Alexander the Great – one of the greatest military genius in history, Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia, the son of Philip of Macedon, who was an excellent general and organizer. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus.
He conquered much of what was then the civilized world, governed by his divine ambition of the world conquest and creation of universal world monarchy. He was the first great conqueror which has reached, Greece, Egypt , Asia Minor, and Asia till Afghanistan and India. He is famous for having created ethnic fusion between the Macedonians and the Persians. From victory to victory, from triumph to triumph Alexander created empire wich had marked history and brought him eternal glory.
Alexanr`s parents
His parents were Olympias and Philip II and according to some legends and oracles Alexander has divine origins: Zeus and Olympias.
Alexander was born at Pella in Macedonia in late July of 356 BC, on the same day on which the famous Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed by fire. His father, Philip II of Macedon, was a brilliant ruler and strategist. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus, daughter of King Neoptolemus. Olympias was initiated into the cults of Dionysus and Orpheus. She was often jealous, vindictive and very protective of Alexander.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the largest temples ever built by the Greeks, circa 550 B.C.
According to tradition, Olympias_ ancestor was the mythical hero of the Iliad – Achilles, while his father, Philip II of Macedon, was said to descend from the Zeus_ son – Hercules.
The legend of Alexander of Macedon begins even before his birth. Alexander_s parents, King Philip II of Macedon and Myrtali – the Princess of Epirus, later known as Olympias – were in their dreams warned about his birth. Philip and Olympias were initiated in the mysterious cults of Kabira of Samothrace, and they had believed in the messages in dreams, so that they have invited the most renowned prophet of that time Arixstandros Telmisy, to interpret their dreams. Olympias had dreamt of a loud burst of thunder and lightening that had hit her womb, while in Philip_s dream, he was sealing her womb with the seal of the lion. Arixstandros determined that Olympias was pregnant, and that the child would have the character of lion. The oracle of Delphi advised Philip to worship Zeus-Ammon, more than any other god. That brought the advent of Alexander_s birth. Ammon (also Amon, Hammon, Zeus, Jupiter) represents the principle of invincibility, and ancient Egyptians had called Ammon „The Invisible“, so any other attribution is superfluous. The animal dedicated to the cult of Ammon was ram-aries, one of the „astral fire signs“, with the active male principle and the symbol of Pure Will strength, that stands behind everything , which initiates each significant event and crushes all obstacles (like aries or thunder). The thought and vision, now become action. Only through action does it take form, power and is transformed into reality. The purely spiritual can not be stopped and is invincible. Alexander_s historical mission was to prepare the impulse of a new astrologic era, to terminate the old one and to transform ancient-obsolete forms of culture and world dominion. (This transition period from Aries to Pisces astrologic era in history is known as the Hellenistic period, and it has lasted for more than two centuries. One astrologic era has a duration of 2000 years.)
Alexander_s Birth, Plutarch
Alexander was born the sixth of Hecatombaeon, which month the Macedonians call Lous, the same day that the temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt; which Hegesias of Magnesia makes the occasion of a conceit, frigid enough to have stopped the conflagration. The temple, he says, took fire and was burnt while its mistress was absent, assisting at the birth of Alexander. And all the Eastern soothsayers who happened to be then at Ephesus, looking upon the ruin of this temple to be the forerunner of some other calamity, ran about the town, beating their faces, and crying that this day had brought forth something that would prove fatal and destructive to all Asia.
Just after Philip had taken Potidaea, he received these three messages at one time, that Parmenio had overthrown the Illyrians in a great battle, that his race-horse had won the course at the Olympic games, and that his wife had given birth to Alexander; with which being naturally well pleased, as an addition to his satisfaction, he was assured by the diviners that a son, whose birth was accompanied with three such successes, could not fail of being invincible.
