Alexander fighting Persian king Darius III. From Alexander Mosaic, from Pompeii, Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
Alexander the Great
One of the greatest military geniuses in history, Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia. The son of Philip of Macedon, who was an excellent Army General and organizer. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus.
At the age of 20, Alexander assembled forces in Greek Cities in Corinth that recognised him as their Leader. His Army mainly consisted of Macedonian soldiers and also some Greeks. He then invaded the Persian Empire, but whilst he was at war in Thrace, some Greek cities rebelled, which brought him back South. Whereupon he captured the city of Thebes and demolished it as a warning to other Greek cities of what would become of them if they tried to resist his rule.
In 333 BC Alexander advanced south from Cilicia into Syria, after defeating the Persians at the River Granicus, he defeated Darius III at Issus. He then proceeded through Phoenicia to Egypt, where they accepted him as their liberator from Persian Rule.
Determined to rule the World, Alexander pursued conquering north, through Syria and Mesopotamia and defeated Darius at Gaugamela in 331 BC. After Darius fled he was then killed by his own men. Now occupying Susa and Persepolis, Alexander was the master of the Persian Empire. Still determined to conquer the World he continued through what is now Afghanistan to the Indus River Valley and reach Punjab in 326BC. Averse to his will, but convinced by his men that they had reached the end of the world, Alexander turned back.
After his death his Empire soon dissolved, he conquered much of what was then the civilized world. Alexander was governed by divine ambition to conquer the world and create a universal world monarchy. He was the first great conqueror who reached Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Asia. He is famous for having created ethnic fusion between the Macedonians and the Persians. Forming many Greek cities in Syria, Iran, Bactria and in Egypt, the city called Alexandria. From many victorious battles, Alexander created empire which had marked history as the beginning of the Hellenistic Age and brought him eternal glory.
