beyond the Danube River and out of the way. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians. | |||
| Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as ], ], and ]. Many of the pupils who learned by Alexander's side would become his friends and future generals, and are often referred to as the 'Companions'. At Mieza, Aristotle educated Alexander and his companions in medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. From Aristotle's teaching, Alexander developed a passion for the works of ], and in particular the ]; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander was to take on his campaigns.<ref name=R65-66-F/><ref name=PA8/><ref>Renault, pp. 45–47.</ref><ref>McCarty, ''Alexander the Great'', p. 16.</ref> | |||
| On rumors of his death, a revolt broke out in Greece with the support of leading Athenians. Alexander marched south covering 240 miles in two weeks. Arrian related the story of how Alexander dealt with Thebes and Athens. There were rumors in these cities that Alexander had been killed, and that the time was right for them to separate themselves from Macedonia. Instead, in the fall of 335 BC, Alexander marched up to the gates of Thebes, and let them know that it was not too late for them to change their minds. The Thebans responded with a small contingent of soldiers, which Alexander repelled with archers and light infantrymen. The next day, Alexander's general, Perdiccas, attacked the gates. Perdiccas broke through and into the city, and Alexander moved the rest of his force in behind to prevent the Thebans from cutting Perdiccas off from the rest. The Macedonians then stormed the city, killing almost everyone in sight, women and children included. They plundered, sacked, burned and razed Thebes, as an example to the rest of Greece. Only the temples and the house of the poet Pindar were spared from distraction. Athens then quickly rethought its decision to abandon Alexander. Greece remained under Macedonian control. | |||
| ==Philip's heir== | |||
| ===Regency and ascent of Macedon=== | |||
| {{Main|Philip II of Macedon|Rise of Macedon}} | |||
| ] | |||
| When Alexander became sixteen years old, his tutorship under Aristotle came to an end. Philip, the king, departed to wage war against ], and Alexander was left in charge as ] of the kingdom. During Philip's absence, the ] ] revolted against Macedonian rule. Alexander responded quickly; he crushed the Maedi insurgence, driving them from their territory, colonised it with Greeks, and founded a city named ].<ref name=PA9/><ref name=R68-F/><ref>Renault, p. 47.</ref><ref>Bose, p. 43.</ref> | |||
| After Philip's return from Byzantium, he dispatched Alexander with a small force to subdue certain revolts in southern ]. During another campaign against the Greek city of ], Alexander is reported to have saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of ] began to work lands that were sacred to ] near ], a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in the affairs of Greece. Still occupied in Thrace, Philip ordered Alexander to begin mustering an army for a campaign in Greece. Concerned with the possibility of other Greek states intervening, Alexander made it look as if he were preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians took the opportunity to invade Macedonia, but Alexander repelled the invaders.<ref name=Renault47-49/> | |||
| THE BATTLES OF GRANICUS AND ISSUS | |||
| Philip joined Alexander with his army in 338 BC, and they marched south through ], which they took after a stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of ], a few days march from both Athens and Thebes. Meanwhile, the Athenians, led by ], voted to seek an alliance with Thebes in the war against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to try to win Thebes's favour, with the Athenians eventually succeeding.<ref name=M50-51-R/><ref>Bose, pp. 44–45</ref><ref>McCarty, p. 23</ref> Philip marched on Amphissa (theoretically acting on the request of the Amphicytonic League), captured the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes, and accepted the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea and sent a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, which was rejected.<ref name=M51-R/><ref>Bose, p. 47.</ref><ref>McCarty, p. 24.</ref> | |||
| Alexander's Empire at its height | |||
| ].]] | |||
| Alexander began his war against Persia in the spring of 334 BC by crossing the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) with an army of 35,000 Macedonians and 7,600 Greeks. He threw his spear from his ship to the coast and it stuck in the ground. He stepped onto the shore, pulled his weapon from the soil, and declared that the whole of Asia would be won by the spear. His chief officers, all Macedonians, included Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. | |||
| As Philip marched south, he was blocked near ], ] by the forces of Athens and Thebes. During the ensuing ], Philip commanded the right, and Alexander the left wing, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for a long time. Philip deliberately commanded the troops on his right wing to backstep, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. On the left, Alexander was the first to break into the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Having achieved a breach in the enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed his enemy. With the rout of the Athenians, the Thebans were left to fight alone; surrounded by the victorious enemy, they were crushed.<ref name="DiodXVI"/> | |||
| The Macedonian army soon encountered the Persian army under King Darius III at the crossing of the river Granicus, near the ancient city of Troy. Alexander attacked an army of Persians and Greek hoplites (a heavily armed foot soldiers of ancient Greece) who distinguished themselves on the side of the Persians against the Macedonians. Alexander's forces defeated the enemy (totaling 40,000 men) and, according to tradition, lost only 110 men. | |||
| After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into the Peloponnese welcomed by all cities; however, when they reached ], they were refused, and they simply left.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sikyon.com/sparta/history_eg.html |title=History of Ancient Sparta |publisher=Sikyon.com |accessdate=14 November 2009}}</ref> At ], Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modeled on the old ] of the ]), with the exception of Sparta. Philip was then named '']'' (often translated as 'Supreme Commander') of this league (known by modern historians as the League of Corinth). He then announced his plans for a war of revenge against the ], which he would command.<ref name=M54-R/><ref>McCarty, p. 26.</ref> | |||
| Then he turned northward to Gordion, home of the famous Gordian Knot. The legend behind the ancient knot was that the man who could untie it was destined to rule the entire world. Alexander simply slashed the knot with his sword and unraveled it. | |||
| ===Exile and return=== | |||
| {{Quote box |qalign=center | |||
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| |quote= "At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander, that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor. At which Alexander reproachfully insulted over him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another." | |||
| |source= — Plutarch, describing the feud at Philip's wedding.<ref name=PA9/>}} | |||
| After returning to Pella, Philip fell in love with and married ], the niece of one of his generals, ]. This marriage made Alexander's position as heir to the throne less secure, since if Cleopatra Eurydice bore Philip a son, there would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half Macedonian.<ref name=McCarty27/> During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus made a speech praying to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir to the Macedonian throne. Alexander shouted to Attalus, "What am I then, a bastard?" and he threw his goblet at him. Philip, who was also drunk, drew his sword and advanced towards Alexander before collapsing, leading Alexander to say, "See there, the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another."<ref name=PA9/> | |||
| Detail from the Alexander mosaic | |||
| Alexander fled from Macedon taking his mother with him, whom he dropped off with her brother in ], capital of Epirus. He carried on to Illyria, where he sought refuge with the Illyrian King and was treated as a guest by the Illyrians, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. Alexander returned to Macedon after six months in exile due to the efforts of a family friend, ], who mediated between the two parties.<ref name=PA9/><ref name=P75-B/><ref>Renault, p. 56</ref> | |||
| From the House of the Faun, Pompeii, c. 80 B.C. | |||
| National Archaeologic Museum, Naples, Italy | |||
| Continuing to advance southward, in November of 333 BC, Alexander met Darius in battle for the second time at a mountain pass at Issus, in northeastern Syria. The size of Darius's army is unknown but although the Persian army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, the narrow field of battle allowed Alexander to defeat the Persians. The Battle of Issus ended in a great victory for Alexander. Cut off from his base, Darius fled northward, abandoning his mother, wife, and children to Alexander, who treated them with the respect due to royalty. | |||
| The following year, the Persian ] (governor) of ], ], offered the hand of his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, ]. Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested to Alexander that this move showed that Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander reacted by sending an actor, ] of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian. Philip had four of Alexander's friends, ], ], Ptolemy and ] exiled, and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.<ref name=McCarty27/><ref>Renault, p. 59.</ref><ref>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 71.</ref> | |||
| In the next year, he marched down the Phoenician coast and received the surrenders of all of the major cities there except for Tyre. A seven-month siege of the city followed, and the Tyrians eventually surrendered to Alexander. Then he continued south into Egypt after he had secured the entire Aegean coast. | |||
| ==King of Macedon== | |||
| ===Accession=== | |||
| ] | |||
| In 336 BC, whilst at ], attending the wedding of his daughter by Olympias, ], to Olympias's brother, ], Philip was assassinated by the captain of his ], ].{{cref|vii}} As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, ] and ]. Alexander was proclaimed king by the ] and by the Macedonian noblemen at the age of 20.<ref name=N30-31-M/><ref>Renault, pp. 61–62.</ref><ref>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 72.</ref> | |||
| ===Power consolidation=== | |||
| Alexander began his reign by having his potential rivals to the throne murdered. He had his cousin, the former ], executed, as well as having two Macedonian princes from the region of ] killed, while a third, ], was spared. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and her daughter by Philip, Europa, burned alive. When Alexander found out about this, he was furious with his mother. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus, who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor. Attalus was at the time in correspondence with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Regardless of whether Attalus actually intended to defect, he had already severely insulted Alexander, and having just had Attalus's daughter and grandchildren murdered, Alexander probably felt Attalus was too dangerous to leave alive.<ref>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp5–6</ref> Alexander spared the life of Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.<ref name=N30-31-M/><ref name=PA77/><ref>Renault, pp. 70–71.</ref><ref>Fox, p. 72.</ref> | |||
| ALEXANDER IN EGYPT | |||
| News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolts in Greece reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though his advisors advised him to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon's neighbor to the south. When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between ] and ], he had the men ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear, and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force, as he rode down towards the Peloponnesus.<ref name=N31-M/><ref name="Renault, p. 72"/><ref>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 104.</ref><ref>Bose, p. 95.</ref> | |||
| Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the ] before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander received the envoy and pardoned anyone involved with the uprising. At Corinth, he was given the title ''Hegemon'', and like Philip, appointed commander of the forthcoming war against Persia. While at Corinth, he heard the news of the Thracian rising to the north.<ref name="Renault, p. 72"/><ref name=P96-Bose/> | |||
| Alexander Rondanini | |||
| ===Balkan campaign=== | |||
| Glyptothek | |||
| {{Campaignbox Alexander's Balkan campaign}} | |||
| Munich, Germany | |||
| {{Main|Alexander's Balkan campaign}} | |||
| Alexander entered Egypt in 331 BC. When he arrived, he was welcomed, and he ordered a city to be designed and founded in his name at the mouth of the river Nile. Alexandria would become one of the major cultural centers in the Mediterranean world in the following centuries. | |||
| Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders; and, in the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several apparent revolts. Starting from Amphipolis, he first went east into the country of the "Independent Thracians"; and at ], the Macedonian army attacked and defeated a Thracian army manning the heights.<ref name="I, 1"/> The Macedonians marched on into the country of the ], and proceeded to defeat the Triballian army near the Lyginus river <ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 2</ref> (a ]). Alexander then advanced for three days on to the ], encountering the ] tribe on the opposite shore. Surprising the Getae by crossing the river at night, he forced the Getae army to retreat after the first cavalry ], leaving their town to the Macedonian army.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 3–4</ref><ref>Renault, pp. 73–74.</ref> News then reached Alexander that ], King of Illyria, and ] of the ] were in open revolt against Macedonian authority. Marching west into Illyria, Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing Cleitus and Glaukias to flee with their armies, leaving Alexander's northern frontier secure.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 5–6</ref><ref>Renault, p. 77.</ref> | |||
