Alexander the Great

The spectacular conquests of Alexander the Great made the Greeks masters of the Middle East. Although Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, he influenced the course of history of the region.

Alexander the Great was undoubtedly a genius, but he owed much to what his father, Philip II of Macedon had left behind. It was Philip who built an army that consisted of heavy cavalry and infantry armed with pikes, which allowed Macedonia to become the first power among the Greek states. After the victory over the Athenian-Theban forces under Chaeronea (338 BC), most of the city-states became satellites of Macedonia and were pulled in the royal plans for the conquest of Persia (today's Iran). Some units had already set off, when Philip was assassinated in 336 BC.

In the hope that the death of the king weakened Macedonia , the Greek cities immediately launched a rebellion. However, Philip's successor, twenty-year-old Alexander quelled it quickly and ruthlessly. The historic city of Thebes whose resistance was particularly staunch,was leveled in retaliation and its inhabitants turned into into slaves. Not wasting any time, in 334 BC Alexander proceeded with entering Asia Minor (now Turkey) with its 35,000-strong army.

The gamble

The invasion was a risky move - the Persian Empire was vast and its army many times larger than the army of Alexander. On the other hand, the empire was weaker than it could be expected and its rulers had problems with maintaining the unity of the state. In addition, the Greeks were excellent warriors - actually they were so good that even the Persians themselves were willing to hire them as mercenaries.

By entering Persia, Alexander began the implementation his plans that had been discussed in Greece for years. But he had to hurry as maintaining the army was a serious burden for the treasury. Philip had left debts and, despite taking new loans, Alexander was unable to afford to keep the Greek fleet in readiness. He desperately needed a victory and spoils.

Alexander's first victory in the war was won in a battle with hastily gathered Persian over the Granicos river. Greek cities in Asia Minor, earlier conquered by the Persians, greeted him as a liberator. In a further march, Alexander stopped at Gordium, where he was shown an extremely complicated knot. Legend had it that the one who would solve the Gordian knot would rule Asia. There are various speculations about the reaction of the king, but the most popular story has it that he just took out his sword and "solved" the problem by cutting the knot.

Initially, Alexander's strategy was to march south, capture rich Phoenician cities and cut off the enemy fleet from bases in the Mediterranean. The prevailing forces under the command of the Persian emperor Darius met him at Issus. However, as could be expected, heavy, unwieldy Persian formations were outmaneuvered by the light troops and encircled by the Macedonian cavalry of Alexander which then launched its charge to the rear of the enemy. Darius himself had to flee, allowing his entire family to fall into the hands of the winner. Alexander, as usual, personally commanded the charge.

During south-bound march Alexander was forced into prolonged siege of the famous city of Tyre, situated on the coastal island. It took seven months to force the city's capitulation. Further conquest was relatively easy and about 332 BC the king took Egypt, then a province of the Persian Empire. There he was crowned Pharaoh and greeted as the son of the sun god, Amun.

Obsession

Alexander's obsessive need for new conquests was made apparent by the refusal of Darius's conciliatory offer. The Persian ruler promised Alexander huge territories in exchange for peace. Alexander, however, pushed on, marching to the north and northeast, directing a blow to the very heart of the empire. The decisive confrontation took place at Gaugamela and Arbela, where the Macedonian cavalry once again circled and smashed the Persian army. As the conquest continued, Babylon was occupied and the capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis, was looted and burned. Darius's rich treasury fell in the hands of Alexander, thus ending financial problems that plagued the king since his father's death.

But the war went on. Alexander chased Darius, and when he was assassinated by his own supporters, the Macedonian king chased the usurper Bessus. There were long and difficult campaigns, in which Alexander conquered vast areas in the east of the Persian Empire. But Persia was not enough: The king walked his army through the Hindu Kush and entered the Indus Valley. There, Macedonians defeated the local ruler Poros (326 BC), but the king wanted to march further into India. Soldiers, utterly exhausted by incessant march, revolted and Alexander reluctantly agreed to turn back.

Now as King of Kings and Lord of Asia, ruling an empire of Babylon, Alexander began to wear Persian robes and demanded a divine worship. One could accuse him of megalomania, but perhaps Alexander consciously applied this policy as what he thought was the best way of governing a large, cosmopolitan empire. But the Macedonian soldiers of Alexander neither liked the new image of the ruler nor accepted his policy of awarding Persians with posts in the army and administration. When threatened by demobilization of the army, the king found a way to keep the soldiers by his side. He organized a ceremony called "a wedding of East and West", during which 9,000 Macedonians allegedly took Asian wives. Alexander's efforts to unite Greece and Persia in one organism are sometimes regarded as an expression of visionary idealism, but might have been simply pragmatism: to prevent the country from falling apart, efforts to keep it united had to involve all the peoples of the empire.

Suddenly, in June, 323 BC Alexander died. He wasn't even. The state was divided between senior commanders, but Greek language and culture maintained its high status in the cities of the former empire. Throughout the period of Roman domination and beyond, the East remained under the influence of Greek culture, while Alexander established himself as one of the greatest leaders in history.

Important dates

• 334 BC
  Alexander defeats the Persians at the Granicos river
• 333 BC
  Alexander defeats Darius the Gulf of Issus
• 331 BC
  Decisive defeat of Darius at Gaugamela
• 330 BC
  Conquering Persepolis; assassination of Darius
• 330-372 BC
  Conquest of the eastern territories of the Persian Empire
• 326 BC
  Macedonians enter India, defeat Poros. Soldiers force Alexander to give up further conquests