The Empire of Alexander the Great: Conquest, Ideals and His Legacy (Part One)
Alexander was only twenty when he became
king of Macedonia. In just twelve accomplished so much, since then known as Alexander the Great. The father of the renowned conqueror, who had been Alexander's military campaigns in many ways prepared him to assume the kingship, and, indeed, in the important battle of Chaeronea was given command of the cavalry after the assassination of his father, Alexander moved quickly to assert his authority, securing the borders of Macedonia and dissolve a rebellion in Greece. Then he put his attention on his father's dream: the invasion of the Persian Empire is no doubt that Alexander was tempting to get lucky by attacking the Persian Empire, which, although weakened in some respects, still a strong state. Alexander's fleet was smaller than the Persian army, which recruited their ships of the Phoenicians and other coastal towns of western Asia, moreover, could hardly say that their finances were in their prime. Alexander's army would have to live outside the rural environment and getting quick wins in order to make the necessary resources to continue the battle. What the spring of 334 BC C., Alexander entered Asia Minor with an army of about thirty-seven thousand men. Almost half of these were Macedonians, and the rest were Greek or other allied peoples, the cavalry, which would play a critical role as shock troops, consisted of about five thousand items. The army with him architects, engineers, historians and scientists, clearly indicating the great vision of Alexander, and optimistic expectations, encouraging the beginning of his campaign. His first confrontation with the Persians at the Battle of the Granicus River in the year 334 BC C. almost cost him his life, however, came to represent a major victory. In the spring of 3331. C., the entire western half of Asia Minor fell into the hands of Alexander, and the Ionian Greek cities of southwestern Asia Minor had been liberated "from Persian oppression. Not all these states wanted to be released and, instead, considered Alexander just as his new master. Meanwhile, the Persian king Darius III mobilized its forces to stop the army of Alexander. Though the Persian forces were numerically superior to those of Alexander, the battle of Issus was fought in a narrow field that suppressed the advantage of Persian superiority, so it was another success Macedonian. The cause was not helped by the fact the dramatic retreat of Darius the battlefield at a time that was not yet clear who would be victorious. After his victory in Isos the year 333 BC Alexander the site the port cities of Tire and Gaza, in order to avoid weight control of the sea. Egypt capitulated without a fight, so for the winter of 332 BC Syria, Palestine and Egypt were under the control of Alexander. He took the traditional title of pharaoh of Egypt and was hailed as the son of Amon ", which for the Greeks meant to be regarded as the son of Zeus. Alexander also built the first of a number of cities which adopted its name (Alexandria), which would be the Greek administrative capital of Egypt. Would become (until today) one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean world. Meanwhile, Darius have showed signs of willingness to make peace, offering all the land that Alexander was in the west of the Euphrates. Declined the invitation and took the offensive. It now moved into the territory of the kingdoms of the ancient Near East and in the summer of 331 a. C., fought the decisive battle against the Persians at Gaugamela. In that place, it was clear that Alexander's forces were fewer in number compared with the Persian army, which was located in an open plain and clear so that chariots could maneuver freely. Alexander was able to break the heart of the Persian line with a heavy cavalry, the infantry which followed. The battle resulted in a rout, but Darius managed to escape.