Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia (r. 336-323 b. c.e.) and empire builder

Born: 356 b. c.e.; Pella, Macedonia (now in Greece)

Died: June 10 or 13, 323 b. c.e.; Babylon (now in Iraq)

Also known as: Alexander III of Macedonia Category: Military; government and politics

Life Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias, an Epirote princess. From age thirteen to sixteen, he studied under Aristotle, who inspired his interest in science, medicine, philosophy, and literature. At age sixteen, Alexander served as regent for his father, and at age eighteen, he led the decisive cavalry charge at the Battle of Chae-ronea. A rift between father and son occurred in 337 b. c.e., but the two were reconciled within a year. Philip was assassinated in 336 b. c.e., and Alexander was acclaimed as king of Macedonia. Alexander’s swift and forceful actions enabled him to succeed his father as hegemon, or leader, of the League of Corinth and to command the invasion of the Persian Empire. In 335 b. c.e., Alexander secured Macedonia’s northern borders and destroyed the city of Thebes, thus crushing Greek resistance to Macedonian overlordship.

In early 334 b. c.e., Alexander crossed the Hellespont with an invasion force of more than 37,000 men, joined by advance troops in Asia. His first great victory came at the Granicus River in 334 b. c.e., which opened Asia Minor to conquest. In 333 b. c.e., Darius III, the Persian king, met the invaders at Issus, where Alexander outmaneuvered his adversary and forced him to flee from the battlefield. Campaigning in a southwesterly direction, Alexander established his control over the Levant and was recognized as the Egyptian pharaoh in 332 b. c.e. Returning eastward, he defeated a formidable force under Darius III at Gaugamela in 331 b. c.e. Alexander marched south and then east, occupying Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. Subsequently, he established himself as Persian king. In 327 b. c.e., Alexander invaded India (modern Pakistan) and a year later defeated Porus, the raja of Pauravas, at the Hydaspes (Jhelum) River. Alexander’s troops re-

Alexander the Great. (Library of Congress)

Fused to cross the Hyphasis (Beas) River, and he campaigned southward until he reached Ocean (the Arabian Sea) in 325 b. c.e. Alexander returned to Babylon in 323 b. c.e. and died there at the age of thirty-two from poisoning, a mysterious illness, or excessive drinking.

Influence Alexander’s military genius, iron will, and boundless ambition produced an empire touching on three continents and encompassing two million square miles (more than five million square kilometers). His conquests, founding of new cities (seventy according to historian Plutarch), creation of a uniform currency, and circulation of vast amounts of

Alexander the Great consults the oracle at Delphi. (Library of Congress)

Money contributed to the diffusion of Greek culture and helped usher in the Hellenistic era. Alexander has been portrayed as a philosopher in arms, an apostle of Hellenic culture, and a cosmopolitan visionary. He has also been depicted as a ruthless despot, a brutish despoiler, and a narcissistic drunkard. Nonetheless, Alexander continues to be the subject of impassioned debate more than twenty-three hundred years after his death and has thus achieved the everlasting fame he sought.

Further Reading

Adams, Winthrop Lindsay. Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror.

New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.

Bosworth, A. B. Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Cantor, Norman F., with Dee Ranieri. Alexander the Great: Journey to the End of the Earth. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

Hammond, N. G. L., and F. W. Walbank. A History of Macedonia. Vol. 3.

Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1988.

O’Brien, J. M. Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy. London: Rout-ledge, 1994.

John Maxwell O’Brien

See also: Alexander the Great’s Empire; Aristotle; Chaeronea, Battle of; Gaugamela, Battle of; Granicus, Battle of; Hellenistic Greece; Hydaspes, Battle of; Issus, Battle of; Olympias; Philip II of Macedonia; Ptolemaic Egypt.