| In the spring of 331 Alexander made a pilgrimage to the great temple and oracle of Amon-Ra, Egyptian god of the sun, whom the Greeks identified with Zeus. The earlier Egyptian pharaohs were believed to be sons of Amon-Ra and Alexander, the new ruler of Egypt, wanted the god to acknowledge him as his son. The pilgrimage apparently was successful, and it may have confirmed in him a belief in his own divine origin. | |||
| While he was triumphantly campaigning north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once more. Alexander reacted immediately, but, while the other cities once again hesitated, Thebes decided to resist with the utmost vigor. However, the resistance was useless, as the city was razed to the ground amid great bloodshed, and its territory was divided between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens into submission, leaving all of Greece at least outwardly at peace with Alexander.<ref>Plutarch, ''Phocion'', 17</ref> | |||
| While in Egypt, Alexander spontaneously decided to make the dangerous trip across the desert to visit the oracle at the temple of Zeus Ammon. On the way, he was blessed with abundant rain, and he was guided across the desert by ravens. At the temple, Alexander spoke to the oracle about matters that are unclear to most historians. Many sources, however, speculated that the priest told Alexander that he was the son of Zeus Ammon and that he was destined to rule the world. | |||
| ==Conquest of the Persian Empire== | |||
| {{Campaignbox Alexander's Persian campaigns}} | |||
| {{Main|Wars of Alexander the Great|Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia}} | |||
| He was then made pharaoh voluntarily by the Egyptians, who despised living under Persian rule. He exchanged letters with Darius while he was in Egypt, and the Persian offered a truce with Alexander with a gift of several western provinces of the Persian Empire, but Alexander refused to make peace unless he could have the whole empire. In the middle of 331 BC Alexander marched back to Persia to find Darius. | |||
| ===Asia Minor=== | |||
| {{Main|Battle of the Granicus|Siege of Halicarnassus|Siege of Miletus}} | |||
| ] | |||
| Alexander's army crossed the ] in 334 BC with approximately 42,000 soldiers from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and feudally raised soldiers from ], ], and ].<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 11</ref> After an initial victory against Persian forces at the ], Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of ] and proceeded down the ]n coast.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 13–19</ref> At ], Alexander successfully waged the first of many ]s, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain ] and the Persian ] of ], ], to withdraw by sea.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 20–23</ref> Alexander left the government of Caria to ], who adopted Alexander as her son.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 23</ref> | |||
| THE END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE | |||
| From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous ] and the ]n plain, asserting control over all coastal cities. He did this to deny the Persians naval bases. Since Alexander had no reliable fleet of his own, defeating the Persian fleet required land control.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 20, 24–26</ref> From Pamphylia onward, the coast held no major ports and so Alexander moved inland. At ], Alexander humbled but did not storm the ]n city.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 27–28</ref> At the ancient Phrygian capital of ], Alexander 'undid' the hitherto unsolvable ], a feat said to await the future "king of ]".<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 3</ref> According to the most vivid story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone, and he hacked it apart with his sword.<ref>Greene, p. 351</ref> | |||
| Alexander reorganized his forces at Tyre and started for Babylon with an army of 40,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry. He conquered the lands between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and found the Persian army which, according to the exaggerated accounts of antiquity, was said to number a million men at the plains of Gaugamela (near modern Irbil, Iraq). The Macedonians spotted the lights from Persian campfires one night, and they encouraged Alexander to lead his attack under cover of darkness. He refused to take advantage of their situation because he wanted to defeat Darius in an equally matched battle so that the Persian king would never again dare to raise an army against the Macedonians. The two armies met on the battlefield the next morning on October 1, 331 BC, and the Macedonian forces swept through the Persian army and slaughtered them. Darius fled as he had done at Issus to the mountain residence of Ecbatana, while Alexander occupied Babylon, the imperial capital Susa, and Persepolis. Henceforth, Alexander was proclaimed king of Persia, and to win the support of the Persian aristocracy he appointed mainly Persians as provincial governors. After four months, the Macedonians burned the royal palace to the ground thus completing the end of the ancient Persian Empire. | |||
| ===The Levant and Syria=== | |||
| {{Main|Battle of Issus|Siege of Tyre}} | |||
| Yet a major uprising in Greece had Alexander so deeply worried, that after hearing that the rebellion had failed, he proclaimed the end of the Hellenic Crusade and discharged the all Greek forces. | |||
| ], from the ], Pompeii]] | |||
| Alexander continued his pursuit of Darius for hundreds of miles from Persepolis. When he finally caught up to him, he found the Persian king dead in his coach, assassinated by his own men. Alexander had the assassin executed and gave Darius a royal funeral. | |||
| After spending the winter campaigning in Asia Minor, Alexander's army crossed the ] in 333 BC, and defeated the main Persian army under the command of Darius III at the ] in November.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 6–10</ref> Darius was forced to flee the battle after his army broke, and in doing so left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother ], and a fabulous amount of treasure.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 11–12</ref> He afterward offered a ] to Alexander, the concession of the lands he had already conquered, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Alexander replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' I, 3–4 II, 14</ref> | |||
| Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the ].<ref>Arrian </ref> However, the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack ], which he eventually captured after a famous ].<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 16–24</ref><ref>Gunther, p. 84.</ref> After the capture of Tyre, Alexander crucified all the men of military age, and sold the women and children into slavery.<ref>Sabin ''et al.'', p. 396.</ref> | |||
| MACEDONIAN NOBLES RESISTANCE AND THE MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE | |||
| ===Egypt=== | |||
| {{Main|Siege of Gaza}} | |||
| ]]] | |||
| When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated, with the exception of Gaza. The stronghold at ] was built on a hill and was heavily fortified.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 26</ref> At the beginning of the ], Alexander utilized the engines he had employed against Tyre. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold was finally taken by force, but not before Alexander received a serious shoulder wound. When Gaza was taken, the male population was put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' II, 26–27</ref> | |||
| During the reign of Alexander the Great, the Macedonians spoke their own native language, as the native language language of Alexander the Great was not understood by the ancient Greeks (Quintus Curtius Rufus, VI, 9, 37 ). Similarly, Plutarch points out that Alexander spoke to his fellow countrymen in Macedonian: "he called out aloud to his guards in the Macedonian language, which was a certain sign of some great disturbance in him" (Plutarch, Alexander, 51). Still, Alexander spoke also Greek, loved Homer, and respected his tutor Aristotle. At the same time though, there is much evidence that generally he was not fond of the Greeks of his day. The chronicler Curtius, describing the atmosphere before a battle, gave a notion of the different attitudes of the great commander, who psychognostically applied the principle of identity to every ethnic group in his army. In respect to the various motives for taking part in that war, Curtius wrote: | |||
| Jerusalem, on the other hand, opened its gates in surrender, and according to Josephus, Alexander was shown the book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, where a mighty Greek king would subdue and conquer the Persian Empire. Thereupon, Alexander spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.<ref>Josephus, ], XI, 337 </ref><ref>Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, 1988, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania International Bible Students Association, pg. 70</ref> | |||
| "Riding to the front line he named the soldiers and they responded from spot to spot where they were lined up. The Macedonians, who had won so many battles in Europe and set off to invade Asia ... got encouragement from him - he reminded them of their permanent values. They were the world's liberators and one day they would pass the frontiers set by Hercules and Patter Liber. They would subdue all races on Earth. Bactrius and India would become Macedonian provinces. Getting closer to the Greeks, he reminded them that those were the people who provoked war with Greece, ... those were the people that burned their temples and cities ... As the Illirians and Trakians lived mainly from plunder, he told them to look at the enemy line glittering in gold ..." | |||
| Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator.<ref>Ring ''et al.'' pp. 49, 320.</ref> He was pronounced the new "master of the Universe" and son of the deity of ] at the ] of ] in the ] desert.<ref name=grimal/> Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and subsequent currency depicted him adorned with ram horns as a symbol of his divinity.<ref name=P27/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/124716/coin/15880/From-the-Persian-Wars-to-Alexander-the-Great-490-336-bc|title=Coin: from the Persian Wars to Alexander the Great, 490–336 bc|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=2009-11-16}}</ref> During his stay in Egypt, he founded ], which would become the prosperous capital of the ] after his death.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 1</ref> | |||
| Q. C. Rufus, Alexander III, 10, 4-10 | |||
| After all, he thoroughly destroyed Thebes. Therefore, his empire is correctly called Macedonian, not Greek, for he won it with an army of 35,000 Macedonians and only 7,600 Greeks. | |||
| ===Assyria and Babylonia=== | |||
| {{Main|Battle of Gaugamela}} | |||
| ], 331 BC.]] | |||
| Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into ] (now northern ]) and defeated Darius once more at the ].<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III 7–15</ref> Once again, Darius was forced to leave the field, and Alexander chased him as far as ]. Darius fled over the mountains to ] (modern ]), but Alexander instead marched to and captured ].<ref name=AIII16/> | |||
| Alexander's increasingly Oriental behavior led to trouble with Macedonian nobles and some Greeks. In 330 BC a series of allegations was brought against some of Alexander's officers concerning a plot to murder him. Alexander tortured and executed his friend, Philotas (commander of the cavalry) the accused leader of the conspiracy, and several other high-ranking officials in order to eliminate the possibility of an attempt on his life. The question of the use of the ancient Macedonian language was raised by Alexander himself during the trial of Philotas. Alexander has said to Philotas: | |||
| ===Persia=== | |||
| {{Main|Battle of the Persian Gate}} | |||
| "'The Macedonians are about to pass judgment upon you; I wish to know whether you will use their native tongue in addressing them.' Philotas replied: 'Besides the Macedonians there are many present who, I think, will more easily understand what I shall say if I use the same language which you have employed.' Than said the king: 'Do you not see how Philotas loathes even the language of his fatherland? For he alone disdains to learn it. But let him by all means speak in whatever way he desires, provided that you remember that he holds out customs in as much abhorrence as our language.'" | |||
| From Babylon, Alexander went to ], one of the ] capitals, and captured its legendary treasury.<ref name=AIII16/> Sending the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of ] via the ], Alexander himself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. However, the pass of the ] (in the modern ]) had been blocked by a Persian army under ], and Alexander had to storm the pass. Alexander then made a dash for Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 18</ref> At Persepolis, Alexander stared at the crumbled statue of Xerxes and decided to leave it on the ground.<ref name=PA37/><ref name="H83"/> During their stay at the capital, a fire broke out in the eastern palace of ] and spread to the rest of the city. Theories abound as to whether this was the result of a drunken accident, or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the ] during the ].<ref name="H83"/> | |||
| Quintus Curtius Rufus, Alexander, VI. ix. 34-36 | |||
| The trial of Philotas took place in Asia before a multiethnic public, which has accepted Greek as their common language. Alexander spoke Macedonian with his conationals, but used Greek in addressing West Asians. Like Illirian and Tracian, ancient Macedonian was not recorded in writing. However, on the bases of about a hundred glosses, Macedonian words noted and explained by Greek writers, some place names from Macedonia, and a few names of individuals, most scholars believe that ancient Macedonian was a separate Indo-European language. Evidence from phonology indicates that the ancient Macedonian language was distinct from ancient Greek and closer to the Tracian and Illirian languages. | |||
