Alexander the Great was, undoubtedly, an ingenious commander who, thanks to lucky stars, inherited a throne and power of his father, Philippe II Macedon. Having created a mighty army, which consisted of heavy cavalry and pedestrian lance bearers-goplits, Philippe subordinated the whole Greece with its help. After the victory gained by Philippe in Heroney (338 B.C.) over the allied army of Athens and Thebes, the majority of the Greek city-states obeyed the Macedonian tsar who planned to conquer Persia (Iran now). The part of the army had already taken the field when Philippe was killed by murderers, in 336 B.C.
The Greek policies raised a mutiny immediately, but a 20-year-old Alexander suppressed it with an amazing speed and cruelty. Persistently defending Thebes were simply wiped out, and all their inhabitants were sold into slavery. Without delaying, Alexander, heading the 35-thousands army, was forwarded to the Asia Minor (Turkey now) in 334 B.C.
“This campaign was the purest adventure as the army of the boundless Akhemenids’ state surpassed immeasurably the number of Alexander’s army”. However, brilliant fighting skills of the Greeks were so highly appreciated in a classical antiquity that the Persians themselves used them willingly as mercenaries.
Intruding into Persia, Alexander started to embody in life a cherished dream of all the Greeks. Nevertheless, it was necessary to act quickly as the maintenance of the Greek-Macedonian army demanded huge expenses. Philippe died completely in debts, and, despite new loans, Alexander had no means even on the equipment of the military fleet. The victory and rich spoils were necessary desperately to him. Alexander gained the first victory over the hastily gathered an army of the Persians, in Granika. The Greek cities of the Asia Minor, which were under the power of Persia until then, opened the gate for the winner joyfully. Having moved further to the east, Alexander occupied the city of Gordion where “he was shown the knot stuck in a complicated manner”. According to the legend, the person, who managed to untie this knot, was fated to become the master of the whole Asia. Different miscellaneous stories suggest various theories in what Alexander did, but the most known of them says, “he simply cut the knot into pieces with his sword”.
At first, Alexander started to the south, conquering rich trading cities of Phoenicia and cutting the enemy fleet from the coastal bases. In Issah, his armies were blocked by the tsar Dary who headed a stronger army; however, Alexander crumpled and put to flight a huge slow host of the Persians with the powerful flank blow of his cavalry. “Dary sought safety in flight, having thrown his family upon the winner’s mercy”. Alexander, as always, conducted the armies in fight personally.
Moving ahead with the fights to the south, Alexander had stuck near the walls of the coastal city-island Tir for a long time and managed to conquer it only after a seven-month siege. Then the way was open, and in 332 B.C., Alexander conquered Egypt, which was then the province of Persia. In Egypt, he was topped with a crown of Pharaoh, and in an oasis Siva, he was solemnly declared as the son of the god Amon.
The ancient Babylon itself opened the gate to the Macedonians, and the capital Akhemeni-dov Persepol was set fire and plundered. The infinite imperial treasury got to Alexander’s hands, having put an end to the financial difficulties inherited from the father.
Then there came a turn of the east provinces, but it was possible to conquer them only after long wearisome military campaigns. It was already insufficient for Alexander to possess Persia, and he led his armies through Ridge Hindu Kush Mountains in a valley of Indus (Pakistan now). There, having broken the army of the tsar Porah (326 B.C.), the Macedonians learned that Alexander intended to fight a war against India. The army was exhausted by continuous fights; it rebelled, and a disappointed Alexander came back reluctantly.
Having returned to Babylon, Alexander, the tsar of the tsars and the master of Asia, dressed Persian imperial clothes and began to demand divine honors for himself. A new way of life of their sovereign and the appointment of the Persian grandees to the highest posts in the state and the army was not to liking to the veterans of the Macedonian army. However, Alexander managed to appease their discontent, having arranged a grandiose ceremony of the “weddings of the East with the West” where 9000 Macedonians took Asian brides as wives.
In June of 323 B.C., Alexander suddenly died, having hardly reached the age of 33. The great empire was divided among his commanders, but the Greek language and Greek culture have remained in the cities conquered by him for a long time. Alexander went down in history and national legends as one of the greatest conquerors.