macedonian king from 336 BC e., commander, creator of a world power

short biography

Alexander the Great (Alexander III the Great, Old Greek Ἀλέξανδρος Γ "ὁ Μέγας, lat. Alexander III Magnus, was born presumably July 20 (21), 356 - June 10, 323 BC) - Macedonian king from 336 BC from the Argead dynasty, commander, creator world power, disintegrated after his death.In the Muslim tradition, can be identified with the legendary king Dhuhl-Qarnain... In Western historiography, it is best known as Alexander the Great... Even in Antiquity, Alexander gained the fame of one of the greatest military leaders in history.

Having ascended the throne at the age of 20 after the death of his father, the Macedonian king Philip II, Alexander secured the northern borders of Macedonia and completed the subjugation of Greece by defeating the rebellious city of Thebes. In the spring of 334 BC. e. Alexander began the legendary campaign to the East and in seven years completely conquered the Persian Empire. Then he began the conquest of India, but at the insistence of the soldiers, tired of a long march, he retreated.

The cities founded by Alexander, which in our time are the largest in several countries, and the colonization of new territories by the Greeks in Asia contributed to the spread of Greek culture in the East. Nearly reaching the age of 33, Alexander died in Babylon from a serious illness. Immediately his empire was divided by his generals (diadochi) among themselves, and for several decades a series of wars of diadochi reigned.

Birth and childhood

Alexander was born in 356 BC. e. in the Macedonian capital Pella. According to legend, Alexander was born on the night when Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Already during the campaigns of Alexander, a legend spread that the Persian magicians interpreted this fire as a sign of a future catastrophe for their state. But since all kinds of legends and signs have always accompanied the birth and life of the great people of antiquity, the successfully coincident date of Alexander's birth is sometimes considered artificial.

Alexander's exact birthday is unknown. It is often taken for July 20, since, according to Plutarch, Alexander was born “on the sixth day of the month of Hecatombeon (ancient Greek ἑκατομβαιών) , which the Macedonians call loi (ancient Greek λῷος) "; there are also dates between 21 and 23 July. It is often assumed that 1 day of hecatombeon is July 15, but the exact match has not been proven. However, from the testimony of Aristobulus recorded by Arrian, it can be calculated that Alexander was born in the fall. In addition, according to the testimony of Demosthenes, a contemporary of the king, the Macedonian month of Loi actually corresponded to the Attic Boedromion (September and October). Therefore, the period from October 6 to October 10 is often called the date of birth.

His parents are the Macedonian king Philip II and the daughter of the Epirus king Olympias. Alexander himself, according to tradition, led his family from the mythical Hercules through the kings of Argos, from whom the first Macedonian king Karan supposedly branched off. According to the legendary version spread by Alexander himself, his real father was Pharaoh Nectaneb II. The child was expected to be named Aminta in honor of Philip's father, but he named him Alexander - probably with political overtones in honor of the Macedonian king Alexander I, nicknamed "Philellinus" (friend of the Greeks).

The greatest influence on little Alexander was his mother. The father was engaged in wars with the Greek policies, and most of the time the child spent with the Olympics. She probably tried to turn her son against Philip, and Alexander developed an ambivalent attitude towards his father: while admiring his stories about the war, he at the same time disliked him because of his mother's gossip.

A talented child was seen in Alexander from early childhood. Thanks to this, he was very early recognized as the heir to his father's business, and Olympias became the most influential of at least six of Philip's wives. However, Alexander could be the only son of Philip worthy to accept his kingdom. The fact is that, according to the evidence of ancient authors, his brother Philip (later known as Philip III Arrideus) was feeble-minded. Philip had no other reliably known sons, or at least none of them was ready to rule his father's kingdom by 336.

Alexander was trained from early childhood for diplomacy, politics, war. Although Alexander was born in Pella, he was taught along with other noble youths in Mieza, not far from the city. The choice of a place remote from the capital was probably associated with a desire to remove the child from the mother. Educators and mentors of Alexander were: a relative on the mother's side, Leonid, to whom he retained deep affection in adulthood, despite the strict Spartan upbringing in childhood; the jester and actor Lysimachus; and from 343 BC. e. - the great philosopher Aristotle. The choice of him as a mentor was not accidental - Aristotle was close to the Macedonian royal house, and also well known Hermius, the tyrant of Atarneus, who maintained friendly relations with Philip. Under the leadership of Aristotle, who focused on the study of ethics and politics, Alexander received a classical Greek education, and he was also instilled in a love of medicine, philosophy and literature. Although all Greeks read the classics of Homer, Alexander studied the Iliad especially diligently, since his mother traced her origin to the protagonist of this epic, Achilles. Subsequently, he often re-read this work. It is also known from sources about Alexander's good knowledge of "Anabasis" Xenophon, Euripides, as well as the poets of Pindar, Stesichor, Telest, Philoxenus and others.