| ===Fall of the Empire and the East=== | |||
| Alexander then set off in pursuit of Darius again, first into Media, and then Parthia.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 19–20</ref> The Persian king was no longer in control of his destiny, having been taken prisoner by ], his ]n satrap and kinsman.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 21</ref> As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius' successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into ] to launch a ] campaign against Alexander.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 21, 25</ref> Darius' remains were buried by Alexander next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a full regal funeral.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 22</ref> Alexander claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the Achaemenid throne.<ref name=BriefLife81/> The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with the death of Darius.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander10.html|title=The end of Persia|publisher=www.livius.org|accessdate=2009-11-16}}</ref> | |||
| Another old-fashioned noble, Cleitus, was killed by Alexander himself in a drunken brawl. Heavy drinking was a cherished tradition at the Macedonian court when Alexander ran him through with a spear. Although he mourned his friend excessively and nearly committed suicide when he realized what he had done, all of Alexander's associates thereafter feared his paranoia and dangerous temper. Alexander next demanded that Europeans follow the Oriental etiquette of prostrating themselves before the king - which he knew was regarded as an act of worship by Greeks. But resistance by Macedonian officers and by the Greek Callisthenes (a nephew of Aristotle who had joined the expedition as the official historian of the crusade) defeated the attempt. The Greek Callisthenes was soon executed on a charge of conspiracy. | |||
| ]]] | |||
| As the Macedonians marched into Parthia, the tone of the journey changed. Alexander had adopted the Persian style of dress, rather than his traditional Macedonian clothing, and his troops were unhappy with him. After all, up until that point, the Macedonian soldiers respected him immensly, as they saw him as a partner working for the common good of all Macedonians, the nobles and the masses. He was well known for calling on his fellow countrymen to join him in battle by their own will: | |||
| Alexander, now considering himself the legitimate successor to Darius, viewed Bessus as a usurper to the Achaemenid throne, and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia, with Alexander founding a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern ] in ], and ] ("The Furthest") in modern ]. The campaign took Alexander through ], ], ] (West Afghanistan), ], ] (South and Central Afghanistan), ] (North and Central Afghanistan), and ].<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 23–25, 27–30; IV, 1–7</ref> | |||
| "However he told them he would keep none of them with him against their will, they might go if they pleased; he should merely enter his protest, that when on his way to make the Macedonians the masters of the world, he was left alone with a few friends and volunteers. This is almost word for word as he wrote in a letter to Antipater, where he adds, that when he had thus spoken to them, they all cried out, they would go along with him whithersoever it was his pleasure to lead them." | |||
| Bessus was betrayed in 329 BC by ], who held an undefined position in the satrapy of Sogdiana. Spitamenes handed over Bessus to ], one of Alexander's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' III, 30</ref> However, when, at some point later, Alexander was on the ], Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Alexander launched a campaign and defeated him in the ]; after the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.<ref>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' IV, 5–6, 16–17</ref> | |||
| Plutarch, Alexander, 47 | |||
| ALEXANDER IN INDIA | |||
| ===Problems and plots=== | |||
| During this time, Alexander took the Persian title "King of Kings" (''Shahanshah'') and adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of '']'', either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians paid to their social superiors.<ref name=AVII11/><ref name=PA45/> The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of ] and believed that Alexander meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him much in the sympathies of many of his countrymen.<ref name=PA45/> A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers, ], was executed for failing to bring the plot to his attention. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus ], who had been charged with guarding the treasury at ], was assassinated by command of Alexander, so he might not make attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Alexander personally slew the man who had saved his life at Granicus, ], during a drunken argument at ].<ref name=BriefLife99/> Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against his life was revealed, this one instigated by his own royal ]. His official historian, ] of ] (who had fallen out of favor with the king by leading the opposition to his attempt to introduce ''proskynesis''), was implicated in the plot; however, there has never been consensus among historians regarding his involvement in the conspiracy.<ref>{{cite book|coauthors= |title=Alexander the Great: A New History|editor=Waldemar Heckel, Lawrence A. Tritle|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2009|pages=47–48|isbn=9781405130820|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jbaPwpvt8ZQC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=callisthenes+of+olynthus+conspiracy&source=bl&ots=OuEJ0-CcWq&sig=QBgIAlj9TnGaolkmvaRbMDzuktg&hl=en&ei=X_QBS6uLBI-XkQWt-qiEDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=callisthenes%20of%20olynthus%20conspiracy&f=false}}</ref> | |||
| Marble head of Alexander | |||
| ==Indian campaign== | |||
| Acropolis Museum | |||
| {{Campaignbox Alexander's Indian campaign}} | |||
| Athens, Greece | |||
| {{Main|Alexander's Indian campaign}} | |||
| In the spring of 327 BC, Alexander and his army marched into India invading Punjab as far as the river Hyphasis (modern Beas). At this point the Macedonians rebelled and refused to go farther. | |||
| The greatest of Alexander's battles in India was against Porus, one of the most powerful Indian leaders, at the river Hydaspes. On July 326 BC, Alexander's army crossed the heavily defended river in dramatic fashion during a violent thunderstorm to meet Porus' forces. The Indians were defeated in a fierce battle, even though they fought with elephants, which the Macedonians had never before seen. Alexander captured Porus and, like the other local rulers he had defeated, allowed him to continue to govern his territory. Alexander even subdued an independent province and granted it to Porus as a gift. | |||
| ===Invasion of the Indian subcontinent=== | |||
| After the death of ] and his marriage to Roxana (Roshanak in ]) to cement his relations with his new Central Asian satrapies, Alexander was finally free to turn his attention to the ]. Alexander invited all the ] of the former satrapy of ], in the north of what is now ], to come to him and submit to his authority. ] (whose actual name is Ambhi), ruler of ], whose kingdom extended from the ] to the ], complied, but the chieftains of some hill clans, including the ] and ] sections of the ] (known in Indian texts also as Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas), refused to submit.<ref name=Ind118/> | |||
| In this battle Alexander's horse, Bucephalus, was wounded and died. Alexander had ridden Bucephalus into every one of his battles in Greece and Asia, so when it died, he was grief-stricken and founded a city in his horse's name. | |||
| ] depicting Alexander and Porus (Puru) during the ]]] | |||
| In the winter of 327/326 BC, Alexander personally led a campaign against these clans; the Aspasioi of ] ]s, the Guraeans of the ] valley, and the Assakenoi of the ] and ] valleys.<ref>Narain, pp. 155–165</ref> A fierce contest ensued with the Aspasioi in which Alexander himself was wounded in the shoulder by a dart but eventually the Aspasioi lost the fight. Alexander then faced the Assakenoi, who fought bravely and offered stubborn resistance to Alexander in the strongholds of ], ] and ].<ref name=Ind118/> The fort of Massaga could only be reduced after several days of bloody fighting in which Alexander himself was wounded seriously in the ankle. According to ], "Not only did Alexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubbles".<ref>Curtius in McCrindle, Op cit, p 192, J. W. McCrindle; History of Punjab, Vol I, 1997, p 229, Punajbi University, Patiala, (Editors): Fauja Singh, L. M. Joshi; Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 134, Kirpal Singh.</ref> A similar slaughter then followed at Ora, another stronghold of the Assakenoi. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of ]. Alexander followed close behind their heels and captured the strategic hill-fort after the fourth day of a bloody fight.<ref name=Ind118/> | |||
| Alexander's next goal was to reach the to travel south down the rivers Hydaspes and Indus so that they might reach the Ocean on the southern edge of the world. The army rode down the rivers on the rivers on rafts and stopped to attack and subdue villages along the way. During this trip, Alexander sought out the Indian philosophers, the Brahmins, who were famous for their wisdom, and debated them on philosophical issues. He became legendary for centuries in India for being both a wise philosopher and a fearless conqueror. | |||
| After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and fought and won an epic battle against a local ruler ], who ruled a region in the ], in the ] in 326 BC.<ref name=Ind124/> Alexander was greatly impressed by Porus for his bravery in battle, and therefore made an alliance with him and appointed him as satrap of his own kingdom, even adding land he did not own before. Additional reasons were probably political since, to control lands so distant from Greece required local assistance and co-operation.<ref name=Ind126/> Alexander named one of the two new cities that he founded, ], in honor of the horse that had brought him to India, and had died during the battle.<ref name=BriefLife120/> | |||
| One of the villages in which the army stopped belonged to the Malli, who were said to be one of the most warlike of the Indian tribes. Alexander was wounded several times in this attack, most seriously when an arrow pierced his breastplate and his ribcage. The Macedonian officers rescued him in a narrow escape from the village. Alexander and his army reached the mouth of the Indus in July 325 BC and turned westward for home. | |||
| ===Revolt of the army=== | |||
| ALEXANDER'S MARIAGE | |||
| ] | |||
| East of Porus' kingdom, near the ], was the powerful ] of ] and ] of ]. Fearing the prospects of facing other powerful Indian armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, his army mutinied at the ], refusing to march further east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.<ref name=PA62/><ref name=Ind129/> | |||
| <blockquote>As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of ] and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand ]s.<ref name=PA62/></blockquote> | |||
| In the spring of 324, Alexander held a great victory celebration at Susa. He and 80 close associates married Iranian noblewomen. In addition, he legitimized previous so-called marriages between soldiers and native women and gave them rich wedding gifts, no doubt to encourage such unions. When he discharged the disabled Macedonian veterans a little later, after defeating a mutiny by the estranged and exasperated Macedonian army, they had to leave their wives and children with him. Because national prejudices had prevented the unification of his empire, his aim was apparently to prepare a long-term solution (he was only 32) by breeding a new body of high nobles of mixed blood and also creating the core of a royal army attached only to himself. After his death, nearly all the noble Susa marriages were dissolved. He established training programs to teach Persians about Greek and Macedonian culture, and he married Roxane, a Persian. | |||
| Alexander spoke to his army and tried to persuade them to march further into India but ] pleaded with him to change his opinion and return, the men, he said, "longed to again see their parents, their wives and children, their homeland". Alexander, seeing the unwillingness of his men, eventually agreed and turned south. Along the way his army conquered the ] clans (in modern day ]), and other Indian tribes.<ref name=Ind137/> | |||
| ALEXANDER'S DEATH | |||
| We will probably never know the truth, of Alexander's mysterious death, even though new theories are still coming out. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king and the great conqueror, died at the age of 33, on June 10, 323 BC. Three days earlier, on the 7th of June, 323 BC, the Macedonians were allowed to file past their leader for the last time before he finally succumbed to the illness. Alexander died without designating a successor. His death opened the anarchic age of the Diadochi and the Macedonian Empire will eventually cease to exist. | |||
| ===Return=== | |||
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| Alexander sent much of his army to ] (modern southern ]) with his general ], and commissioned a fleet to explore the ] shore under his admiral ], while he led the rest of his forces back to Persia through the more difficult southern route along the ] and ] (now part of southern Iran and Pakistan).<ref name=Ind141/> | |||
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| ==Last years in Persia== | |||
