Conquest of the world by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great - One of the most successful commanders in history. The death of Darius III and the complete defeat of the Persian state
As a person, Alexander combined in his character an iron will and a flexible mind, as well as the ability to bring himself and his warriors to extreme tension. Alexander had an excellent strategic mind and a tactical ability to rearrange his plans on the fly if necessary. In history, Alexander the Great is remembered as a capricious and ruthless ruler who did not hesitate to get rid of individuals who fell into mistrust. Even after the death of the king, Antipater's son Cassander could not pass by the statue of the Macedonian in Delphi without fear. An excellent trait of a born winner was also not to stop there and pursue the fleeing enemy with the goal of complete destruction. During his short reign, Alexander made a real revolution in the history of Europe and Asia, if only because his interest in scientific research significantly advanced knowledge of geography and natural theory. It can also be noted that in the Roman Empire the spread of Christianity as a world religion and the long existence of Byzantium were partly the merit of Alexander the Great.
The last years of his reign, the goals of Alexander the Great were largely aimed at exploring the surrounding world - in particular, Arabia and the Caspian Sea. In organizing a great empire, Alexander skillfully improvised and adapted reality to his own needs. In financial policy, the king created a single organization for collecting taxes, which did not depend on local satraps. The issuance of a new coin with a fixed silver content promoted trade and, together with the influx of silver and gold from the Persian treasury, served as a major economic development for the Mediterranean region.
According to Plutarch, Alexander the Great founded more than 70 cities, discovering new page in the history of Greek expansion. Many colonists had to intermarriage with the indigenous people of Asia, which led to the disappearance of the original Greek customs. Alexander's heirs in Asia continued the spread of Hellenistic culture up to Bactria and India, which is considered one of best achievements Alexandra.
In an effort to unite the conquered peoples, Alexander arranged a grand wedding for himself, marrying the eldest daughter of King Darius, Satyra, and the daughter of the Persian king Artaxerxes III, Parisat. Admirers of the Macedonian figure followed his public example: about 10 thousand Macedonians married Persian women, receiving gifts from the king as a sign of encouragement.
For many modern ideas the great commander died in 10 days of malarial fever at the age of 32, without even having time to name an heir. This fact is doubly sad because almost immediately after the death of Alexander the Great, all his works were killed by his own military commanders, who tore the empire into separate parts. New states that arose after the Macedonian Empire were Syria, Hellenistic Egypt, Bithynia, Pergamon and Macedonia.
The former military leaders (diadochi) elevated Alexander Arrhidaeus' half-brother to the Macedonian throne and, for the sake of clarity among the people, named him Philip III, who, in fact, was only a puppet in the hands of the diadochi. One of the three wives of Alexander the Great, Roxana, a month after the death of the king, gave birth to a son, Alexander, who became the official co-ruler of Arrhidaea. Residents of Macedonia, fearing that the boy would grow into a “tyrant” like his father, killed him at the age of 14 along with his widow Roxana, and at the same time illegitimate son king - Hercules from the concubine Barsina.
One of the diadochi, Ptolemy, brought the embalmed body of Alexander the Great in 322 BC. to the city of Memphis, and then transported it to Alexandria in Egypt, building a tomb there. They say that after the 3rd century, the 1st Roman Emperor Octavian accidentally broke off the nose of a mummy; another Roman emperor, Caracalla, placed his tunic and ring on the tomb of Alexander the Great. Since then, nothing has been known about the fate of the mummy.
Anna Zhila
Http://rabota.clanfm.ru/viewtopic.php?t=3001&p=16414
The Alexander Mosaic c. 100 BC, Naples, National Archaeological Museum
Quotes: 1. I owe to Philip that I live, and to Aristotle that I live with dignity. 2. There are countless worlds in the universe, and we have not yet conquered one! 3. Fortune favors the brave. 4. Remember, fate depends on the ability to manage everything. 5. Nothing is impossible for those who try. 6. There is nothing more slavish than luxury and bliss, and nothing more royal than labor. 7. If I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes. 8. I would like to be distinguished not by power, but by the knowledge of what is beautiful.
Achievements:
Professional, social position: Alexander the Great, also known as the ancient Greek king (basileus) of Macedonia, emperor, commander, ruler, world conqueror.