Youth

Even in childhood, Alexander was different from his peers: he was indifferent to bodily pleasures and indulged in them very moderately; Alexander's ambition was limitless. He showed no interest in women, but at the age of 10 he tamed Bucephalus, a stallion, because of whose obstinacy Tsar Philip refused to take him. Plutarch on the character of Alexander:

“Philip saw that Alexander was naturally stubborn, and when he got angry, he did not yield to any violence, but with a reasonable word he could easily be persuaded to make the right decision; so my father tried to persuade rather than order. "

At the age of 16, Alexander remained with the king in Macedonia under the supervision of the commander Antipater when Philip was besieging Byzantium. Leading the troops remaining in Macedonia, he suppressed the uprising of the Thracian tribe of Meds and created the city of Alexandropol on the site of the Thracian settlement (by analogy with Philippopolis, which his father named after himself). And after 2 years, in 338 BC. e. at the Battle of Chaeronea, Alexander showed his personal courage and skills as a commander, leading the left wing of the Macedonian army under the supervision of experienced military leaders.

Alexander showed a penchant for adventures in his youth, when, without the will of his father, he wanted to marry the daughter of Pixodar, the ruler of Caria. Later, he seriously quarreled with his father because of the latter's marriage to a young noble Cleopatra, as a result of which there was a break in relations between Philip and Olympias, whom Alexander truly loved. Philip's wedding with a noble Macedonian woman may have been organized by part of the local aristocracy. Many noble Macedonians did not want to put up with the fact that Philip's heir would be the son of a foreigner, who, moreover, was under her strong influence. After this Olympias tried to overthrow Philip with the help of his brother Alexander Molossky, ruler of Epirus. However, Philip learned about the plans of Olympias and offered the Epirus king to marry Cleopatra, the sister of his heir Alexander, and he agreed. For the wedding of Cleopatra, the future conqueror reconciled with his father and returned to Macedonia.

During weddings in 336 BC. e. Philip was killed by his bodyguard Pausanias. The circumstances of the murder are not entirely clear, and it is often pointed to the possibility of participation in the conspiracy of various stakeholders who became enemies of Philip due to his aggressive policies. Pausanias himself was captured and immediately killed by people from Alexander's retinue, which is sometimes interpreted as the desire of the future king to hide the true customer of the attack. The Macedonian army, who knew and saw Alexander well in battles, proclaimed him king (probably at the behest of Antipater).

Ascent to the throne

Greece and Macedonia in 336 BC e.

Upon accession to the throne, Alexander first dealt with the alleged participants in the conspiracy against his father and, according to Macedonian tradition, with other possible rivals. As a rule, they were accused of conspiracy and actions on behalf of Persia - for this, for example, they executed two princes from the Linkestid dynasty (Arrabai and Geromen), representing Upper Macedonia and claiming the Macedonian throne. However, their brother Alexander was Antipater's son-in-law, and therefore Alexander brought him closer to him. At the same time, he executed his cousin Aminta and left his half-sister Keenana a widow. Amynta represented the "senior" line of the Argeads (from Perdiccas III) and nominally ruled Macedonia in infancy for some time until his guardian Philip II removed him. Finally, Alexander decided to eliminate the popular commander Attalos - he was accused of treason and negotiations with Athenian politicians. Alexander won the nobility and the Macedonian people to his side by canceling taxes. At the same time, the treasury after the reign of Philip was practically empty, and debts reached 500 talents.

Upon the news of Philip's death, many of his enemies tried to take advantage of the difficult situation that had arisen. Thus, the Thracian and Illyrian tribes revolted, opponents of Macedonian rule became more active in Athens, and Thebes and some other Greek poleis tried to expel the garrisons left by Philip and weaken the influence of Macedonia. However, Alexander took the initiative into his own hands. As Philip's successor, he organized a congress in Corinth, at which a previously concluded treaty with the Greeks was confirmed. The agreement declared the full sovereignty of the Greek policies, their independent decision of internal affairs, the right to withdraw from the agreement. For guidance foreign policy Greek states was created general advice and the "office" of the Hellenic hegemon with military powers was introduced. The Greeks made concessions, and many policies allowed the Macedonian garrisons to enter (this, in particular, Thebes did).