| Discovering that many of his ]s and military governors had misbehaved in his absence, Alexander executed a number of them as examples, on his way to ].<ref name=AVI27/><ref name=AVII4/> As a gesture of thanks, he paid off the debts of his soldiers, and announced that he would send those over-aged and disabled veterans back to Macedon under Craterus. But, his troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at the town of ], refusing to be sent away and bitterly criticizing his adoption of Persian customs and dress, and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units.<ref>Worthington, ''Alexander the Great'', pp. 307–308</ref> Alexander executed the ringleaders of the mutiny, but forgave the rank and file.<ref name=AVII8/> In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between his Macedonian and Persian subjects, he held a mass marriage of his senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year.<ref name=AVII4/> Meanwhile, upon his return, Alexander learned some men had desecrated the tomb of ], and swiftly executed them, because they were put in charge of guarding the tomb Alexander held in honor.<ref name=AVI29/> | |||
| After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possibly lover<ref name=AelXII7/> ] died of an illness, or possibly of poisoning.<ref name=AVII14/> According to Plutarch, Alexander, distraught over the death of his longtime companion, sacked a nearby town, and put all of its inhabitants to the sword, as a sacrifice to Hephaestion's ghost.<ref name=P72/> Arrian finds great diversity and casts doubts on the accounts of Alexander's displays of grief, although he says that they all agree that Hephaestion's death devastated him, and that he ordered the preparation of an expensive ] in Babylon, as well as a decree for the observance of a public mourning.<ref name=AVII14/> | |||
| Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them.<ref name=AVII19/> | |||
| ==Death and succession== | |||
| ===Final days=== | |||
| ] (c. 323–322 BC) recording the death of Alexander (], London)]] | |||
| On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of ], in ] at the age of 32.<ref name=Depuydt/> ] gives a lengthy account of the circumstances of his death, echoed (without firm dates) by ]. Roughly 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained his admiral ], and then, instead of going to bed, spent the night and next day drinking with ].<ref name=P75/> After this, and by 18 ] (a Macedonian month) he had developed a fever, which then grew steadily worse.<ref name=P75/><ref name=P76/> By 25 Daesius, he was unable to speak.<ref name=P76/> By 26 Daesius, the common soldiers had become anxious about his health, or thought he was already dead. They demanded to see him, and Alexander's generals acquiesced.<ref name=P76/> The soldiers slowly filed past him, whilst Alexander raised his right hand in greeting, still unable to speak.<ref>], ''Anabasis Alexandri'' VII, 26</ref> Two days later, on 28 Daesius (although Aristobolus's account says it was 30 Daesius), Alexander was dead.<ref name=P75/><ref name=P76/> Conversely, Diodorus recounts that Alexander was struck down with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of ], and (rather mysteriously) died after some agony,<ref name=DSXVII117/> which is also mentioned as an alternative by Arrian, but ] specifically refutes this claim.<ref name=P75/> | |||
| ===Possible causes=== | |||
| ====Poison==== | |||
| Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,<ref name=g1/> it is scarcely surprising that allegations of foul play have been made about the death of Alexander. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mention the theory that Alexander was poisoned. Plutarch dismisses it as a fabrication,<ref name=PA77/> but both Diodorus and Arrian say that they only mention it for the sake of completeness.<ref name=DSXVII117/><ref name=AVII27/> The accounts are nevertheless fairly consistent in designating ], recently removed from the position of Macedonian viceroy, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence in waiting,<ref name=g23/> and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,<ref name=DSXVII118/> Antipater arranged for Alexander to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexander's wine-pourer.<ref name=PA77/><ref name=AVII27/><ref name=DSXVII118/> There is even a suggestion that Aristotle may have had a hand in the plot.<ref name=PA77/><ref name=AVII27/> Conversely, the strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days had passed between the start of his illness and his death; in the ancient world, such long-acting poisons were probably not available.<ref>Fox, ''Alexander the Great'', p.</ref> | |||
| ====Natural causes==== | |||
| Several ] (diseases) have been suggested as the cause of Alexander's death; ] or ] are obvious candidates. A 1998 article in the '']'' attributed his death to typhoid fever complicated by ] and ascending paralysis,<ref name=AMD/> whereas another recent analysis has suggested pyrogenic spondylitis or meningitis as the cause.<ref name=ashrafian/> Other illnesses could have also been the culprit, including ] or the ].<ref name=ref1/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sbarounis CN |title=Did Alexander the Great die of acute pancreatitis? |journal=J Clin Gastroenterol |volume=24 |pages=294–296 |year=2007 |doi=10.1097/00004836-199706000-00031 |pmid=9252868 |issue=4}}</ref> Natural-cause theories also tend to emphasise that Alexander's health may have been in general decline after years of heavy drinking and his suffering severe wounds (including one in India that nearly claimed his life). Furthermore, the anguish that Alexander felt after ]'s death may have contributed to his declining health.<ref name=AMD/> | |||
| The most probable cause of Alexanders death is however, the result of overdosing on medicine made from ], deadly in large doses. The very few things we do know about his death, can today be explained only with accidental hellebore-poisoning.<ref>Cawthorne (2004), s. 138</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forensic-psych.com/articles/artDeadMenTalking.php |title=Forensic Psychiatry & Medicine - Dead Men Talking |publisher=Forensic-psych.com |accessdate=18 July 2009}}</ref> | |||
| ===Fate after death=== | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Alexander's body was placed in a gold anthropoid ], which was in turn placed in a second gold casket.<ref name=sarco1/> According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever".<ref name=Aelian/> Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy (it was a ] to bury the previous king).<ref>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', p. 32.</ref> At any rate, Ptolemy stole the funeral cortege, and took it to Memphis.<ref name=sarco1/><ref name=Aelian/> His successor, ], transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least ]. ], one of the last successors of Ptolemy I, replaced Alexander's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could melt the original down for issues of his coinage.<ref name=sarco2/> ], ] and ] all visited the tomb in Alexandria, the latter allegedly accidentally knocking the nose off the body. ] was said to have taken Alexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. In c. AD 200, Emperor ] closed Alexander's tomb to the public. His son and successor, ], was a great admirer of Alexander, and visited the tomb in his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are sketchy.<ref name=sarco2/> | |||
| The so-called "]", discovered near ] and now in the ], is so named not because it was thought to have contained Alexander's remains, but because its bas-reliefs depict Alexander and his companions hunting and in battle with the Persians. It was originally thought to have been the sarcophagus of ] (died 311 BC), the king of Sidon appointed by Alexander immediately following the ] in 331.<ref>Studniczka pp. 226ff.</ref><ref>Beazley and Ashmole, p. 59, fig. 134.</ref><ref>{{Cite Journal|author = Bieber M |title=The Portraits of Alexander |journal=Greece & Rome, Second Series |year=1965 |pages=183–188|volume = 12.2}}</ref> However, more recently, it has been suggested that it may date from earlier than Abdalonymus' death.<ref>See ].</ref> | |||
| ===Division of the Empire=== | |||
| {{Main|Diadochi}} | |||
| ], who succeeded to Alexander's eastern conquests]] | |||
| Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death. This left the huge question as to who would rule the newly conquered, and barely pacified Empire.<ref name=g24/> According to Diodorus, Alexander's companions asked him when he was on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest".<ref name=DSXVII117/> Given that Arrian and Plutarch have Alexander speechless by this point, it is possible that this is an apocryphal story.<ref>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', p. 20.</ref> Diodorus, Curtius and Justin also have the more plausible story of Alexander passing his ] to ], one of his bodyguard and leader of the companion cavalry, in front of witnesses, thereby possibly nominating Perdiccas as his successor.<ref name=DSXVII117/><ref name=g24/> | |||
| In any event, Perdiccas initially avoided explicitly claiming power, instead suggesting that Roxane's baby would be king, if male; with himself, ], Leonnatus and Antipater as guardians. However, the infantry, under the command of ], rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Alexander's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings of the Empire—albeit in name only.<ref name=g26/> | |||
| It was not long, however, before dissension and rivalry began to afflict the Macedonians. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the ] became power bases each general could use to launch his own bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BC, all semblance of Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between "The Successors" (''Diadochi'') ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stable power blocks: the ] of Egypt, the ] in the east, the Kingdom of ] in Asia Minor, and Macedon. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.<ref name=g29/> | |||
| ===Testament=== | |||
| ] relates that Alexander had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before his death.<ref name=DSXVIII4/> Although Craterus had already started to carry out some of Alexander's commands, the successors chose not to further implement them, on the grounds they were impractical and extravagant.<ref name=DSXVIII4/> | |||
| The testament called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. Its most remarkable items were: | |||
| * Construction of a monumental pyre to ], costing 10,000 talents | |||
| * Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the ]s of Egypt" | |||
| * Erection of great temples in ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] | |||
| * Building of "a thousand warships, larger than triremes, in Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, and Cyprus for the campaign against the Carthaginians and the others who live along the coast of ] and ] and the adjoining coastal regions as far as ]" | |||
| * Building of a road in northern Africa as far as the ], with ports and shipyards along it | |||
| * Establishment of cities and the ''"transplant of populations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties."''<ref name=g23/><ref name=DSXVIII4/> | |||
| ==Character== | |||
| ===Physical appearance=== | |||
| ], ]. According to ], sculptures by Lysippus were the most faithful.]] | |||
| ] provides a description of Alexander's appearance, based on ancient sources:<blockquote>Physically, Alexander was not prepossessing. Even by Macedonian standards he was very short, though stocky and tough. His beard was scanty, and he stood out against his hirsute Macedonian barons by going clean-shaven. His neck was in some way twisted, so that he appeared to be gazing upward at an angle. His eyes (one blue, one brown) revealed a dewy, feminine quality. He had a high complexion and a harsh voice.<ref name=g15/></blockquote> | |||
| Many descriptions and statues portray Alexander with the aforementioned gaze looking upward and outward. Both his father Philip II and his brother Philip Arrhidaeus also suffered from physical deformities, which had led to the suggestion that Alexander suffered from a congenital scoliotic disorder (familial neck and spinal deformity). Furthermore, it has been suggested that this may have contributed to his death.<ref name=ashrafian/> | |||
| During his last years, sculptor Lysippus sculpted an image of Alexander. Lysippus had captured in the stone Alexander's appearance characteristics; slightly left-turned neck and peculiar gaze. Lysippus' sculpture, which is opposite to his often vigorous portrayal, especially in coinage of the time, is thought to be the most faithful depiction of Alexander.<ref>Boswroth p.19-20</ref> | |||
| ===Personality=== | |||
| Alexander's personality is well described by the ancient sources. Some of his strongest personality traits formed in response to his parents.<ref name=g15/> His mother had huge ambitions for Alexander, and encouraged him to believe it was his destiny to conquer the Persian Empire.<ref name=g15/> Indeed, Olympias may have gone to the extent of poisoning Philip Arrhidaeus so as to disable him, and prevent him being a rival for Alexander.<ref name=PA77/> Olympias's influence instilled huge ambition and a sense of destiny in Alexander,<ref name=g4/> and Plutarch tells us that his ambition "kept his spirit serious and lofty in advance of his years".<ref name=PA4/> Alexander's relationship with his father generated the competitive side of his personality; he had a need to out-do his father, as his reckless nature in battle suggests.<ref name=g15/> While Alexander worried that his father would leave him "no great or brilliant achievement to be displayed to the world",<ref name=PA5/> he still attempted to downplay his father's achievements to his companions.<ref name=g15/> | |||
| Alexander's most evident personality traits were his violent temper and rash, impulsive nature,<ref name=PA4/><ref name=AVII29/> which undoubtedly contributed to some of his decisions during his life.<ref name=g15/> Plutarch thought that this part of his personality was the cause of his weakness for alcohol.<ref name=PA4/> Although Alexander was stubborn and did not respond well to orders from his father, he was easier to persuade by reasoned debate.<ref name=PA7/> Indeed, set beside his fiery temperament, there was a calmer side to Alexander; perceptive, logical, and calculating. He had a great desire for knowledge, a love for philosophy, and was an avid reader.<ref name=PA8/> This was no doubt in part due to his tutelage by Aristotle; Alexander was intelligent and quick to learn.<ref name=PA7/><ref name=g15/> The tale of his "solving" the ] neatly demonstrates this. He had great self-restraint in "pleasures of the body", contrasting with his lack of ] with alcohol.<ref name=PA4/><ref name=AVII28>Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' VII, 28</ref> The intelligent and rational side to Alexander is also amply demonstrated by his ability and success as a general.<ref name=AVII29/> | |||
