Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer, and in particular the Iliad; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns. [292], In 39, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt by ordering a temporary floating bridge to be built using ships as pontoons, stretching for over two miles from the resort of Baiae to the neighbouring port of Puteoli. Alexander the Great (article) | Khan Academy [39] The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only. Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III of Macedon, was born in 356 BC and became the King of Macedon in 336 BC. According to Curtius, "Not only did Alexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubble. [309] He then travelled the known world in search of the Water of Life and Immortality, eventually becoming a prophet. The territory was colonized, and a city, named Alexandropolis, was founded. [83] Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes. On the subsequent advance of the Macedonian king, Taxiles accompanied him with a force of 5,000 men and took part in the Battle of the Hydaspes. Alexander was emboldened to divide his forces, and Ambhi assisted Hephaestion and Perdiccas in constructing a bridge over the Indus where it bends at Hund,[121] supplied their troops with provisions, and received Alexander himself, and his whole army, in his capital city of Taxila, with every demonstration of friendship and the most liberal hospitality. [106] This was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing the aid and support of the Iranian upper classes. [133], Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther, but his general Coenus 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". [144] Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon along with a decree for public mourning. [86], From Babylon, Alexander went to Susa, one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its treasury. The advance was successful and broke Darius's center, causing the latter to flee once again. [153] Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,[230] a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa. When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents. [197] During his lifetime, Alexander carefully curated his image by commissioning works from famous and great artists of the time. [250], Green argues that there is little evidence in ancient sources that Alexander had much carnal interest in women; he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life. Several examples of capitals displaying Ionic influences can be seen as far as Patna, especially with the Pataliputra capital, dated to the 3rd century BC. Alexander, the son of his fourth wife, Olympias, was a bold, headstrong boy of unusual intelligence. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness, which Alexander accepted, and held a great banquet with several thousand of his men. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east. [9][10] He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus). [311], In Hindi and Urdu, the name "Sikandar", derived from the Persian name for Alexander, denotes a rising young talent, and the Delhi Sultanate ruler Aladdin Khalji stylized himself as "Sikandar-i-Sani" (the Second Alexander the Great). [302], Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been depicted in many cultures. His son and successor, Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during his own reign. The Macedonian Lion - History of Macedonia [17] [298], Many of the legends about Alexander derive from his own lifetime, probably encouraged by Alexander himself. [167][168] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". Among Alexander's family, "the king or ruler who ended up dying in his bed was rare," says Philip Freeman, a biographer of Alexander the Great and a classical historian at Luther College in . [263] The temple was designed by Pytheos, one of the architects of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Macedonia And Greece Fight For Rights To Name And Alexander The Great Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned. [29], At the age of 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. [144][244] This event may have contributed to Alexander's failing health and detached mental state during his final months. Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: , romanized:Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great,[a] was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. [252], According to Diodorus Siculus, Alexander accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly, "not wishing to offend the Macedonians",[253] showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body". [305] In this tradition, he was a heroic figure who built a wall to defend against the nations of Gog and Magog. [130], East of Porus's kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the Nanda Empire of Magadha, and further east, the Gangaridai Empire of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. [184], Dissension and rivalry soon affected the Macedonians, however. Conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, The first known person to call Alexander "the Great" was a Roman playwright named, Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S. (2009), A History of Macedonia: Volume III: 336167 B.C. However, Alexander was met with resistance at Gaza. [228][229], He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself. Tomb of Alexander the Great - Wikipedia However, the memorial was found to be dedicated to the dearest friend of Alexander the Great, Hephaestion. 7 Reasons Alexander the Great Was, Well, Great | HowStuffWorks The Greek cities on the western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi, a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. [221] He had a calmer sideperceptive, logical, and calculating. [116], Alexander did not attempt to impose uniform imperial coinage throughout his new conquests. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Persian Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted for 10 years. Alexander has figured in both high and popular culture beginning in his own era to the present day. 336-323 BC. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. Etsy Search for items or shops Close search Skip to Content Sign in UK Locale Picker United Kingdom 0 Basket Back to School Jewellery & Accessories Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Augustus, among others, are noted as having . Why was Alexander the Great called "the Great"? In the winter of 327/326BC, Alexander personally led a campaign against the Aspasioi of the Kunar Valley, the Guraeans of the Guraeus Valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner Valleys. ", Peter Turchin, Thomas D. Hall and Jonathan M. Adams, ", Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, pp 158. During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea, Philip commanded the right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. He then stormed the pass of the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains) which had been blocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury.