In the spring of 334 BCE, 22-year-old Alexander, King of Macedon, and 40,000 of his eager troops boarded ships and set sail across the Hellespont for Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). This was the start of a campaign that would last ten years, cover over 3,500 miles, and establish the largest empire the world had ever seen. Arguably the most famous of the ancient conquerors, Alexander was an ambitious and violent man. His calculating military mind and fiercely loyal soldiers brought him success in battle. By the end of his reign, he had conquered the kingdoms of Greece, Persia, Egypt, and India, seized an immeasurable amount of wealth, and taken an equally large number of lives.
Early Life Born in 356 BCE to King Philip of Macedon and Olympias, Alexander received tutelage from the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, who imparted a love of philosophy in the young prince. His ambition showed from a young age; at 16, while Philip was away campaigning, Alexander defeated an army of rebels and named their city after himself. At 20, Alexander inherited the kingdom when Philip was assassinated by one of his bodyguards (who may have been spurred on by a jealous Alexander). Alexander soon developed a taste for foreign campaigns when he quashed a rebellion in Thebes, slaying six thousand and selling another thirty thousand into slavery.
The Persian Campaign In 334 BCE, Alexander decided that it was time to make a name for himself; he would take on the might of the Persian Empire. After crossing the Hellespont, Alexander’s relatively meager force met its first challenge at the river Granicus, where they fought off a superior number of Persian infantry and cavalry. Soon thereafter, Alexander had his famed encounter with the Gordian knot. It was said that anyone who could unravel the knot would become king of the world. Off the battlefield, Alexander was a very superstitious man, and always one to pay heed to a prophecy. So after puzzling over the seemingly impossible knot, Alexander drew his sword and cut it in half.
The Macedonians then won another victory at Issus in 333 BCE, where Alexander routed Darius himself. Subsequently distracted from his Persian campaign by a prophetic dream, Alexander took a detour to Egypt, where he founded the city of Alexandria. Upon return to Persia, Alexander again defeated Darius, this time at Gaugamela, in 331 BCE. With a dramatic charge, Alexander and his cavalry drove off the one-million-strong Persian army, spelling a definitive end to Darius’ rule. Marching into Persepolis (the Persian capital), the Macedonians razed the city and ransacked the treasury.
The Indian Campaign Alexander’s bloodlust still unsated, he and his troops crossed the mountains into India and fought their way through the Punjab states of the north. Alexander’s final notable battle happened here, against the great Indian king Porus. After a long, hard, and costly fight across the river Hydaspes, Alexander finally defeated Porus’ army with a cunning flanking maneuver during a thunderstorm. Upon reaching the Ganges river, Alexander’s men decided they had come far enough, and forced the king to give up the campaign. The conqueror traveled to the city of Babylon on a long and grandiose victory march. There he fell ill and began to see omens in everything, living in constant fear of the supernatural. In this sickly and paranoid state, he died in 323 BCE.
The Great? Throughout his reign, Alexander’s reputation was all-important to him. He gained popularity among his friends by giving them grandiose presents, and among those he conquered by adopting their customs and including them in his military. His popularity, tactical genius, and seeming invincibility in battle led some to believe that he was the son of a god. However, he was also prone to unpredictable bouts of violence, sometimes arbitrarily murdering close friends for insignificant slights or slaying entire cities simply because they were in his way. The magnitude of his campaign after just ten years, and the lasting effect this conquest had on the ancient world has earned him the title of “Great.” However, his darker side has led many historians to question if Alexander’s title is indeed appropriate.