| Alexander was undoubtedly erudite, and was a patron to both the arts and sciences.<ref name=PA8/><ref name=PA4/> However, he had little interest in sports, or the Olympic games (unlike his father), seeking only the ] ideals of glory and fame.<ref name=g4/><ref name=PA4/> He had great charisma and force of personality, characteristics, which made him a great leader.<ref name=g24/><ref name=AVII29/> This is further emphasised by the inability of any of his generals to unite the Macedonians and retain the Empire after his death – only Alexander had the personality to do so.<ref name=g24/> | |||
| ===Megalomania=== | |||
| During his final years, and especially after the death of Hephaestion, Alexander began to exhibit signs of megalomania and paranoia.<ref name=g23/> His extraordinary achievements, coupled with his own ineffable sense of destiny and the flattery of his companions, may have combined to produce this effect.<ref name=g20/> His ] are readily visible in the ] that he ordered Craterus to fulfil, and in his desire to conquer all non-Greek peoples.<ref name=g23/> | |||
| He seems to have come to believe himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself.<ref name=g23/> Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,<ref name=PA3/> a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at ].<ref name=P27/> He began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon.<ref name=P27/> Alexander adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of '']'', a practice of which the Macedonians disapproved, and were loathe to perform.<ref name=AVII11/><ref name=PA45/> Such behaviour cost him much in the sympathies of many of his countrymen.<ref name=PA45/> | |||
| ===Personal relationships=== | |||
| {{Main|Personal relationships of Alexander the Great}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The greatest emotional relationship of Alexander's life was with his friend, general, and bodyguard ], the son of a Macedonian noble.<ref name=AVII14/><ref name=g15/><ref name=DSXVII114/> Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander, sending him into a period of grieving.<ref name=AVII14/><ref name=P72/> This event may have contributed to Alexander's failing health, and detached ] during his final months.<ref name=g23/><ref name=AMD/> Alexander married twice: Roxana, daughter of a ]n nobleman, ], out of love;<ref>Plutarch, </ref> and Stateira, a Persian princess and daughter of ] of Persia out of political interest.<ref>Plutarch, On the Fortune and Virtue of Alexander, Or2.6</ref> He apparently had two sons, Alexander IV of Macedon of Roxana and, possibly, ] from his mistress Barsine; and lost another child when Roxana miscarried at Babylon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander01/alexander_iv.html|title=Alexander IV|publisher=livius.org|accessdate=13 December 2009}}</ref><ref>Renault, p. 100.</ref> | |||
| Alexander's sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy.<ref>Ogden, p. 204.</ref> Nowhere in the ancient sources is it stated that Alexander had homosexual relationships, or that Alexander's relationship with Hephaestion was sexual. Aelian, however, writes of Alexander's visit to ] where "Alexander garlanded the tomb of Achilles and Hephaestion that of ], the latter riddling that he was a beloved of Alexander, in just the same way as Patroclus was of Achilles".<ref name=AelXII7/> Noting that the word '']'' (ancient Greek for beloved) does not necessarily bear sexual meaning, Alexander may indeed have been bisexual, which in his time was not controversial.<ref>Sacks ''et al'', p. 16.</ref><ref>Worthington, p. 159.</ref> | |||
| Green argues that there is little evidence in the ancient sources Alexander had much interest in women, particularly since he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life.<ref name=g15/> However, he was relatively young when he died, and Ogden suggests that Alexander's matrimonial record is more impressive than his father's at the same age.<ref>Ogden, Alexander the Great - A new history p. 208. "three attested pregnancies in eight years produces an attested impregnation rate of one every 2.7 years, which is actually superior to that of his father's.</ref> Apart from wives, Alexander had many more female companions. Alexander had accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings but he used it rather sparingly;<ref name=DSXVII77/> showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body".<ref name=AVII28/> It is possible that Alexander was simply not a highly sexed person. Nevertheless, Plutarch describes how Alexander was infatuated by Roxanne while complimenting him on not forcing himself on her.<ref>Plutarch, ''On the Fortune and Virtue of Alexander'' I, 11</ref> Green suggests that, in the context of the period, Alexander formed quite strong friendships with women, including ], who adopted Alexander, and even Darius's mother Sisygambis, who supposedly died from grief when Alexander died.<ref name=g15/> | |||
| ==Legacy== | |||
| ===Hellenistic Kingdoms=== | |||
| {{Main|Hellenistic Period}} | |||
| ] of ] (276–194 BC), incorporating information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/Ancient%20Web%20Pages/112.html |title=Source |publisher=Henry-davis.com |accessdate=22 March 2009}}</ref>]] | |||
| Alexander's most obvious legacy was the introduction of Macedonian rule to huge new swathes of Asia. Many of these areas would remain in Macedonian hands, or under Greek influence for the next 200–300 years. The ]s that emerged were, at least initially, dominant forces during this epoch, and these 300 years are often referred to as the ].<ref name=gxii/> | |||
| The eastern borders of Alexander's empire began to collapse even during his lifetime.<ref name=g24/> However, the power vacuum he left in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent directly gave rise to one of the most powerful Indian dynasties in history. Taking advantage of the neglect shown to this region by the successors, ] (referred to in European sources as Sandrokotto), of relatively humble origin, took control of the ], and then with that power base proceeded to conquer the ] of northern India.<ref name=keay82/> In 305 BC, ], one of the successors, marched to India to reclaim the territory; instead, he ceded the area to Chandragupta in return for 500 war elephants. These in turn played a pivotal role in the ], the result of which did much to settle the division of the Empire.<ref name=keay82/> | |||
| ===Hellenization=== | |||
| {{Main|Hellenistic civilization}} | |||
| Hellenization is a term coined by the German historian ] to denote the spread of Greek language, culture, and population into the former Persian empire after Alexander's conquest.<ref name=gxii/> That this export took place is undoubted, and can be seen in the great Hellenistic cities of, for instance, ] (one of around twenty towns founded by Alexander<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_z2.html|title=Alexander the Great: his towns|publisher=livius.org|accessdate=13 December 2009}}</ref>), ]<ref name=g56/> and ] (south of modern ]).<ref>"", University of Michigan.</ref> However, exactly how widespread and deeply permeating this was, and to what extent it was a deliberate policy, is debatable. Alexander certainly made deliberate efforts to insert Greek elements into ] and in some instances he attempted to hybridize Greek and Persian culture, culminating in his aspiration to homogenise the populations of Asia and Europe. However, the successors explicitly rejected such policies after his death. Nevertheless, Hellenization occurred throughout the region, and moreover, was accompanied by a distinct and opposite 'Orientalization' of the Successor states.<ref name=g56/><ref name=g21/> | |||
| ] inscription]] | |||
| The core of Hellenistic culture was essentially ] by origin.<ref name=g56/><ref name=murphy/> The Athenian ] dialect had been adopted long before Philip II for official use and was thus spread throughout the Hellenistic world, becoming the ] through Alexander's conquests. Furthermore, ], education, local government, and art current in the Hellenistic period were all based on Classical Greek ideals, evolving though into distinct new forms commonly grouped as Hellenistic.<ref name=g56/> Aspects of the Hellenistic culture were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire up until the mid-15th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gabriel |first=Richard A.|title=The Great Armies of Antiquity|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002|page=277|chapter=The army of Byzantium|isbn=0275978095|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=y1ngxn_xTOIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=romano-Hellenistic&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Baynes|first=Norman G.|title=Byzantium: An Introduction to East Roman Civilization|publisher=Baynes Press|year=2007|page=170|chapter=Byzantine art|isbn=978-1406756593|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HdHiVlZ3ErIC&pg=PA170&dq=hellenistic+culture+in+byzantine+traditions&lr=&cd=39#v=onepage&q=hellenistic%20culture%20in%20byzantine%20traditions&f=false}}</ref> | |||
| ] women in ]. Historians still argue over the legitimacy of the Kalash's claim that they are the direct descendants of ] settlers.<ref></ref>]] | |||
| Some of the most unusual effects of Hellenization can be seen in India, in the region of the relatively late-arising ].<ref name=k101/> There, isolated from Europe, Greek culture apparently hybridised with Indian, and especially Buddhist, influences. The first realistic portrayals of the ] appeared at this time; they are modelled on Greek statues of ].<ref name=k101/> Several ] traditions may have been influenced by the ]: the concept of ] is reminiscent of Greek divine heroes,<ref>Luniya, p. 312.</ref> and some ] ] (burning incense, gifts of flowers, and food placed on altars) are similar to those practiced by the ancient Greeks. ] draws in part on the ideas of Greek ], such as ].<ref>Pratt, p. 237.</ref> One Greek king, ], probably became Buddhist, and is immortalized in ] as 'Milinda'.<ref name=k101/> | |||
| ===Influence on Rome=== | |||
| Alexander and his exploits were admired by many Romans who wanted to associate themselves with his achievements. ] started his '']'' by reminding Romans of his role, and thereafter subsequent Roman leaders saw him as his inspirational role model. Julius Caesar reportedly wept in Spain at the sight of Alexander's statue, because he thought he had achieved so little by the same age that Alexander had conquered the world.<ref name="Plutarch, Caesar, 11"/> ] searched the conquered lands of the east for Alexander's 260-year-old cloak, which he then wore as a sign of greatness. In his zeal to honor Alexander, ] accidentally broke the nose off the Macedonian's mummified corpse while laying a wreath at the Alexander's tomb Alexandria. The Macriani, a Roman family that in the person of ] briefly ascended to the imperial throne, kept images of Alexander on their persons, either on jewelry, or embroidered into their clothes.<ref name=Holt3/> | |||
| In the summer of 1995, a statue of Alexander was recovered in an excavation of a Roman house in Alexandria, which was richly decorated with mosaic and marble pavements and probably was constructed in the 1st century AD and occupied until the 3rd century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.egyptology.com/kmt/fall96/nile.html |title=Salima Ikram. Nile Currents |publisher=Egyptology.com |accessdate=22 March 2009}}</ref> | |||
| ===Legend=== | |||
| {{Main|Alexander the Great in legend|Alexander Romance}} | |||
| There are many legendary accounts surrounding the life of Alexander the Great, with a relatively large number deriving from his own lifetime, probably encouraged by Alexander himself. His court historian Callisthenes portrayed the sea in ] as drawing back from him in ]. Writing shortly after Alexander's death, another participant, ], went so far as to invent a tryst between Alexander and ], queen of the mythical ]. When Onesicritus read this passage to his patron, Alexander's general and later King ] reportedly quipped, "I wonder where I was at the time."<ref name=PA46/> | |||
| In the first centuries after Alexander's death, probably in Alexandria, a quantity of the more legendary material coalesced into a text known as the '']'', later falsely ascribed to the historian Callisthenes and therefore known as ''Pseudo-Callisthenes''. This text underwent numerous expansions and revisions throughout Antiquity and the ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Stoneman|first=Richard|title=Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-300-11203-0}}</ref> | |||
| The Alexander legend is also believed to extend to ], where he appears as a man called ] "He of the Two Horns".<ref>''Two Horns, Three Religions. How Alexander the Great ended up in the Quran'', Rebecca Edwards, Papers on the Ancient Novel and associated topics presented at the annual meeting of the American Philological Association, 3–6 January 2002 (, )</ref> | |||
| ===In ancient and modern culture=== | |||
| {{Main|Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great}} | |||
| Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been preserved and depicted in many ways. Alexander has figured in works of both high and popular culture from his own era to the modern day. | |||
| In Punjab, the land of his final conquest, the name "Secunder" is commonly given to children even today. This is both due to respect and admiration for Alexander and also as a memento to the fact that fighting the people of Punjab fatigued his army to the point that they revolted against him. | |||
| A common proverb in the Punjab, reads ''jit jit key jung, secunder jay haar'', translation, "alexander wins so many battles that he loses the war" used to address anyone who is good at winning but never taking advantage of those wins.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} | |||
| ==Sources== | |||
| {{Main|Historical Alexander the Great}} | |||
| Texts written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander are all lost apart from a few inscriptions and fragments. Contemporaries who wrote accounts of his life include Alexander's campaign historian ]; Alexander's generals ] and ]; ], a junior officer on the campaigns; and Onesicritus, Alexander's chief helmsman. These works have been lost, but later works based on these ] survive. The five main surviving accounts are by ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name=grxxii/> | |||
