Brief History:
I have included only a few items concerning the history of this empire. A good source for more details can be
found on Wikipedia or in history books.
PHILIP OF MACEDON:
King Philip II of ancient Macedon
sired and encouraged Alexander. Aristotle
tutored the prince until age 16. Upon Philip's assassination in 336 BC, Alexander became king and
embarked on building
one of the largest empires of the ancient world. He never suffered defeat in battle,
but died at the age of 32 in Babylon.
EARLY CONQUESTS:
In 334 BC Alexander crossed the Hellespont and
invaded Anatolia in a series of
campaigns against the sprawling Persian empire of
King Darius III. He personally led in battle with the
elite Companions. Alexander won a decisive battle in May 334 BC at
Granicus River (near the site of ancient
Troy). Darius attempted to foment
trouble for Macedon in Sparta, but they were defeated at
Megalopolis in 331 BC. In November, Persian forces again
lost a decisive battle at Issus, where Darius fled and abandoned his army.
After a lengthy siege in 332 BC,
Alexander entered Tyre.
He ordered the execution of military-age males and sold women into slavery because the city offered such a
long defense. His army then seized a largely compliant Egypt and
founded the coastal city of Alexandria.
Men and women of a resisting Gaza suffered a similar fate as those from Tyre.
However, he spared Jerusalem after being
shown a copy of Daniel's prophecy that a Greek king
would conquer Persia.
LATER CONQUESTS:
After the conquest of Egypt, Alexander turned his attention to the wide expanse of eastern Persian lands.
A final decisive battle occurred on 1 October 331 BC at Arbela (Gaugamela) as
Alexander led a successful flanking attack. Darius fled to
Ecbatana while Alexander seized
Babylon,
Susa and the Persian capital at
Persepolis. Darius unsuccessfully offered
nearly half of his empire to stop further warfare. Persian satraps (Bessus and Nabarzanes) murdered the fallen king
and Alexander honored the king with a lavish funeral.
He then seized control of the Persian empire and married Stateira II,
sister of Darius.
He married Roxana (Roshanak) during a campaign in
Bactria. Alexander crossed the Indus River, defeating King
Porus at Hydaspes River, but allowed him to maintain
the throne. Years of continuous warfare and the prospect of fighting stronger empires in
India led his men to mutiny at the
Vipasa (Hyphasis) River.
Alexander reluctantly took his weary force on a grueling march across
the southern desert of modern Iran to Babylon,
where Alexander died in June 323 BC.