He was the son of the king of Macedonia, a small state in northern Greece. Having lived only 32 years, he managed to conquer almost the entire civilized world and change the course of world history. No wonder it is called "Alexander the Great."
Childhood, education and personality development
Alexander of Macedon was born in 356 BC in the city of Pella. According to legend, it was on the night of the birth of the greatest king in history that Herostratus, an ordinary resident of the city of Ephesus, burned the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, which was considered the 7th wonder of the world, from the desire to become famous. The coincidence of these two events was explained as follows: "Artemis was unable to protect her temple because she was busy with the birth of Alexander."
His father was the Macedonian king Philip II. Alexander’s mother, the Olympics, was the daughter of the king of Epiria, that is, a foreigner in Macedonia. The boy did not like his father because he offended his mother, but at the same time tried to be like him - strong and courageous. From childhood, Alexander was brought up, as was then customary, in a Spartan spirit. As a result, Alexander grew up indifferent to pleasures, but stubborn and purposeful.
The famous thinker Aristotle was involved in the education of Alexander. He instilled in the young prince the idea of greatness and developed in him a sharpness of mind. The historian and philosopher Plutarch wrote: "Philip saw that Alexander was stubborn by nature, and when he gets angry, he is not inferior to any violence, but with a reasonable word he can easily be persuaded to make the right decision; therefore, his father tried to convince more than to order."
At the age of 16, Alexander was first entrusted to rule the country. The father went to war and left a son in his place. At this time, an uprising broke out in Macedonia, which young Alexander severely suppressed.
Accession to the throne
Three years later, Philip II married for the fifth time, which spurred family discord. Relatives of Philip's new wife hoped to challenge Alexander’s right to the throne. The king’s young wife was about to give birth to a son, but this never happened. A year after his marriage, Philip was killed by his bodyguard. There were speculations about the involvement of Alexander and his mother in the death of the king, but it was officially recognized that the bodyguard's personal revenge became the motive for the murder. So Alexander became king. He inherited from his father a strong army and claims to dominance in fragmented Greece.
The young king began his reign by executing all relatives who represented at least a potential threat to his place on the throne. His next step was the abolition of taxes for citizens of Macedonia. Thus, he drew the population to his side, but the treasury was empty.
Through the efforts of Philip, much of Greece became dependent on Macedonia. But the rulers of other policies used the death of Philip to declare independence. Alexander did not hesitate and moved south. With the support of the army left by his father, he quickly gained recognition of his hegemonic rights. After that, Alexander convened a congress of the Panellian League and made a decision to start a war against Persia, while becoming the supreme commander of all Greek forces.
Beginning of the 10th anniversary of the wars
Less than two years later, at the head of a relatively small army, consisting mainly of Macedonians, Alexander went on a campaign against Persia. In several battles, the well-trained and disciplined Greek army defeated the significantly superior Persian forces. In 333 BC, a year after the start of the campaign, the main army of Persia, led by Tsar Darius III, opposed Alexander. In a battle near the city of Issa, the Persian army was utterly defeated. Darius himself escaped; many military leaders of the Persians followed his example.
The Macedonian king had the prospect of conquering distant eastern lands, but this was prevented by the risk of resistance in the rear - on the southeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in lands subject to Persia. Alexander deployed the army south in the direction of Egypt. On the way, he had to linger for several months to capture two Persian cities. After a long siege, Tire and Gaza were taken, and their inhabitants were brutally killed. Now Alexander was able to enter Egypt, which welcomed him as a liberator from Persia.
In 331 BC e. Alexander’s army returned to the east, where he met with a huge Persian army, assembled by Darius who was defeated two years ago. The camp of the Persians was lit by thousands of lights, it seemed that it was endless. The military commanders of the army of Alexander proposed to start the battle immediately, without waiting for the Greco-Macedonian warriors to lose their resolve and begin to pass in front of the large number of enemies. Alexander answered this: "I do not know how to steal a victory!"
In the morning battle at Gaugamela, Alexander defeated the Persian army. Darius fled again, but was killed by his close associates, and his body was delivered to Alexander. The Macedonian king ordered Darius to be buried with all honors and executed the Persian dignitaries who had changed him.
King of asia
Having conquered Persia - the most powerful state in Asia - Alexander declared himself the successor to the deceased Darius. He left the Persian nobles in key positions, and surrounded himself with luxury corresponding to the status of the king of Asia. Thus, he secured the veneration and submission of the conquered peoples, but at the same time, he estranged him from his comrades in his army. Alexander suppressed any indignation in his army, even to the point that he repeatedly executed his former close associates for manifesting dissatisfaction, for example, he ordered the execution of Klit, the brother of his nurse, who saved Alexander himself in one of the early battles.
The need to quench the growing discontent in the army spurred Alexander to advance on a new campaign on the path to world domination, about which he had dreamed since his youth. In 327 BC e. The 120, 000th army, which included units trained in Macedonian standards from the inhabitants of the conquered countries, advanced to India. After a series of heavy and bloody battles, the army of Alexander the Great reached the Indus River. In July 326 BC e. near the tributary of the Indus, the Gidasp River, a decisive battle took place in which the king of India, Por, was defeated. The Indian king fought to the last and was captured after being wounded. When the captive king of India was brought to Alexander, he turned to him and asked how Por wanted to be treated. Por replied: "Royally." Alexander not only fulfilled this request, but left Pore to reign in conquered India and even added to his possessions more land from the number captured by Alexander himself.
Alexander conquered the entire civilized world he knew, but the management of such a territory required his presence. He decided to return to Persia. There he set about arranging his vast state. Over 10 years of military campaigns, many problems have accumulated that need to be resolved.
A year later, in the summer of 323 BC, Alexander fell ill and after 10 days of fever died in Babylon.
Contribution of Alexander the Great to World History
Alexander the Great lived only 32 years, of which 12 years reigned. 10 years of which he fought. During the war, Alexander conquered the territory from Egypt to India. On conquered lands, he left the existing customs and way of life, but the spread of Greek culture around the world, however, was inevitable. The contribution of Alexander the Great to the development of world history is difficult to overestimate. His biography and legends, composed about him both during his lifetime and for the next millennia, became an inspiration for the creativity of a huge number of researchers and creators of works of art.