| ==Ancestry== | |||
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| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Refbegin}} | |||
| {{Cnote|i|See for instance<ref name=H86/><ref name=CR03/><ref name=pomeroy1/><ref>Hammond, pp. 12–13.</ref><ref>A. R. Burn, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Empire'', Macmillan, 1948</ref><ref>George Cawkwell, ''Philip of Macedon'', Faber & Faber, London, 1978</ref><ref>Francois Chamoux, ''Hellenistic Civilization'', Blackwell Publishing Professional, 2002</ref><ref>Victor Ehrenberg, ''The Greek State'', Methuen, 2000</ref><ref>Malcolm Errington, ''A History of Macedonia'', University of California Press, February 1993</ref><ref>John V.A. Fine, ''The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History'', Harvard University Press, 1983</ref><ref>Robin Lane Fox, ''Alexander the Great''</ref><ref>Jonathan M. Hall, ''Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity'', Cambridge University Press, 1998</ref><ref>N G L Hammond, ''A History of Greece to 323 BC'', Cambridge University, 1986</ref><ref>Archer Jones, ''The Art of War in Western World'', University of Illinois Press, 2000</ref><ref>Robin Osborne, ''Greek History'', Routledge, 2004</ref><ref>Chester G. Starr, ''A History of the Ancient World'', Oxford University Press, 1991</ref><ref>Arnold J. Toynbee, ''The Greeks and Their Heritages'', Oxford University Press, 1981</ref><ref>Ulrich Wilcken, ''Alexander the Great''</ref><ref>Ian Worthington, ''Alexander the Great'', Routledge, 2002.</ref> and{{cref|v}}{{cref|vi}}.}} | |||
| {{Cnote|ii| By the time of his death, he had conquered the entire ], adding it to Macedon's European territories; according to some modern writers, this was most of the world then known to the ancient Greeks (the ']').<ref name=danforth/><ref name=stoneman/> An approximate view of the world known to Alexander can be seen in ]'s map, see ].}} | |||
| {{Cnote|iii|For instance, ] supposedly ranked Alexander as the greatest general;<ref>Goldsworthy, pp. 327–328.</ref> Julius Caesar wept on seeing a statue of Alexander, since he had achieved so little by the same age;<ref name="Plutarch, Caesar, 11"/> ] consciously posed as the 'new Alexander';<ref>Holland, pp. 176–183.</ref> the young ] also encouraged comparisons with Alexander.<ref>Barnett, p. 45.</ref>}} | |||
| {{Cnote|iv| The name ''Αλέξανδρος'' derives from the Greek words ''αλέξω'' (to defend, protect) and ''ανήρ'' (man; genitive case ''ανδρός''), and means "protector of men."<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2009-12-11|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Alexander&searchmode=none|title=Alexander|publisher=]}}</ref>}} | |||
| {{Cnote|v|"In the early 5th century the royal house of Macedon, the Temenidae was recognised as Greek by the Presidents of the Olympic Games. Their verdict was and is decisive. It is certain that the Kings considered themselves to be of Greek descent from Heracles son of Zeus."<ref name=H86/> | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Cnote|vi|"AEACIDS Descendants of Aeacus, son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, eponymous (see the term) to the island of that name. His son was Peleus, father of Achilles, whose descendants (real or supposed) called themselves Aeacids: thus Pyrrhus and Alexander the Great."<ref name=CR03/> }} | |||
| {{Cnote|vii|There have been, since the time, many suspicions that Paunsanias was actually hired to murder Philip. Suspicion has fallen upon Alexander, Olympias and even the newly crowned Persian Emperor, Darius III. All three of these people had motive to have Philip murdered.<ref name=Fox72-73/>}} | |||
| {{Refend}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| ===Notes=== | |||
| {{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= | |||
| <!-- List of named references in alphabetic order (grouped by 1st letter) --> | |||
| <ref name=Aelian>Aelian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AelXII7>Aelian, ''Varia Historia'' </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AIII16>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AMD>{{cite journal |author=Oldach DW, Richard RE, Borza EN, Benitez RM |title=A mysterious death |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=338 |issue=24 |pages=1764–1769 |year=1998 |month=June |pmid=9625631 |url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=short&pmid=9625631&promo=ONFLNS19 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199806113382411}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=appian>Appian, ''History of the Syrian Wars'', §10 and §11 at </ref> | |||
| <ref name=ashrafian>{{cite journal |author=Ashrafian, H|title=The death of Alexander the Great—a spinal twist of fate |journal=J Hist Neurosci |volume=13 |pages=138–142 |year=2004 |doi=10.1080/0964704049052157 |pmid=15370319 |issue=2}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVI27>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVI29>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII11>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII14>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII19>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII27>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII29>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII4>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=AVII8>Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=BriefLife81>Gergel, p. 81.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=BriefLife99>Gergel, p. 99.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=BriefLife120>Gergel, p. 120.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=CR03>Chamoux, François and Roussel, Michel. ''Hellenistic Civilization''. Blackwell Publishing, 2003, p. 396, ISBN 0631222421.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=danforth>Danforth, pp38, 49, 167</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Depuydt>{{cite journal |author=Depuydt L |title=The Time of Death of Alexander the Great: 11 June 323 BC, ca. 4:00-5:00 PM |journal=Die Welt des Orients |volume=28|pages=117–135}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name="DiodXVI">Diodorus Siculus, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=DSXVII77>Diodorus Siculus, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=DSXVII114>Diodorus Siculus </ref> | |||
| <ref name=DSXVII117>Diodorus Siculus </ref> | |||
| <ref name=DSXVII118>Diodorus Siculus </ref> | |||
| <ref name=DSXVIII4>Diodorus Siculus, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=Fox72-73>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', pp. 72–73.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g1>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 1–2.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g4>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', p. 4.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g15>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 15–16.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g20>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp20–21</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g21>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', p. 21.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g23>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 23–24.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g24>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 24–26.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g26>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 26–29.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g29>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 29–45.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=g56>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. 56–59.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=grimal>Grimal, p. 382.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=grxxii>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. ''xxii–xxviii''.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=gxii>Green, ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age'', pp. ''xii–xix''.</ref> | |||
| <ref name="H83">{{cite book|last=Hammond |first=N. G. L.|title=Sources for Alexander the Great|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1983|pages=72–73|isbn=9780521714716|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gay_i14p9oEC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=%22statue+of+Xerxes%22+alexander&source=bl&ots=JajY84CQZ0&sig=nZnldACxC58Z4Clch7cdlK4PHEY&hl=en&ei=px0BS8ydFcqJkQXbqNSADA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=H86>Hammond, N.G.L. ''A History of Greece to 323 BC''. Cambridge University, 1986, p. 516.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Holt3>Holt, p. 3.</ref> | |||
| <ref name="I, 1">Arrian, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind118>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|pages=118–121|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind124>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|pages=124–125|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind126>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|pages=126–127|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind129>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|pages=129–130|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind137>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|pages=137–138|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC&pg=PA134&dq=Malloi++Alexander&sig=Xvc-CeaQxzHb6-MqkbsZ_EhAeHM#PPA138,M1 | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Ind141>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India |author=Tripathi|page=141|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbrcVcT-GbUC | isbn=9788120800182 | year=1999 | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=keay82>Keay, pp. 82–85.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=k101>Keay, pp. 101–109.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=M33-34-R>Renault, pp. 33–34.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=M50-51-R>Renault, pp. 50–51.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=M51-R>Renault, p. 51.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=M54-R>Renault, p. 54.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=McCarty27>McCarty, p. 27.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=murphy>Murphy, p. 17.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=N10-M>McCarty, p. 10.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=N30-31-M>McCarty, pp. 30–31.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=N31-M>McCarty, p. 31.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=P21-B>Bose, p. 21.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=P27>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=P72>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=P75>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=P75-B>Bose, p. 75.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=P76>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=P96-Bose>Bose, p. 96.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA2>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA3>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA4>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA5>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA6>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA7>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA8>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA9>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA37>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA45>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA46>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA62>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=PA77>Plutarch, </ref> | |||
| <ref name=plu>{{cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pyrrhus*.html |title=Life of Pyrrhus |author=Plutarch|publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |accessdate=14 November 2009}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name="Plutarch, Caesar, 11">Plutarch, Caesar, 11</ref> | |||
| <ref name=pomeroy1>Pomeroy ''et al.''</ref> | |||
| <ref name=R64-F>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 64.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=R65-F>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 65.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=R65-66-F>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', pp. 65–66.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=R68-F>Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 68.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=ref1>{{cite web|accessdate=20 May 2008|url=http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no12/03-0288.htm|title=Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name="Renault, p. 28">Renault, p. 28.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=Renault47-49>Renault, pp. 47–49.</ref> | |||
| <ref name="Renault, p. 72">Renault, p. 72.</ref> | |||
| <ref name=sarco1>{{cite web|url=http://www.greece.org/alexandria/alexander/pages/location.html |title=HEC |publisher=Greece.org |accessdate=18 July 2009}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=sarco2>{{cite web|url=http://www.greece.org/alexandria/alexander/pages/aftermath.html |title=HEC |publisher=Greece.org |accessdate=18 July 2009}}</ref> | |||
| <ref name=stoneman>Stoneman, p2</ref> | |||
| }} | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| ===Primary sources=== | |||
| * Arrian, ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''The Campaigns of Alexander''). | |||
| ** Translated by ]: {{Cite book|publisher=Penguin|year=1976 |isbn=0140442537|author=Arrian ; translated|title=The campaigns of Alexander}} | |||
| * Curtius Rufus, ''Historiae Alexandri Magni'' (''History of Alexander the Great''). | |||
| ** Online version: {{cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Curtius/home.html |title=Curtius Rufus, History of Alexander the Great |publisher=penelope.uchicago.edu |accessdate=16 November 2009}} {{En icon}} | |||
| * Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'', (''Library of History''). | |||
| ** Online version: {{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Diod.+toc |title=Diodorus Siculus, Library |publisher=perseus.tufts.edu |accessdate=14 November 2009}} {{En icon}} | |||
| ** Translated by C.H. Oldfather (1989). | |||
