Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

"There is nothing impossible to him who will try". Alexander the Great. In this paper I am going to tell you about the birth triumphs and death of Alexander the Great.

I will start with the birth of Alexander.

Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC. The month he was born in is not for sure however most agree it was July. His mother's name was Olympias. Olympias was an orphan of a former king. Olympias was a very beautiful very intelligent woman with a very hot temper. His father and Philip the king of Macedonia was known as a very callous cutthroat type of person. Olympias and Phillip fought tremendously throughout Alexander's whole childhood. Given these personality's it is obvious why they were constantly fighting. Even as a young boy Alexander was courageous and adventurous. When he was just 12 years old he broke a horse that no one else had been able to break Bucephalus. Alexander realized that the horse was afraid of his own shadow and when he turned him away from the sun so that he could not see it he was able to ride him.

Alexander's favorite study was something called the Iliad which was a Greek poem by Homer and he knew it by heart, and always slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow. His first teacher was Leonidas. He was a relative of Olympias. Leonidas had a terrible time taming him since he was such a wild spirited boy. However, his teacher taught Alexander about Spartan life and made him into a very militant person. Next he was taught by Lysimachus, he mostly taught Alexander about art. Lastly at age 13 Aristotle took over his studies. This lasted until he was 16 at that time he was so smart that he ruled the Macedon Empire while his father was at war with Byzantium. Now we will talk about his life.

His first line of business was with the Maedi, a Thracian tribe. Alexander took over their capital and drove out the people. He created a new city called Alexandropolis. Next he fought in the battle of Chaeronea By 338 he was named the commander of the right wing Macedonian army as they overcame the Thebes in that war alone he took upwards of 30,000 slaves. However Alexander could not be the top ruler while the king of Persia Darius was around so after he won the war against Persia and Darius died. Alexander was given the title King of Persia. In 336 BC Alexander's father Phillip was assassinated in a movie theater it is unclear who did it some say Alexander may have had something to do with it most believe Olympius Alexander's mom had something to do with it. Alexander was named king and quickly killed everyone who supposedly had part in the murder.

Alexander then went after the Thebans he took them by surprise and wiped out the entire city. In the spring of 334, Alexander crossed the Hellespont, Alexander found the Persians waiting for him on the banks of the Granicus River. The Persians were trying to lure him across the river and kill him. When Alexander crossed the Granicus River It was said he had 50,000 troops, 43,000 foot soldiers, and more than 6,000 cavalry. In this battle he was wounded fighting himself when it was over they said 9 out of 10 Persian warriors were killed and the commander took his own life. Alexander said," I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion". I think this may have been the reason he said it.

Alexander conquered the western part of Asia Minor in 334-333. This is when he came face to face with King Darius during the Battle of Issus on the northeast Mediterranean coast. Alexander was going south and Darius was coming north. He fought his army and then Darius fled. In 332 BC, Alexander marched south from Issus into Syria and Phoenicia. After taking Byblos and Sidon, He went on to Tyre; however the people their refused to let him into the city built a bridge, which still exists. He succeeded finally. During the battle with Tyre, Darius tried to negotiate with Alexander he said he would surrender and even give him part of his empire but Alexander refused.

In November 332 he reached Egypt, and the Egyptians welcomed him as their hero. He founded the city of Alexandria near the western arm of the Nile. From Alexandria, he went to visit the renowned oracle of Amon at Siwah. The oracle then named Alexander the son of Amon (Zeus). This was a very important part of Alexander's life.

Alexander chased Darius for 12 days and nights. Until at last Darius was captured all thought it was not by Alexander himself it was buy his cousin, Bessus who ultimately killed Darius. Alexander then did a very empathetic thing and held a funeral for Darius organized with all honors for the last Persian emperor.

Alexander and his army then went towards the Indus in July 325 Alexander left the conquered portion of India east of the Indus to be ruled by Porus, Omphis, and Abisares; the country west of the Indus under Macedonian governors, and set out to explore the great river to its mouth. It was at the Malli village that Alexander sustained serious injury almost to the point of death. The Macedonian officers rescued him in a narrow escape from the village. He recovered and put an end to the resistance of the tribes.

In spring 324 he returned to Susa it is there that he held a dinner to celebrate the conquest