At the battle of Chaeronea Philip defeated the allied Greek states of the Sacred Band of Thebes in September 338 BC. At that time Alexander was only 18, and, having been placed in command of the left wing of Philip_s cavalry, he demonstrated personal courage in breaking the Band. It is said he was the first man to dare to charge against the Thebans. Although Philip_s army was greatly outnumbered by the Athenian and Theban troops, the Macedonian phalanxes triumphed over them. Athens and Thebes now also came under Philip_s rule. Sparta remained the only Greek state not under Macedonian control. This early demonstration of courage made Philip so proud of Alexander that he was even pleased to hear his subjects call him their general and Alexander their king!
337BC.
At the Council of Corinth,
Philip imposed his political system on the Greek states (with exception of Sparta); Philip gave freedom and autonomy to all the political parties in each polis, establishing an administrative system that would be stable and loyal to him.
In 337 divorced Olympias. After a quarrel at a wedding feast, Alexander and his mother left Macedonia. Few months afterward, they were reconciled and Alexander returned; but Philips_ life was in danger…
337BC.
With the support of almost all Greece, Philip declared war on Persia. In the spring of 336 BC, Philip sent Attalus and Parmenion with the army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to begin with the liberation of Greek coastal cities. But Philip himself was assassinated before he was able to depart.
Alexander in Mesopotamia
331
In the spring of 331 Alexander could at last leave the Mediterranean to strike into the heart of the Persian empire,
for by his occupation of all Mediterranean harbours the Persian command of the sea had inevitably collapsed, without having any significant maritime battle.
He returned to Phoenicia, nominated a Macedonian satrap for Syria, and prepared to advance into Mesopotamia, toward Babylon. Early in July 331 Alexander was at Thapsacus on the river Euphrates, then he advanced across northern Mesopotamia toward the Tigris. Darius sent his general Mazaeus, who marched up the Tigris to oppose him.
The Battle of Gaugamela
The last army gathered by an Achaemenian king was shattered in the battle called popularly after the city of Arbela some 100 km distant, or more precisely after the village of Gaugamela hard by. The Battle of Gaugamela (or Arabela as it is also called in Assyria), was the last big battle of the war, which took the place on the plain of Gaugamela between Nineveh and Arbela on the 1st October 331 BC. The happy coincidence of a lunar eclipse gives us the 1st October 331 BC as the exact day upon which the Macedonian army crossed the Tigris. Darius III succeeded to escape with his Bactrian cavalry and Greek mercenaries into Media before the battle was over. Alexander remained till he had secured the provinces to the south. He followed the Tigris into Babalonia. Babylon welcomes Alexander as new „King of Asia“; Mazaeus, who wisely surrendered Babylon was confirmed by Alexander as satrap. Alexander with Mazaeus was so generous that he granted him the right to have his coin. The same as in Egypt, the local religion and priests was encouraged. From Babylon went on to seize the riches which the Persian kings had amassed in their spring residence, Susa. Susa, also surrendered, releasing fabulous amounts of silver and gold which corresponds to 120.000 talents, when the gold was estimated in terms of silver.
Thence he at last ascended upon the Iranian plateau. The mountain tribes on the road (the Oxii, Pers, Huzha), accustomed to exact blackmail even from the king_s train, learnt by a bitter lesson that a stronger hand had come to wield the empire. Reducing to obedience the mountain tribe of the Oxians, he now continued over the Zagros range into Persia, and successfully took the Pass the Persian Gates, held by the satrap Ariobarzanes. Alexander had become Lord of Asia.
Alexander entered in the capital of Persia, Persepolis and Pasargadae, the cradle of the Achaemenian dynasty, and came upon new masses of treasure in the royal city, Persepolis. As a symbol that the Panhellenic war was terminated, Alexander ceremonially burned down the palace of Xerxes; solemn revenge for the destruction of Greek temples by Xerxes generations ago, Dionysiastic act that was inspired by the Athenian courtesan Thaïs.