| * Justin, ''Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus''. | |||
| ** Online version: {{cite web|url=http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/english/index.html |title=Justin: Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus |publisher=forumromanum.org |accessdate=14 November 2009}} {{En icon}} | |||
| ** Translated by Rev. John Selby Watson (1853). | |||
| * Plutarch, ''Alexander''. | |||
| ** Online version: {{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plut.+Caes.+toc |title=Plutarch, Alexander (English).: Alexander (ed. Bernadotte Perrin) |publisher=perseus.tufts.edu |accessdate=14 November 2009}} {{En icon}} | |||
| ** Translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1919). | |||
| * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', ''Fortuna Alexandri'' (''On the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander''). | |||
| ** Online version: {{cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Fortuna_Alexandri*/home.html |title=Plutarch, On the Fortune of Alexander |publisher=penelope.uchicago.edu |accessdate=14 November 2009}} {{En icon}} | |||
| ** Translated by Bill Thayer. | |||
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| *{{citebook|authorlink=Peter Green (historian)|last=Green|first=Peter|title=Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age|publisher=Orion Books|year=2007|isbn=9780753824139|ISBN-status=May be invalid - please double check}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Greene|first=Robert|title=The 48 Laws of Power|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2000|page=351|isbn=0140280197}} | |||
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| *{{cite book|author=Holland, T.|title=Rubicon: Triumph and Tragedy in the Roman Republic |year=2003 |publisher=Abacus|isbn=9780349115634}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Holt, Frank Lee|title=Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions|year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0520238818}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Keay |first=John |title=India: A History |publisher=Grove Press |year=2001 |isbn=0802137970}} | |||
| *{{citebook|authorlink=Robin Lane Fox|last=Lane Fox|first=Robin|title=Alexander the Great|publisher=Allen Lane|year=1973|isbn=0860077071}} | |||
| *{{citebook|last=Lane Fox|first=Robin|title=The Search for Alexander|publisher=Little Brown & Co. Boston|year=1980|isbn=0316291080}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Goldsworthy |first=A. |title=The Fall of Carthage |publisher=Cassel |year=2003 |isbn=0304366420}} | |||
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| *{{cite book|last=McCarty |first=Nick |title=Alexander the Great |publisher=Penguin |year=2004 |isbn=0670042684|ISBN-status=May be invalid - please double check}} | |||
| *{{cite book |title=A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric |first=James Jerome|last=Murphy |coauthors=Richard A. Katula, Forbes I. Hill, Donovan J. Ochs |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |year=2003 |page=17 |isbn=1880393352}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Nandan, Y and Bhavan, BV|title=British Death March Under Asiatic Impulse: Epic of Anglo-Indian Tragedy in Afghanistan |isbn=8172763018 |year=2003|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|location=Mumbai}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Narain, AK|title=Alexander the Great: Greece and Rome–12 |year=1965}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Daniel Ogden |chapter=Alexander's Sex Life|title=Alexander the Great: A New History|editor=Alice Heckel, Waldemar Heckel, Lawrence A. Tritle |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2009 |isbn=1405130822}} | |||
| *{{cite book|first=James Bissett|last=Pratt|title=The Pilgrimage of Buddhism and a Buddhist Pilgrimage |year=1996 |publisher=Laurier Books |isbn=8120611969}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Pomeroy, S.|coauthors=Burstein, S.; Dolan, W.; Roberts, J.|year=1998|title=Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195097424}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Renault |first=Mary |title=The Nature of Alexander the Great |publisher=Penguin |year=2001 |isbn=014139076X}} | |||
| *{{cite book |title=International dictionary of historic places |author=Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, K. A. Berney, Paul E. Schellinger |editor=] |year=1994 |isbn=9781884964036 |publisher=Chicago ; Fitzroy Dearborn, 1994-1996.}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Sabin, P; van Wees, H; Whitby, M|title=The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare: Greece, the Hellenistic World and the Rise of Rome |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521782732|year=2007}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Sacks|first=David|title=Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World |publisher=Constable and Co. |isbn=0094752702|year=1995}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Stoneman|first=Richard|title=Alexander the Great |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415319323 |year=2004}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Studniczka |first=Franz |title=Achäologische Jahrbook 9 |year=1894}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Tripathi, Rama Shankar|title=History of Ancient India|year=1999|isbn=9788120800182}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, K. A. Berney, Paul E. Schellinger|title=International dictionary of historic places|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1994|isbn=1884964036}} | |||
| *{{citebook|last=Wilcken|first=Ulrich|authorlink=Ulrich Wilcken|origyear=1932|title=Alexander the Great|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=1997|isbn=0393003817}} | |||
| *{{citebook|last=Worthington|first=Ian|title=Alexander the Great|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0415291879|year=2003}} | |||
| *{{citebook|last=Worthington|first=Ian|title=Alexander the Great: Man And God|publisher=Pearson|isbn=9781405801621|year=2004}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Sisterlinks|n=no|wikt=no}} | |||
| {{Wikisource1911Enc|Alexander III}} | |||
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| * | |||
| {{Start}} | |||
| {{S-hou|Argead dynasty||356 BC||323 BC}} | |||
| {{S-bef|before=]}} | |||
| {{S-ttl|title=]|years=336–323 BC}} | |||
| {{S-aft|rows=4|after=] & ]}} | |||
| {{S-bef|rows=2|before=]}} | |||
| {{S-ttl|title=]|years=330–323 BC}} | |||
| |- | |||
| {{S-ttl|title=]|years=332–323 BC}} | |||
| {{S-bef|before=New Title}} | |||
| {{S-ttl|title=King of Asia|years=331–323 BC}} | |||
| {{End}} | |||
| {{MacedonKings}} | |||
| {{Hellenistic rulers}} | |||
| {{Ancient Greece topics}} | |||
| {{Plutarch}} | |||
| {{Ancient Greek and Roman Wars|state=collapsed}} | |||
| {{Empires}}<!-- Metadata: see ]--> | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| |NAME = Alexander the Great | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Alexander III, Μέγας Aλέξανδρος (Greek) | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION = Greek military commander | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH = 20 July 356 BC | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH = ], Macedon | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH = 10 June 323 BC | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH = ]}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Great, Alexander The}} | |||
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Revision as of 01:50, 2 June 2010
Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), the king of Macedonia that conquered the Persian empire and annexed it to Macedonia, is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He is the first king to be called "the Great."
Alexander is supposed to have been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest. Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians, Alexander liked his liquor, but his fondness for wine also caused some of his outbursts of rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the lyre, poetry and hunting, but what he truly wanted in his life, was a glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch.
Olympia,
mother of Alexander the Great
Golden medal, Albukir treasure Archaeologic Museum, Salonika, Greece Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great
Alexander, born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympia, a princess of Epirus. Philip and Olympia wanted nothing less than the best for their son, so when he was 13, his parents hired Aristotle to be his personal tutor. Alexander was trained together with other children of the nobility at Aristotles Nyphaeon. It is here that Alexander met Hephastion, his future best friend and alter ego. Aristotle gave Alexander a thorough training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of the utmost importance for Alexander in his later life. The two later became estranged, due to their difference of opinion on the status of foreigners; Aristotle saw them as barbarians, while Alexander sought to unite Macedonians and foreigners.
In 340 BC, when Philip went to Byzantium to fight rebels, Alexander, a mere 16 years old, was left in charge of Macedonia as regent, with the power to rule in Philip's name in his absence. That Alexander was given such a position at such a young age indicates that he was already accomplished in battle. But Alexander never got along well with his father, although Philip was proud of Alexander for the Bucephalus incident. Alexander had always been closer to Olympia than to Philip. Philip and Olympia also did not get along all that well, owing primarily to Olympia's non-Macedonian heritage.
The family essentially was split apart irreparably when Philip married a woman named Cleopatra, a Macedonian. At the wedding banquet, Cleopatra's father made a remark about Philip fathering a "legitimate" heir, i.e., one that was pure Macedonian. Alexander took exception and threw his cup at the man, and some sources say Alexander killed him. Enraged, Philip stood up and charged at Alexander, only to trip and fall on his face in his drunken stupor. Alexander, rather upset at the scene, is to have shouted:
"Here is the man who was making ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even cross from one table to another without losing his balance."
When Philip divorced Olympia Alexander fled. Although allowed to return, he remained isolated until Philip was assassinated (some think that Olympia may have even had a role in Philip's murder), in the summer of 336 BC. ALEXANDER ON THE MACEDONIAN THRONE
Alexander Rondanini
Glyptothek
Munich, Germany
THE CRASH OF THE GREEK RESISTANCE
Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne when his father died. Once in power, he disposed quickly of all conspirators and domestic enemies by ordering their execution. Then he descended on Thessaly, where partisans of independence had gained ascendancy, and restored Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC he had reestablished his position in Greece and was elected by a congress of states at Corinth.
But, Greek cities, like Athens and Thebes, which had pledged allegiance to Philip, were unsure if they wished to do the same for a twenty-year-old boy. Moreover, theHellenes considered Macedonian domination in the Greek states as an alien rule, imported from outside by the members of other tribes, the, as Plutarch says, allophyloi (Plutarchus, Vita Arati, 16). Likewise, northern barbarians that Philip had subdued were threatening to break away from Macedonia and wreak havoc in the north. Alexander's advisors suggested that he let Athens and Thebes go and to be gentle with the barbarians to prevent a revolt. However, in 335 BC, Alexander campaigned toward the Danube, to secure Macedonia's northern frontier. He carried out a successful campaign against the defecting Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. Alexander marched quickly north and drove the rebelling barbarians beyond the Danube River and out of the way. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians.
On rumors of his death, a revolt broke out in Greece with the support of leading Athenians. Alexander marched south covering 240 miles in two weeks. Arrian related the story of how Alexander dealt with Thebes and Athens. There were rumors in these cities that Alexander had been killed, and that the time was right for them to separate themselves from Macedonia. Instead, in the fall of 335 BC, Alexander marched up to the gates of Thebes, and let them know that it was not too late for them to change their minds. The Thebans responded with a small contingent of soldiers, which Alexander repelled with archers and light infantrymen. The next day, Alexander's general, Perdiccas, attacked the gates. Perdiccas broke through and into the city, and Alexander moved the rest of his force in behind to prevent the Thebans from cutting Perdiccas off from the rest. The Macedonians then stormed the city, killing almost everyone in sight, women and children included. They plundered, sacked, burned and razed Thebes, as an example to the rest of Greece. Only the temples and the house of the poet Pindar were spared from distraction. Athens then quickly rethought its decision to abandon Alexander. Greece remained under Macedonian control.
THE BATTLES OF GRANICUS AND ISSUS
Alexander's Empire at its height
Alexander began his war against Persia in the spring of 334 BC by crossing the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) with an army of 35,000 Macedonians and 7,600 Greeks. He threw his spear from his ship to the coast and it stuck in the ground. He stepped onto the shore, pulled his weapon from the soil, and declared that the whole of Asia would be won by the spear. His chief officers, all Macedonians, included Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.
The Macedonian army soon encountered the Persian army under King Darius III at the crossing of the river Granicus, near the ancient city of Troy. Alexander attacked an army of Persians and Greek hoplites (a heavily armed foot soldiers of ancient Greece) who distinguished themselves on the side of the Persians against the Macedonians. Alexander's forces defeated the enemy (totaling 40,000 men) and, according to tradition, lost only 110 men.
Then he turned northward to Gordion, home of the famous Gordian Knot. The legend behind the ancient knot was that the man who could untie it was destined to rule the entire world. Alexander simply slashed the knot with his sword and unraveled it.