Main contributions (known for): The emperor who created one of the largest empires in ancient history, stretching from Greece to Northwestern India, one of the most successful commanders in history who never lost a single battle.
Deposits: Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander the Great, was an ancient Greek king (basileus) of Macedonia, an emperor who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Alexander was a great conqueror, a genius and the most successful commander of all time, who did not lose a single battle.
His empire, covering more than 1,000 thousand square kilometers, stretched from Thrace to Egypt and from Greece to the Indus Valley.
Alexander not only created a great empire, but also contributed to the spread of Greek language and culture. By that time, this era was called Hellenistic, as the culture, ideas and influence of Greece spread throughout the world. Alexander the Great was distinguished by military talent and such strategic and tactical abilities as skillful command and control of troops and the ability to concentrate forces on decisive goals.
He moved forward quickly and decisively, gaining, with the help of several decisive victories, new resources, money and even new soldiers.
He captured Tire, a city located on an island in the Mediterranean Sea, after seven months of building a bridge to it.
He was always at the center of the battle and boldly rushed into the hottest places of the battle. He was always an example for his soldiers. When they had no water and food, he starved with them, and during the campaign he moved with his soldiers on foot.
Alexander was kind and loyal to the defeated Persians. He usually did not allow his soldiers to be violent towards conquered peoples.
When he won a battle, he would combine the remaining enemy soldiers with his army, increasing the size of the army.
Known for his conquests, Alexander left a lasting mark on history not through his reign, but through the cultural expansion generated by his conquests.
Reign: 336-323 BC
Titles: Hegemon of the Corinthian League (Greece), Shahinshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt and ruler of Asia.
Main works: creator of one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Life:
Origin: He was born on July 20 (or 21), 356 BC. in Pella, the capital of the Macedonian kingdom. He was the son of the Macedonian king Philip II and the daughter of the Epirus king Olympias, Philip's fourth wife.
Education: Alexander received a classic Greek education under guardianship famous philosopher Aristotle. He studied Greek philosophy, arts and sciences, literature, and learned to play the lyre.
Main stages of professional activity: He ascended the throne in 336 BC and immediately demonstrated his talent as a ruler by pacifying the rebellious cities of Greece.
In the spring of 335 BC. he conquered the Thracian tribes south of the Danube. Alexander finally subjugated Greece, invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of successful military campaigns over the next 10 years.
In 334 BC. Alexander's army, consisting of 40,000 soldiers from Macedonia and various Greek city-states, crossed the Dardanelles and invaded Persia. That same year he broke Persian army on the river Granik.
At the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, he defeated another Persian army led by King Darius III, who managed to escape.
He then conquered Syria and Phenicia, cutting off the Persian fleet from their ports. In 332 BC, he victoriously completed the 7-month siege of Tire, his greatest military achievement, and then captured Egypt.
There he received the double crown of the pharaohs and founded Alexandria, calling it after himself. Alexandria subsequently became the largest educational center in Egypt.
In order to gain control of the east coast Mediterranean Sea, he again defeated Darius in 331 decisive battle at Gaugamela, but Darius fled again.
He then conquered the provinces of Babylon. In 330 BC, he burned the palace of Xerxes in Persepolis, Persia.
Driven by his desire to reach “the edge of the world and the Great Space Sea,” Alexander crossed the Indus. In 326 BC. e. he defeated Poros, the ruler of Punjab, in an epic battle on the Hydaspes River. Creation great empire was completed.
Main stages of personal life: His mother Olympias made a huge contribution to his upbringing and continued to influence him throughout his life. She often told him that he was the son of God and that someday he would become a great leader and conqueror. His mother told Alexander that he was a direct descendant of Achilles. He slept with Homer's Iliad under his pillow and often identified himself with the hero Achilles. Later, his mother “told him a secret” that his real father was Zeus, who appeared at the Olympics in the form of a snake.
At 16 and again at 18, he first demonstrated his brilliant military abilities, helping his father in the war against Byzantium, as well as in the battle of Chaeronea.
When he was 20, Philip II was killed by his guard, who plunged a spear into his chest. In June 336 BC. Alexander took over his father's throne.
