Alexander the Great - The Greatest Greek Ruler

Alexander III of Macedon was the king of Ancient Greece. Due to his great successes and occupation of a large empire, he is famous as Alexander the Great. During his 13 years of reign, he conquered Egypt, Persia, and a large part of Asia and North Africa. He is known as one of the greatest military generals in human history.

Early Life

Alexander was born on 20^th July 356 BC in Pella (then the capital of the Macedonian kingdom and now in Greece). His father, Philip II of Macedon, united all parts of Greece under a single leadership. In his childhood, Alexander learned the traits of the noble youth of Macedon, including reading, horse-riding, hunting, and fighting. At 13, Philip appointed the great scholar Aristotle as his tutor. Alexander learned morals, philosophy, medicine, logic, religion, etc. from Aristotle. His later victories were positively affected by the teachings of Aristotle.

Alexander’s victories started at 16 when he crushed the rebellion in Thrace. In 338 BC, Alexander took part in the Battle of Chaeronea against the southern Greek city-states of Athens, Thebes, and their allies. Under the leadership of Philip II and Alexander, the Macedonians defeated their rivals and occupied the whole of southern Greece except the Kingdom of Sparta. 

Alexander As King

In 336 BC, Alexander became the king of Macedonia after the assassination of his father, Philip II, at the hands of his bodyguard. Alexander was just 20 years old at that time. He initially consolidated his power by killing some of his close relatives and other potential threats, including his cousin Amyntas IV, two Macedonian princes, and others. He also suppressed the rebellion in different Greek areas, which erupted after the death of Philip II. Consequently, the Greeks recognized Alexander as their Hegemon (leader), and he commanded their war against Persia.

Before moving toward Persia, Alexander decided to end the problems towards his northern borders. In 335 BC, he conquered the areas of Thrace (now in northeast Greece, the southern half of Bulgaria, and European Turkey) and Illyria (now in Albania) and later defeated the revolt by Thebes. 

Victories Against Persian Empire

At that time, the Persian Empire was controlling Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, and several other areas. Alexander started his campaign against the Persian Empire from Asia Minor, where he fought the first battle at Troy (north-west Turkey) in 334 BC, known as the Battle of the Granicus. Alexander had more than 35,000 men, while Persians had around 25,000 soldiers. The battle ended in favor of Alexander, and he captured half of Asia Minor. In the same year, Alexander occupied the western coast of Asia Minor after the two encounters known as the Siege of Miletus and the Siege of Halicarnassus. 

In 333 BC, Alexander fought the Battle of Issus against the Achaemenid Persian Empire in Issus (Hatay, Turkey). The Persian Army was more than double the Macedonian army. However, the Macedonians fought well under the leadership of Alexander and defeated the much larger army. After this victory, Alexander controlled the whole of Asia Minor and the northern Levant. Alexander also captured the family of the Persian king after this victory. In 332 BC, Alexander occupied the entire Levant after the successful Siege of Tyre. Tyre is in modern-day Lebanon.

In 332 BC, Alexander started his conquest of Egypt with the successful Siege of Gaza, after which he assassinated most of his opponents, including the commander of the fortress of Gaza, Batis. Later, Alexander was received in Egypt very warmly as a liberator, as it was under the occupation of Persia before Alexander.

In 331 BC, Alexander fought the decisive battle against the Persian empire at Gaugamela (near Mosul, Iraq), known as the Battle of Gaugamela. Alexander had around 50,000 soldiers, while the Persians were double that number. The Greeks defeated the Persians after killing nearly half of their soldiers. Alexander occupied the whole of modern-day Iraq after this battle. It was a decisive battle because the Persians could not bring a large army against Alexander ever again.

In the same year, Alexander again remained victorious in the Battle of Uxian Defile after defeating the western Uxian tribes of Persia. He occupied modern-day western Iran after this battle. In 330 BC, Alexander occupied the capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis, and around half of Persia after defeating a small Persian army in the Battle of the Persian Gate. This battle marks the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (the first Persian Empire), founded around 550 BC by Cyrus the Great.

In 329 BC, Alexander captured the Persian province Sogdiana (southern Central Asia between the rivers of the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya) after the successful Siege of the Cyropolis despite stiff resistance. In 327 BC, Alexander occupied the whole Sogdiana area after a few small battles, which completed the Alexander conquest of the Persian Empire. 

Indian Campaign of Alexander

Alexander’s campaign in India started against the highlander tribe of Kambojas, whose different subtribes were residing in modern-day Kunar (Afghanistan), Panjkora, Swat, and Buner (all three in today’s Pakistan). He had to fight fierce battles against this tribe, but he defeated them in 326 BC. This campaign is known as the Cophen campaign.

In 326 AD, Alexander fought the most severe battle of his Indian campaign against King Porus of Punjab at Mong (now in Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan), known as the Battle of the Hydaspes River. Despite tough resistance from Porus, Alexander won the battle due to his warfare skills. But Alexander was so impressed with the bravery of his opponent that he let Porus remain the ruler of this area in Alexander’s name. Alexander occupied most of Punjab after this victory. 

Alexander’s final campaign in India was the Mallian campaign, which he undertook in 325 BC against the Malli tribe of eastern Punjab. The battle was fought between rivers Jhelum and Chenab (now in Pakistan). Alexander again remained victorious, but he had to suffer severe injuries. It proved to be the last Indian campaign of Alexander because his soldiers refused to move forward for another battle as they were away from their homes for almost ten years. Alexander himself was injured and decided to return to Macedonia. On his way back, he conquered Malhi (now in Multan, Pakistan).

Death & Place in History

In June 323 BC, Alexander died at the age of just 32. The cause of his death was drinking a large quantity of alcohol a few days before. He became seriously ill after this heavy drinking and passed away after spending a few days with a fever and severe pain.

Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military rulers of human history. He destroyed the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire, in 330 BC and thus relieved the Greeks from their worst enemy, which had been battling them in the past to extend its empire. He also conquered most of modern-day Pakistan and was willing to move deeper into India if his soldiers would not mutiny. 

During his ten years of warfare, he never lost a battle and became the King of Macedonia, Persia, Asia, and Pharoah of Egypt (due to occupation of a large part of Asia) at a time. 

He founded the Hellenistic Empire, while the Greek culture flourished in all his occupied areas. He was the last great king of that empire because his successors could not retain the glory any further. All his achievements make him one of the best leaders and military commanders in history.