ALEXANDER THE GREAT/MACEDONia (356 BCE – 323 BCE)
Who was Alexander the great/macedonia?
Alexander III was a very successful King of Macedonia which is in Greece. Alexander the great earned all his fame because he was conqueror of the Persian Empire and is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He was an amazing ro - model for later conquerors such as Hannibal the Carthaginian, the Romans Pompey and Caesar, and Napoleon. Alexander was a true hero who had done both good and bad. You shall find out, and experience his full commonly told story in this section! Enjoy!
Child hood:
Alexander The Great was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BC. His parents were Philip II, King of Macedonia, and Olympias, the princess of neighbouring Epirus. Alexander The Great was fascinated by war, and spent a majority of his childhood absorbing all the experiences his dad had committed to to making the Macedonia military extremely powerful, and pretty well unbeatable, as it won victory after victory on the Balkan battlefields! When at the age of twelve Alexander decided to represent his talents to his father and all who were watching, by showing them his equestrian skill. Equestrian skill played a giant role in ancient Greece back than. One of the only and safest ways of transportation was by horse when faced with war! When Alexander tamed a cheeky stallion who was unridable, and flesh eating dangerous, everyone was astonished! Alexander rode that horse in all of his major battles until the very end! A year later, when Alexander was thirteen, King Philip (Alexander's father, not the king from Sleeping Beauty), hired the greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. Throughout the next three years Aristotle gave a ton of training for Alexander in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s future life.
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Plutarch Writes: "Philip and his friends looked on at first in silence and anxiety for the result, till seeing him turn at the end of his career, and come back rejoicing and triumphing for what he had performed, they all burst out into acclamations of applause; and his father shedding tears, it is said, for joy, kissed him as he came down from his horse, and in his transport said, 'O my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee' " (Alex. 6.8.).
Some Father and Son Drama:
The royal family split apart when King Philip (Alexander's Dad) married Cleopatra, the pharaoh of Egypt! At the wedding banquet, Cleopatra's uncle, general Attalus, made a remark about King Philip fathering a ‘legitimate’ heir or, one that was of pure Macedonian blood. Alexander threw his cup at Cleopatra's Uncle Attalus, yelling at him for calling him '******child’. Philip stood up, drew his sword, and charged at Alexander hoping to sabt and kill him, but do to the fact he was drunk, he fell. When this happened Alexander shouted:
"Here is the man who was making ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even cross from one table to another without losing his balance."
He then took his mother and fled the country to Epirus. Although he returned later, Alexander remained isolated and insecure at the Macedonian court.
"Here is the man who was making ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even cross from one table to another without losing his balance."
He then took his mother and fled the country to Epirus. Although he returned later, Alexander remained isolated and insecure at the Macedonian court.
Wars:
There were so many wars Alexander The great participated in. Here are some of the key was Alexander The great was a part of. I notice that most of these wars have to do with the Persians! I hope you enjoy these descriptions on some of the past wars in ancient Greece, that Alexander The great was a part of!
Battle of granicus:
There was a battle called the battle of Graniscus between Macedonian king Alexander the Great and armies of the Persian Empire at the Granicus River in Asia Minor. When Alexander started his war against the Persians in the spring of 334 BCE, he was met at the Granicus by an army of Persian soldiers and Greek hoplites. The Persian force stationed itself at the top of a steep bank on the opposite side of the river. The Persian plan was to concentrate their attack upon Alexander in the hope he might be killed, but Alexander led a successful charge across the river and routed them. According to tradition, Alexander lost only 110 soldiers. In the image next to this battle summary you can see the two regions at war.
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Battle of Issus:
The war of Granicus fought in 333 BCE between Macedonian king Alexander the Great and Persian king Darius III during Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire. After invading northern Syria, Alexander left his wounded soldiers in a camp in the city of Issus, directing the remainder of his army southward in search of Darius's armies. At the same time, Darius moved his army up from the south. In a maze of Syrian mountains, the two armies passed each other. Darius discovered Alexander's camp at Issus and fought the wounded Macedonian soldiers. After Alexander found himself cut off from communication with the north, he returned to Issus and defeated Darius's army. Darius fled to Babylonia, leaving Syria, Palestine, and Egypt open for conquest by Alexander. In the image next to this battle summary you can see the two regions at war.
