Alexander was acknowledged as a military genius who always led by example.
Alexander the Great was the creator of the world’s grandest empire. With incredible military achievements and diplomacy, he built a legacy others could only dream of achieving. Alexander was the king of Macedonia, an ancient kingdom of Greece, and a part of the Argead dynasty. He was born in 356 B.C. to King Philip II and Queen Olympias of Macedonia.
Since his adolescent years, Alexander exhibited atypical fearlessness and strength. At the mere age of 12, he was able to domesticate a nasty-tempered stallion. He went on to name the horse Bucephalus and it became his war horse for life. During these years, he was also tutored by the great philosopher Aristotle.
After the assassination of his father in 336 B.C., Alexander inherited the throne at the age of 20. King Philip II always dreamt of conquering Persia and spreading the influence of Macedonia to other parts of the world. Hence, Alexander set out to honour his father’s wishes. He took over Sardis right as he stepped foot into Persian territories, but he could not proceed further due to resistance by King Darius III of Persia, who was assembling an army for battle in the meantime.
Alexander confronted Darius’ army in 333 B.C. in southern Turkey, near Issus. Even though Darius’ army was bigger in number, Alexander’s troop battled them with experience. Finally, when it was very evident that Alexander would win, Darius escaped the warzone. After taking over several other cities on his way, Alexander reached Egypt. Here, he established the legendary city of Alexandria, which went on to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, along with being the cultural and intellectual hotspot of the Hellenistic era.
After warring with King Darius for a second time, Alexander was able to fully cast his reign onto Persia in 331 B.C. While attempting to capture Sogdia, a Persian region that was not yet accepting of him, he met and fell in love with Roxana, a Sogdian princess. She, then, became his companion throughout the rest of his expedition. After the annexation of Persia, Alexander started adapting Persian rituals and customs, including their dress-up and greetings. He did this to gain the favour of the Persian population.
Alexander continued on with his mission to expand his rule and, in 327 B.C., stepped foot into Punjab, India. After a triumphant battle with the King of Paurava, he conquered Hydaspes. He proceeded to name the city of Bucephala after his horse, who had died during that battle. In 324 B.C., Alexander returned to Persia. He conducted mass weddings between Persians and Macedonians to create a community solely devoted to him. The Macedonians did not appreciate Alexander’s efforts to blend their culture with the Persians but after seeing him replace their soldiers with that of Persians, they did not retaliate any further.
Alexander the Great died mysteriously at the age of 32.
Alexander passed away in 323 B.C. His cause of death is still a mystery, some say it was of natural causes while others claim he was poisoned. Either way, he left behind a grand empire that was the only one of its kind. He also displayed brilliant skills on the battlefield which led him to win every single battle he’d been in. Since he did not leave behind an inheritor, his empire fell apart soon after, dissolving into a mess of greedy battles. But, the cultural influence of his empire still remains upon various Greek cities and he will always be remembered in history because of his exceptional military prowess.
Images Collected From Google
Contributed By Tanzeem Hossain