Alexander was married three times, first for love, to Roxana, the daughter of a Bactrian nobleman, and also twice for political interests: to Statira, a Persian princess, daughter of King Darius III, and to Parisat, daughter of the Persian king Artaxerxes III.
He had two sons, from Roxana - Alexander IV of Macedon (b. 323 BC) and, possibly, Hercules of Macedon (b. 327 BC) from his concubine Barsina.
Alexander was a fair-haired, handsome, brave, strong young man, one of his eyes was gray, the other black, he was short, with a shrill voice and a slightly bowed head.
Personality. Distinctive feature Alexander had an impulsive character, which was especially evident when he drank, and in the last years of his life he drank especially heavily. But in general, Alexander was sensitive, reasonable and fair. He had a great thirst for knowledge, a love of philosophy and read with pleasure and a lot.
In 324 BC his closest friend and possibly lover, Hephaestion, died of fever or may have been poisoned. Alexander was devastated, he fell ill, drank immoderately for some time and died at the age of 33 in Babylon. Some researchers believe that he was poisoned, others believe that he died of malaria. He was buried in Alexandria.
A few months later his wife Roxana bore him a son, who was killed in 309.
His vast empire was divided among his three generals, and then after a series civil wars, again divided into many areas.
Highlight: After the victory in the battle for the city of Gordion (333), Alexander. allegedly untied the “Gordian Knot” by cutting it with a sword. It was believed that whoever untied the “Gordian Knot” would rule huge territories in Asia. Alexander was always surrounded by many women. He had a harem in the style of the Persian kings, but used it very rarely, showing great restraint in the “charms of the body.” When Alexander included 30,000 Persians in his army, his soldiers openly expressed their displeasure. Alexander arrested 13 leaders and executed them. In Susa, he ordered his 80 companions to marry Persian princesses. In addition, 10 thousand Macedonian soldiers married Persian women. To his glory, Alexander founded about 70 cities. The most famous of which is Alexandria. In India, when his favorite horse Bucephalus died, he ordered the construction of a city and named it after his horse.
His biography demonstrates to us a person’s indefatigable desire for a grandiose dream, and he became one of the most important characters in ancient history. Even in ancient times, he gained the reputation of the greatest commander in the world. And it is no coincidence, because it was this ruler who managed to create an empire of colossal scale.
Alexander the Great: short biography
The father of the future commander was the Macedonian king Philip II, who managed to subjugate a significant part of the Greek territories by the middle of the 4th century. Alexander the Great, whose biography begins around 356 BC, was born in the capital of the state - Pella. In his childhood he managed to receive an excellent education. The fact that the young man was raised by the most famous thinker of the ancient era, Aristotle, speaks volumes. The latter sought to instill in his ward the qualities of an ideal sovereign - wise, fair and courageous. The philosopher's ideas greatly influenced the future policies of the great ruler.
Alexander the Great: biography of the first period of reign
The young warrior ascended the throne at the age of twenty, after his father Philip was killed by conspiratorial aristocrats. Over the next two years (from 336 to 334 BC), the new ruler was busy restoring the shaky
empires. After establishing order in the country and eliminating the threat from the northern Thracian tribes, Alexander turns his gaze beyond the borders of his own state. For a long time, his father had been nurturing the idea of finally defeating what had by that time been Hellas’s main rival for more than a century and a half. His son managed to fulfill this dream.
Alexander the Great: biography of brilliant years
In 334 BC. e. Alexander's armies are transported to Asia and begin to advance deeper into the possessions of the Persians. The general battle took place that same year on the Granik River, after which a significant part fell into the hands of the Macedonians. It was after this battle that the young commander gained the glory of the greatest conqueror. However, he did not stop there. Alexander's next two campaigns were also
directed to the East, but now he almost did not encounter any serious resistance. So he took Egypt, where the ruler founded a city that was named after him - Alexandria. Some resistance was shown in the central regions of Persia, but after 331, King Darius III was defeated, and the city of Babylon became the capital of the Macedonian Empire. Many noble Persians after this went over to his side. By 328, almost all of it had been conquered, after which the ambitious military leader began preparing an invasion of India. This campaign took place in 325 BC. e. However, the heavy battles of Alexander the Great across the Indus River greatly depleted his army, which had been on campaigns for many years without returning to its homeland. The army's grumbling forced the ruler to turn back to Babylon. Here he spent the short rest of his life, still managing to marry a noble Persian woman, but suddenly died in 323 BC. e. After the death of the great conqueror, his state could not be maintained in unity, and it broke up into several small entities.