[87]. Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to be left alive. Their works are lost, but later works based on these original sources have survived. Irish playwright Aubrey Thomas de Vere wrote Alexander the Great, a Dramatic Poem. [17], Alexander's most immediate legacy was the introduction of Macedonian rule to huge new swathes of Asia. [225] His delusions of grandeur are readily visible in his will and in his desire to conquer the world,[153] in as much as he is by various sources described as having boundless ambition,[226][227] an epithet, the meaning of which has descended into a historical clich. [107] The cities' locations reflected trade routes as well as defensive positions. [citation needed] Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence[153] and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,[154] Antipater purportedly arranged for Alexander to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexander's wine-pourer. [47][49][52], News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. [100] The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius. [261], The city of Pella, in modern Jordan, was founded by veterans of Alexander's army, and named it after the city of Pella, in Greece, which was the birthplace of Alexander. It included: The enormous scale of these plans has led many scholars to doubt their historicity. Horns of Ammon - Wikipedia This alternate route turned out to be . [145], On the evening of May 29, Alexander organized a banquet for his army to celebrate the end of the campaign of India and the onset of the invasion of the Arabian Peninsula. [188] Other scholars have proposed that they were invented by later authors within the tradition of the Alexander Romance. Left to fight alone, they were defeated. [81] The Greeks interpreted this message - one that the gods addressed to all pharaohs - as a prophecy.[78]. BRIANT Pierre, Alexandre Le Grand, "Que sais-je? Alexander was the first king to wear the royal diadem, a band of cloth tied around the hair that was to become the symbol of Hellenistic kingship. . [293] As a consequence, the Phalangarii of Legio II Parthica may not have been pikemen, but rather standard battle line troops or possibly Triarii. The common soldiers, anxious about his health, were granted the right to file past him as he silently waved at them. [44], In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus. [195] Alexander personally led the charge in the center, routing the opposing army. [307] Alexander was depicted as performing a Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) many times in subsequent Islamic art and literature. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV, executed. [171] The recent discovery of an enormous tomb in northern Greece, at Amphipolis, dating from the time of Alexander the Great[172] has given rise to speculation that its original intent was to be the burial place of Alexander. [96] The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman. [264] An inscription from the temple, now housed in the British Museum, declares: "King Alexander dedicated [this temple] to Athena Polias. Nicolle, David (2000). [42] Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. These only occasionally quote the letters and it is an open question how reliable such quotations are. [275] On the Silk Road trade routes, Hellenistic culture hybridized with Iranian and Buddhist cultures. Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources as "Sandrokottos"), of relatively humble origin, took control of the Punjab, and with that power base proceeded to conquer the Nanda Empire. [305], The figure of Dhu al-Qarnayn (literally "the Two-Horned One") mentioned in the Quran is believed by scholars to be based on later legends of Alexander. He lived a relatively short life, but his charisma was stronger than death. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. Earlier portraits of Alexander, in heroic style, look more mature than the portraits made after his death, such as this example. There, his closest friend, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning. His troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at the town of Opis. [279][281][282] The Yavanajataka (lit. [185], Diodorus stated that Alexander had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before his death, which are known as Alexander's "last plans". [211] However, some have denied this claim as being used to emphasise the otherworldly and heroic qualities of Alexander. [59], News then reached Alexander that the Illyrian chieftain Cleitus and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against his authority. [35] At Corinth, Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modelled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. The reason is that Alexander the Great wasand still isa powerful symbol of power, military genius, and conquest, whether or not this description of him is historically accurate. Alexander the Great - Wikipedia [284] Julius Caesar dedicated a Lysippean equestrian bronze statue but replaced Alexander's head with his own, while Octavian visited Alexander's tomb in Alexandria and temporarily changed his seal from a sphinx to Alexander's profile. [262], In 334 BC, Alexander the Great donated funds for the completion of the new temple of Athena Polias in Priene, in modern-day western Turkey. [107][260] However, a century or so after Alexander's death, many of the Alexandrias were thriving, with elaborate public buildings and substantial populations that included both Greek and local peoples. [177][178][179] In addition, Leosthenes, also, likened the anarchy between the generals, after Alexander's death, to the blinded Cyclops "who after he had lost his eye went feeling and groping about with his hands before him, not knowing where to lay them". [62] Alexander's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence. [102] The latter were in many cases additionally connected through marriage alliances with the royal Achaemenid family. [196] At the decisive encounter with Darius at Gaugamela, Darius equipped his chariots with scythes on the wheels to break up the phalanx and equipped his cavalry with pikes. In 333 BC Alexander was challenged to untie the knot. [citation needed], Before his death, someone asked Alexander on who would be his designated successor should he die, he responded: "To the strongest one" and even added that there will be funeral games that would played after his death.