Detail from the Alexander mosaic
From the House of the Faun, Pompeii, c. 80 B.C.
National Archaeologic Museum, Naples, Italy
Continuing to advance southward, in November of 333 BC, Alexander met Darius in battle for the second time at a mountain pass at Issus, in northeastern Syria. The size of Darius's army is unknown but although the Persian army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, the narrow field of battle allowed Alexander to defeat the Persians. The Battle of Issus ended in a great victory for Alexander. Cut off from his base, Darius fled northward, abandoning his mother, wife, and children to Alexander, who treated them with the respect due to royalty.
In the next year, he marched down the Phoenician coast and received the surrenders of all of the major cities there except for Tyre. A seven-month siege of the city followed, and the Tyrians eventually surrendered to Alexander. Then he continued south into Egypt after he had secured the entire Aegean coast.
ALEXANDER IN EGYPT
Alexander Rondanini
Glyptothek
Munich, Germany
Alexander entered Egypt in 331 BC. When he arrived, he was welcomed, and he ordered a city to be designed and founded in his name at the mouth of the river Nile. Alexandria would become one of the major cultural centers in the Mediterranean world in the following centuries.
In the spring of 331 Alexander made a pilgrimage to the great temple and oracle of Amon-Ra, Egyptian god of the sun, whom the Greeks identified with Zeus. The earlier Egyptian pharaohs were believed to be sons of Amon-Ra and Alexander, the new ruler of Egypt, wanted the god to acknowledge him as his son. The pilgrimage apparently was successful, and it may have confirmed in him a belief in his own divine origin.
While in Egypt, Alexander spontaneously decided to make the dangerous trip across the desert to visit the oracle at the temple of Zeus Ammon. On the way, he was blessed with abundant rain, and he was guided across the desert by ravens. At the temple, Alexander spoke to the oracle about matters that are unclear to most historians. Many sources, however, speculated that the priest told Alexander that he was the son of Zeus Ammon and that he was destined to rule the world.
He was then made pharaoh voluntarily by the Egyptians, who despised living under Persian rule. He exchanged letters with Darius while he was in Egypt, and the Persian offered a truce with Alexander with a gift of several western provinces of the Persian Empire, but Alexander refused to make peace unless he could have the whole empire. In the middle of 331 BC Alexander marched back to Persia to find Darius.
THE END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
Alexander reorganized his forces at Tyre and started for Babylon with an army of 40,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry. He conquered the lands between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and found the Persian army which, according to the exaggerated accounts of antiquity, was said to number a million men at the plains of Gaugamela (near modern Irbil, Iraq). The Macedonians spotted the lights from Persian campfires one night, and they encouraged Alexander to lead his attack under cover of darkness. He refused to take advantage of their situation because he wanted to defeat Darius in an equally matched battle so that the Persian king would never again dare to raise an army against the Macedonians. The two armies met on the battlefield the next morning on October 1, 331 BC, and the Macedonian forces swept through the Persian army and slaughtered them. Darius fled as he had done at Issus to the mountain residence of Ecbatana, while Alexander occupied Babylon, the imperial capital Susa, and Persepolis. Henceforth, Alexander was proclaimed king of Persia, and to win the support of the Persian aristocracy he appointed mainly Persians as provincial governors. After four months, the Macedonians burned the royal palace to the ground thus completing the end of the ancient Persian Empire.
Yet a major uprising in Greece had Alexander so deeply worried, that after hearing that the rebellion had failed, he proclaimed the end of the Hellenic Crusade and discharged the all Greek forces.
Alexander continued his pursuit of Darius for hundreds of miles from Persepolis. When he finally caught up to him, he found the Persian king dead in his coach, assassinated by his own men. Alexander had the assassin executed and gave Darius a royal funeral.
MACEDONIAN NOBLES RESISTANCE AND THE MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE
During the reign of Alexander the Great, the Macedonians spoke their own native language, as the native language language of Alexander the Great was not understood by the ancient Greeks (Quintus Curtius Rufus, VI, 9, 37 ). Similarly, Plutarch points out that Alexander spoke to his fellow countrymen in Macedonian: "he called out aloud to his guards in the Macedonian language, which was a certain sign of some great disturbance in him" (Plutarch, Alexander, 51). Still, Alexander spoke also Greek, loved Homer, and respected his tutor Aristotle. At the same time though, there is much evidence that generally he was not fond of the Greeks of his day. The chronicler Curtius, describing the atmosphere before a battle, gave a notion of the different attitudes of the great commander, who psychognostically applied the principle of identity to every ethnic group in his army. In respect to the various motives for taking part in that war, Curtius wrote:
"Riding to the front line he named the soldiers and they responded from spot to spot where they were lined up. The Macedonians, who had won so many battles in Europe and set off to invade Asia ... got encouragement from him - he reminded them of their permanent values. They were the world's liberators and one day they would pass the frontiers set by Hercules and Patter Liber. They would subdue all races on Earth. Bactrius and India would become Macedonian provinces. Getting closer to the Greeks, he reminded them that those were the people who provoked war with Greece, ... those were the people that burned their temples and cities ... As the Illirians and Trakians lived mainly from plunder, he told them to look at the enemy line glittering in gold ..." Q. C. Rufus, Alexander III, 10, 4-10
After all, he thoroughly destroyed Thebes. Therefore, his empire is correctly called Macedonian, not Greek, for he won it with an army of 35,000 Macedonians and only 7,600 Greeks.
Alexander's increasingly Oriental behavior led to trouble with Macedonian nobles and some Greeks. In 330 BC a series of allegations was brought against some of Alexander's officers concerning a plot to murder him. Alexander tortured and executed his friend, Philotas (commander of the cavalry) the accused leader of the conspiracy, and several other high-ranking officials in order to eliminate the possibility of an attempt on his life. The question of the use of the ancient Macedonian language was raised by Alexander himself during the trial of Philotas. Alexander has said to Philotas:
"'The Macedonians are about to pass judgment upon you; I wish to know whether you will use their native tongue in addressing them.' Philotas replied: 'Besides the Macedonians there are many present who, I think, will more easily understand what I shall say if I use the same language which you have employed.' Than said the king: 'Do you not see how Philotas loathes even the language of his fatherland? For he alone disdains to learn it. But let him by all means speak in whatever way he desires, provided that you remember that he holds out customs in as much abhorrence as our language.'" Quintus Curtius Rufus, Alexander, VI. ix. 34-36
The trial of Philotas took place in Asia before a multiethnic public, which has accepted Greek as their common language. Alexander spoke Macedonian with his conationals, but used Greek in addressing West Asians. Like Illirian and Tracian, ancient Macedonian was not recorded in writing. However, on the bases of about a hundred glosses, Macedonian words noted and explained by Greek writers, some place names from Macedonia, and a few names of individuals, most scholars believe that ancient Macedonian was a separate Indo-European language. Evidence from phonology indicates that the ancient Macedonian language was distinct from ancient Greek and closer to the Tracian and Illirian languages.
Another old-fashioned noble, Cleitus, was killed by Alexander himself in a drunken brawl. Heavy drinking was a cherished tradition at the Macedonian court when Alexander ran him through with a spear. Although he mourned his friend excessively and nearly committed suicide when he realized what he had done, all of Alexander's associates thereafter feared his paranoia and dangerous temper. Alexander next demanded that Europeans follow the Oriental etiquette of prostrating themselves before the king - which he knew was regarded as an act of worship by Greeks. But resistance by Macedonian officers and by the Greek Callisthenes (a nephew of Aristotle who had joined the expedition as the official historian of the crusade) defeated the attempt. The Greek Callisthenes was soon executed on a charge of conspiracy.
As the Macedonians marched into Parthia, the tone of the journey changed. Alexander had adopted the Persian style of dress, rather than his traditional Macedonian clothing, and his troops were unhappy with him. After all, up until that point, the Macedonian soldiers respected him immensly, as they saw him as a partner working for the common good of all Macedonians, the nobles and the masses. He was well known for calling on his fellow countrymen to join him in battle by their own will:
"However he told them he would keep none of them with him against their will, they might go if they pleased; he should merely enter his protest, that when on his way to make the Macedonians the masters of the world, he was left alone with a few friends and volunteers. This is almost word for word as he wrote in a letter to Antipater, where he adds, that when he had thus spoken to them, they all cried out, they would go along with him whithersoever it was his pleasure to lead them." Plutarch, Alexander, 47 ALEXANDER IN INDIA
Marble head of Alexander
Acropolis Museum
Athens, Greece
In the spring of 327 BC, Alexander and his army marched into India invading Punjab as far as the river Hyphasis (modern Beas). At this point the Macedonians rebelled and refused to go farther.
The greatest of Alexander's battles in India was against Porus, one of the most powerful Indian leaders, at the river Hydaspes. On July 326 BC, Alexander's army crossed the heavily defended river in dramatic fashion during a violent thunderstorm to meet Porus' forces. The Indians were defeated in a fierce battle, even though they fought with elephants, which the Macedonians had never before seen. Alexander captured Porus and, like the other local rulers he had defeated, allowed him to continue to govern his territory. Alexander even subdued an independent province and granted it to Porus as a gift.
In this battle Alexander's horse, Bucephalus, was wounded and died. Alexander had ridden Bucephalus into every one of his battles in Greece and Asia, so when it died, he was grief-stricken and founded a city in his horse's name.
Alexander's next goal was to reach the to travel south down the rivers Hydaspes and Indus so that they might reach the Ocean on the southern edge of the world. The army rode down the rivers on the rivers on rafts and stopped to attack and subdue villages along the way. During this trip, Alexander sought out the Indian philosophers, the Brahmins, who were famous for their wisdom, and debated them on philosophical issues. He became legendary for centuries in India for being both a wise philosopher and a fearless conqueror.
One of the villages in which the army stopped belonged to the Malli, who were said to be one of the most warlike of the Indian tribes. Alexander was wounded several times in this attack, most seriously when an arrow pierced his breastplate and his ribcage. The Macedonian officers rescued him in a narrow escape from the village. Alexander and his army reached the mouth of the Indus in July 325 BC and turned westward for home. ALEXANDER'S MARIAGE
In the spring of 324, Alexander held a great victory celebration at Susa. He and 80 close associates married Iranian noblewomen. In addition, he legitimized previous so-called marriages between soldiers and native women and gave them rich wedding gifts, no doubt to encourage such unions. When he discharged the disabled Macedonian veterans a little later, after defeating a mutiny by the estranged and exasperated Macedonian army, they had to leave their wives and children with him. Because national prejudices had prevented the unification of his empire, his aim was apparently to prepare a long-term solution (he was only 32) by breeding a new body of high nobles of mixed blood and also creating the core of a royal army attached only to himself. After his death, nearly all the noble Susa marriages were dissolved. He established training programs to teach Persians about Greek and Macedonian culture, and he married Roxane, a Persian. ALEXANDER'S DEATH
We will probably never know the truth, of Alexander's mysterious death, even though new theories are still coming out. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king and the great conqueror, died at the age of 33, on June 10, 323 BC. Three days earlier, on the 7th of June, 323 BC, the Macedonians were allowed to file past their leader for the last time before he finally succumbed to the illness. Alexander died without designating a successor. His death opened the anarchic age of the Diadochi and the Macedonian Empire will eventually cease to exist. Copyright © 1996-2000 Macedonia.org, All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Feedback: Feedback.