On the conquered Alexander the Great lands, a state was formed that was striking in its size: from India to the Balkans, from the Black Sea to the Indian Ocean. It was empire- a state that included captured, conquered, dependent countries, united under the rule of the conquerors.
The empire relied on the force of arms and existed only thanks to Alexander. It couldn’t be otherwise - the empire swallowed different peoples with their languages, cultures, religions, between which there was nothing in common. Alexander sought to bring his subjects closer together, to unite cultures, because this was the only way to strengthen the huge state. Babylon became the capital of the empire.
The king himself was influenced by the culture of the East: he introduced local customs and cultural traditions among the Macedonians, wore luxurious oriental clothes, and surrounded himself with dazzling luxury. In Susa, he married 10 thousand of his soldiers to Persian women. Persian youths were raised in Macedonian traditions. Material from the site
The king dreamed of new campaigns to the west - to Carthage, Italy, Spain. But in 323 BC e. Alexander died suddenly at the age of 33.
The conquests of Alexander the Great created the conditions for the unification of ancient and eastern civilizations, which led to the flourishing of many countries.
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Alexander continued his policy of replacing senior officials and executing negligent governors, which he had already begun to pursue while still in India. During the time between 326 - 324. he removed over a third of his satraps and put six to death. In Media, three military leaders, and among them Cleander, the brother of Ken, who died a little earlier, were accused of extortion, summoned to Carmania, where they were arrested, tried and sentenced to execution.
The policy of ethnic fusion increasingly damaged his relations with the Macedonians, who did not at all like his new understanding of empire. They were greatly outraged by his determination to include the Persians in the army and provincial administration on equal terms with them. The arrival of thirty thousand youths who had undergone Macedonian military training, and the inclusion of eastern warriors from Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia and other lands of the empire into the cavalry of the Geitars only fanned the fire of their discontent; in addition to everything, the Persian nobility had recently received the right to serve in the king’s cavalry army. Most Macedonians saw this policy as a threat to their privileged position. This issue became extremely acute in 324, when Alexander's decision to send home Macedonian veterans led by Craterus was interpreted as an intention to transfer the seat of power to Asia. An open rebellion broke out, in which only the royal guards did not participate. But when Alexander finally disbanded the entire Macedonian army and recruited Persians in their place, the opposition was broken. An emotional scene of reconciliation was followed by a grand feast (nine thousand guests) to mark the end of differences and the establishment of a partnership in governing the Macedonians and Persians. Subordinates. The conquered peoples were not included in this commonwealth. Ten thousand veterans went to Macedonia with gifts, and the crisis was overcome.
In the summer of 324, Alexander tried to solve the problem of restless mercenaries, thousands of whom wandered throughout Asia and Greece; many of them are political exiles from their own cities. The decree brought by Nicanor to Europe and proclaimed at Olympia (September 324) ordered all cities of the Greek League to return all exiles and their families (except the Thebans).
Last year.
In the fall of 324, Hephaestion died in Ecbatana, and Alexander gave his closest friend an unprecedented funeral in Babylon. He ordered Greece to honor Hephaestion as a hero, and, apparently, it was precisely with this command that the demand that he himself be given divine honors was connected. He had long cherished thoughts of his divinity. Greek philosophy did not draw a clear dividing line between God and man. Their myths provide more than one example of how a person, having performed great deeds, acquired the status of a deity. Alexander more than once encouraged flattering comparisons of his deeds with those performed by Dionysus or Hercules. He now seems to be becoming convinced of the reality of his divinity and demands its recognition by others. There is no reason to believe that this requirement was due to any political goals (the status of a deity did not give its owner any special rights in the Greek city-state). Rather, it was a symptom of developing megalomania and emotional instability. The cities, willy-nilly, yielded to his demand, but often did so with irony: the Spartan decree said: “If Alexander wants to be a god, let him be a god.”