330
Later in spring 330 Alexander marched north into Media and occupied its capital Ecbatana. Panhellenic war was over, the Thessalians and Greek allies were sent home; since then he was conducting a purely personal war. Since the Panhellenic war of revenge came to an end, Alexander_s political and ideological views on the empire were changing: He had come to new political idea of two jointly ruling people: Macedonians and Persians. That new politics created the opposition and misunderstanding between Alexander and Macedonians.
Alexander was prepared for further pursuit. Darius fled northwards from Ecbatana upon his approach. At Ecbatana new masses of treasure were seized, but when once the necessary measures which its disposal and the occupation of the Median capital entailed were taken. Before continuing to pursuit Darius, who had escaped into Bactria, he collected all the Persian treasure and entrusted it to Harpalus, who was to keep it at Ecbatana as chief treasurer. Parmenio was also left behind in Media to control communication lines.
Summer 330 Darius Death
Alexander with his fastest troops chased Darius for 12 days and nights and has passed over 800 km. Meanwhile Darius troop strength was reduced to 6000 foot and 3000 horse. Darius had moved to Bactria, to Bessus – the satrap of Bactria. It was an thrilling chase of king by king, in which each covered the ground by barely credible exertions, past Rhagae (Rai) and the Caspian gates, till early one morning Alexander came in sight of the broken train which still clung to the fallen king.
His cousin Bessus and the Persian magnates staged a coup d_etat and had betrayed and imprisoned Darius, at Skirmish (near modern Shahrud, after a the Caspian Gates), the usurper Bessus finally had stabbed his king Darius III and left him to die in agony. Bessus
preferred Darius dead than imprisoned. If Darius had surrended, Alexander would leave him alive. Alexander organized an imperial funeral with all honors for the last Persian emperor. Alexander, later, captured satarp Bessus, new pretender to the Persian throne. Darius_ murder was punished and Bessus was humiliated with a public flogging before execution.
Campaign eastward, to Central Asia
After the Darius_ death there was no obstacle to Alexander_s claim to be Great King, and a Rhodian inscription of the year 330 BC. calls him „lord of Asia“, in sense of the Persian Empire; soon afterward his Asian coins have the title of king. Crossing the Elburz Mountains to the south of the Caspian which connects western Iran with the provinces to the east of the great central desert, he seized Zadracarta in Hyrcania and received the submission of a group of satraps and Persian notables.To conquer this remaining portion of the empire, Alexander now went on through the mountain belt, teaching the power of his arms to the mountain people who inhabited the Elburz Mountains, Tapyri and Mardi, till he came, passing through Zadracarta (Asterabad), to Parthia and thence to Aria. Darius_ Greek mercenaries were surrenders as well. His advance eastward was fast. In Aria he reduced to obedience Satibarzanes. In these further provinces of Iran the Macedonian King had for the first time to encounter a serious local opposition, for in the west the Iranian rule had been merely the domination of an foreign power over native populations indifferent or hostile. Here the ruling race was at home. He founded yet another Alexandria of the Aryans (modern Herat).
329
From Phrada during the winter of 330-329, Alexander moves to south through Arachosia toward valley of the Helmand River, and crossed the country of the Paropamisadae, where he founded another cities Alexandria in Aracosia and Alexandria by the Caucasus. The ordinarily chronology makes Alexander reach the Kabul valley in the winter of 330-329. That to fit
the actions and distances covered by Alexander into such a scheme, assuming that he went by Seistan and Kandahar, would involve physical impossibilities. In the meantime Bessus in Bactria was organizing a revolt in the eastern satrapies with the usurped title of Great King. In Central Asia to Alexander has reached the information that Bessus had taken the diadem, as Darius_ successor in Bactria, but so soon as he marched against him Aria rose in his rear, and Alexander had to return in all rush to bring the revolt under. Nor did he, when this was accomplished, again strike directly at Bactria, but made a large turning movement through Seistan over Kandahar into the Kabul valley. Crossing the mountains of Hindu Kush, Alexander marches northward over the Khawak Pass (over 3000m), Alexander brought his troops, despite food shortages, snow and very cold climate to Drapsaca (modern Banu ).