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Battle Of Trye:
Next, was the battle of Tyre; To reach Tyre from the Phoenician shore, half a mile away, Alexander constructed a bridge like device guarded by towers. But as the the bridge like item neared the island, Tyrians bombarded the workers with stones and arrows, forcing Alexander to adopt a knew plan. On ships collected from other Phoenician cities, Alexander's engineers mounted siege machines-catapults and iron-headed battering rams. The ships pounded the wall until a weak spot collapsed. Here, shielded from a rain of burning arrows by a hide tent, the Macedonians reached shore and droped a long gangplank to carry them over the rubble. After desperate hand-to-hand combat, Tyre fell and Alexander closed this main base of the Persian fleet, winning control of the eastern Mediterranean after the longest battle of his life. They massacred 8,000 Tyrians and sold 30,000 into slavery.
BAttle Of Gaugamela:
The armies of Alexander the Great and the Persian monarch Darius III, fought in 331 BC. The Persian defeat opened the East to the Macedonians. Alexander, with 40,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry, invaded Persia from Egypt. The Persian army assembled about 250,000 men on the plain of Gaugamela, in what is now Iraq. Alexander attacked the Persian left flank and then broke through their center. Darius fled and the Persians retreated. The Persians lost tens of thousands of men in the battle, and the Macedonians lost fewer than 500.
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what did he do?
As you know Alexander The great was a amazing king as well as the reason for Macedonians extremely strong and unbeatable military! Alexander The great was a powerful king and militant winning multiple wars as written about above for the Greeks! In addition, he as well is a super strong and powerful greek icon in the modern and ancient greek culture! He is proboly one of the most favoured ro - models after the gods!
did he contribute in a positive way?
Alexander did some negative deeds, but as well did right. Alexander is come one I imagine who would be true to their word. For example, Alexander would always participate in wars he declared, and always fight his hardest! Alexander The great was such a successful leader because of his amazing fighting skills. One of the main reasons Alexander was so looked up besides the fact that he was capable of great bettling, was that he was amazing at problem solving. For example, during the war of Issus Alexander would send messages that would contain valuable data to the soldiers recovering there. When he was sending those notices, and not getting a reply back, he went to the site, and conquered the Persians that had taken over the base. Alexander could have easily just kept sending messages, but instead he actually decided to get some answers for his questions!
Did he contribute in a negative way?
Besides all the facts, and pros that Alexander the great contributed, he actually wasn't much better than another famous war conquerors. The only relent he had that made him stand out compared to the other kings, was that Alexander was great at battle. Alexander never stood up for female rights or any rights to be specific, that made any sudden changes. Alexander was one of the reasons slavery probably still continues today! If you were a rival of the Macedonians, you were at war with them, and you were a survivor on a conquered/surrendered team you would become a slave. Alexander the great was the one that actually chose and took the slaves. In addition to that, Alexander was always killing. He killed innocent people that might only doing certain deeds because they have no choice, and were told to do those things by their king! Even if warriors believed in the opposite opinion of Alexander the great, it gives Alexander no right to kill him. Also, Do you not notice how it took the Macedonians four beetles to try and stop an ongoing feud? In addition, even he should not torture them. I very well understand that Alexander was only standing up for what he believes in, winning a battle for his home, and making a point (for better or worse), but I think it is terribly wrong to of these three things in such gruesome ways!
Alexander's Death:The exact cause of Alexander's death is a mystery. People have debated the issue for centuries, attributing it to poison, malaria, fever or other illnesses. What is known or sure is that the Macedonian king died in early June 323 BC while suffering a high fever that had lasted ten days. Here is am image of Alexander The Great! Enjoy! |
Movie Connection
We have found a movie called Alexander based on Alexander the Great! I will share the movie trailer with you. You can see how Hollywood changed him!