In the winter of 324, Alexander carried out a brutal punitive expedition against the Cossaeans in the mountains of Luristan. The following spring, in Babylon, he received an embassy from Italy, but later stories appeared that embassies also came from more distant peoples: the Carthaginians, Celts, Iberians and even the Romans. Representatives of Greek cities also came to Alexander - wearing wreaths, as was customary to appear before the divine. In the spring, following the route of Nearchus, he founded another Alexandria - at the mouth of the Tigris, and drew up plans for the development of sea connections with India, for which it was first necessary to make an expedition along the Arabian coast. He sent Heraclides to explore the Hyrcanian (Caspian) Sea. Suddenly, while improving the irrigation system of the Euphrates and settling the coast of the Persian Gulf, Alexander fell ill after a long feast and ten days later, on June 13, 323, he died, at the thirty-third year of his life, believed to be from malaria.
An heir to the throne was not indicated, and his commanders spoke in favor of the feeble-minded illegitimate son of Philip II, Arrideus, and Alexander’s son from Roxana, Alexander IV, who was born after his father’s death; after much debate they themselves divided the satrapies among themselves. After the death of Alexander the Great, the empire was not destined to survive as a single whole. Both kings were killed: Arrhidaeus in 317, Alexander IV in 310-309. Provinces became independent states, and the military leaders, following the example of Antigonus, proclaimed themselves kings.
The achievements of Alexander, the personality and character of the great Macedonian, his military art.
Little reliable information survives about Alexander's plans. If he had remained alive, he would undoubtedly have completed the conquest of Asia Minor, where Paphlagonia, Cappadocia and Armenia still remained essentially independent. But in recent years Alexander's goals seem to have shifted towards exploration of the surrounding world, particularly Arabia and the Caspian Sea.
In organizing his empire, the Macedonian improvised in many areas and adapted what he found to his needs. The exception was his financial policy: he created a centralized organization with tax collectors, possibly independent of local satraps. Part of the failure of this organization is due to the weakness of leadership on the part of Harpalus. But the issue of a new coin with a certain fixed content of silver, based on the Athenian standard, instead of the old bimetallic system common in Macedonia and Persia, promoted trade everywhere, and this, together with the influx of large quantities of gold and silver from the Persian treasury, served as a very necessary and an important stimulus for the economy of the entire Mediterranean region.
Alexander's founding of new cities - over seventy - according to Plutarch, opened a new page in the history of Greek expansion. Undoubtedly, many colonists, not volunteers at all, left the cities, and marriages with the indigenous inhabitants of Asia led to the dissolution of Greek customs. However, in most cities the influence of the Greeks (more than the Macedonians) remained strong. And since the heirs to Alexander's power in Asia, the Seleucids, continued this process of assimilation, the spread of Hellenistic thought and culture over a large part of Asia, as far as Bactria and India, was one of the most remarkable results of Alexander's conquests.
His plans for racial fusion failed: the Macedonians unanimously rejected the idea, and the Seleucid empire was clearly dominated by the Macedonian and Greek elements.
Alexander - the greatest of all known generals - showed extraordinary flexibility both in combining different types of weapons and in the ability to adapt his tactics to the new forms of warfare that the enemy opposed him, be it a nomad, highlanders or Porus with his elephants. His strategy was skillfully guided by a fertile imagination, and he knew how to take advantage of the slightest chances presented in any battle that could make the difference between victory and defeat. Alexander, having won, never stopped there and mercilessly pursued the fleeing enemy. The Macedonian most often used cavalry to deliver crushing blows, and did this so effectively that he rarely had to resort to the help of his infantry.
Alexander's short reign was a decisive moment in the history of Europe and Asia. His campaign and personal interest in scientific research greatly advanced the knowledge of geography and natural history. The activities of the Macedonian led to the transfer of great centers European civilization to the east and to the beginning new era Greek territorial monarchies. It contributed to the spread of Hellenism throughout the Middle East in a broad colonial wave and the creation - if not in a political sense, then at least in an economic and cultural sense - of a single world, stretching from Gibraltar to the Punjab, open to trade and social relationships. It is fair to say that the Roman Empire, the spread of Christianity as a world religion, and the long centuries of Byzantium were, to some extent, the fruits of the labors of Alexander the Great.
