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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was the Greek King of Macedon and one of the most successful conquerors in history, creating an empire strecthing from the Ionian Sea to the Himalaya. He is the most celebrated member of the Argead Dynasty and the creator of one of the largest empires in ancient history, including defeating the powerful Persian Empire.

Biography

Early Life

Alexander was born on either 20 or 21 July 356 BC in Pella, the capital of the Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. He was the son of Phillip II, the King of Macedon and Olympias, Phillip's fourth wife and son of Neoptolemus I, the King of Epirus. As a member of the Argead dynasty, Alexander claimed patrilineal descent from Hercules, and and claimed descent from Achilles on his mother's side. In his early years, Alexander was raised by his nurse, Lanike, and later tutored by the strict Leonidas. Alexander was also later tutored by the famed philosopher Aristotle until he was 16, when his father left to wage war against Byzantion, and left Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent. Four years later, in 336 BC he succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon to the throne after Philip was assassinated. Philip had brought most of the city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian hegemony, using both military and diplomatic means. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He succeeded in being awarded the generalship of Greece and, with his authority firmly established, launched the military plans for expansion left by his father.

Conquests

Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his borders and, in the spring of 335 BC, he advanced into Thrace to deal with the revolt led by Illyrians and the Triballi. Alexander and his army defeated a Thracian garrison on Mount Haemus. Alexander then crushed the Triballi who attempted to ambush him, and proceeded to march on to the Danube. Upon encountering a few of Alexander's cavalry, the Getae tribe retreated and left their village to the Macedonians. News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulanti were in open revolt against Macedonian authority. Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing Cleitus and Glaukias to flee with their armies, leaving Alexander's northern frontier secure. While he was triumphantly campaigning north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once more. Alexander reacted immediately, but, while the other cities once again hesitated, Thebes decided to resist with the utmost vigor. This resistance was useless, however, as the city was razed to the ground amid great bloodshed and its territory divided between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens into submission, leaving all of Greece at least outwardly at peace with Alexander. In 335 BC, Alexander crossed the Hellespont into Asia. Despite taking over one hundred triremes (boats with oars) to transport the entire Macedonian army, the Persians decided to ignore the movement. In these early months, Darius still refused to take Alexander seriously or mount a serious challenge to Alexander's movements. Memnon of Rhodes, the Greek mercenary who aligned himself with the Persians, advocated a scorched Earth strategy. He wanted the Persians to destroy the land in front of Alexander, which he hoped would force Alexander's army to starve, and then to turn back. Eventually, with Alexander advancing deeper into Persian territory, Darius put Memnon in control of an army, and told him to finally confront Alexander. After crossing the Hellespont, Alexander proceeded up the road to the capital of the Satrapy of Phrygia. The Persian forces offered battle on the banks of the Granicus River, and by doing so actually minimized the advantage they had in numbers by battling in a cramped, muddy river bank. Alexander attacked immediately, catching the Persians off guard and then proceeded to position the majority of his cavalry and light infantry on the left, causing the Persians to heavy fortify that side. However, Alexander and his generals smashed through the center of the Persian line. The Macedonian cavalry opened a hole in the Persian line, and the Macedonian infantry charged through to engage the poor quality Persian infantry in the rear. At this, and with many of their leaders already dead, both flanks of the Persian cavalry retreated, and the infantry was cut down as it fled. The Siege of Halicarnassus was fought in 344 BC, and began when Alexander, who had no navy, was constantly threatened by the Persian naval forces. Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by a usurping relative. When that relative died, Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. Orontobates and Memnon of Rhodes entrenched themselves in Halicarnassus when they learned Alexander had obtained a fortress on the way to Halicarnassus. A small battle resulted when Alexander met with his spies within the city, but the dissidents were nowhere to be found. Alexander and his forces managed to break through the city walls, however his forces retreated when Memnon deployed his catapults. Memnon then sent infantry to crush the retreating forces, but Alexander's infantry managed to break through the city walls and surprise the Persian forces and kill Orontobates. Once realizing the city was lost, Memnon withdrew his army and set fire to the city.

Source of Power

The secret of Alexander's success was actually The Staff of Eden. It is unclear exactly how Alexander obtained The Staff, or at what time.