Alexander: - Ask me what you want!
Diogenes: - Do not block the sun for me!
(Jean-Baptiste Regno, 1818)

In Corinth, Alexander met the cynical philosopher Diogenes. According to legend, the king invited Diogenes to ask him what he wants, and the philosopher replied "Do not block the sun for me." Soon, Alexander visited Delphi, but they refused to accept him there, referring to non-attendance days. But the king found the pythia (soothsayer) and demanded that she predict his fate, and she exclaimed in response “ You are invincible, my son!».

Trek north and capture of Thebes

With still calm Greece behind him, eyeing the new king, he in the spring of 335 BC. e. set off on a campaign against the insurgent Illyrians and Thracians. According to modern estimates, no more than 15 thousand soldiers went on the northern campaign, and almost all of them were Macedonians. First, Alexander defeated the Thracians in the battle at Mount Emon (Shipka): the barbarians set up a camp of carts on a hill and hoped to put the Macedonians to flight by derailing their carts; Alexander ordered his soldiers to avoid the carts in an organized manner. During the battle, the Macedonians captured many of the women and children whom the barbarians had left in the camp and brought them to Macedonia. Soon, the king defeated the tribal tribe, and their ruler Sirm, along with most of his fellow tribesmen, took refuge on the island of Pevka on the Danube. Alexander, using the few ships that arrived from Byzantium, was unable to land on the island. Harvest time was approaching, and Alexander's army could destroy all of the tribal crops and try to force them to surrender before they run out of supplies. However, the king soon noticed that the troops of the Getae tribe were gathering on the other side of the Danube. The Getae hoped that Alexander would not land on the shore occupied by the soldiers, but the king, on the contrary, considered the appearance of the Getae a challenge. Therefore, on makeshift rafts, he crossed to the other side of the Danube, defeated the Getae and thereby deprived the ruler of the Tribals Sirma of hope for an early end to the war. It is possible that Alexander borrowed the organization of the crossing from Xenophon, who described the crossing of the Euphrates on homemade boats in his work "Anabasis". Soon, Alexander concluded allied treaties with all northern barbarians.

While Alexander was settling affairs in the north, in the south at the end of the summer, under the influence of a false rumor about Alexander's death, a rebellion broke out in Thebes, the Greek city that suffered most from Philip. The inhabitants of Thebes called the whole of Greece for an uprising, but the Greeks, in words expressing solidarity with the Thebes, in fact preferred to observe the development of events.

The Athenian orator Demosthenes called Alexander a child, convincing his fellow citizens that he was not dangerous. The king, however, sent a reply that he would soon appear at the walls of Athens and prove that he was already a grown man. In the tense situation, Alexander wasted no time. With impetuous marches, he transferred the army from Illyria to Thebes. The siege took several days. Before the storming of Thebes, Alexander repeatedly proposes peace negotiations and is refused.

At the end of September 335, the assault on the city began. Sources name various reasons for the defeat of the Thebans: Arrian believes that the Theban troops lost heart and could no longer restrain the Macedonians, while Diodorus believes that the main reason was the discovery by the Macedonians of an unprotected section of the city walls. In any case, the Macedonian troops occupied the city walls, and the Macedonian garrison opened the gates and helped encircle the Thebans. The city was taken by storm, plundered, and the entire population was enslaved. With the money raised (about 440 talents), Alexander fully or partially covered the debts of the Macedonian treasury. All of Greece was struck by the fate of the ancient city, one of the largest and strongest in Hellas, and by the quick victory of the Macedonian arms. The inhabitants of a number of cities themselves brought to justice politicians who called for a revolt against Macedonian hegemony. Almost immediately after the capture of Thebes, Alexander headed back to Macedonia, where he began to prepare for a campaign in Asia.

At this stage, Alexander's military expeditions were clothed in the form of pacification of the opponents of the Corinthian Union and the Panhellenic idea of \u200b\u200brevenge on the barbarians. Alexander justifies all his aggressive actions in the "Macedonian" period by an inextricable connection with the goals of the all-Greek union. After all, formally, it was the Corinthian Congress that sanctioned the dominant status of Alexander in Hellas.

Conquest of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt (334-332 BC)

Appointing Antipater as his governor in Europe and leaving him 12 thousand infantry and 1500 cavalry, in the early spring of 334 BC. e. Alexander, at the head of the combined forces of Macedonia, the Greek city-states (except for Sparta, which refused to participate) and the allied Thracians, marched against the Persians. The moment for the start of the campaign was chosen very well, since the Persian fleet was still in the ports of Asia Minor and could not interfere with the crossing of the army. In May, he crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor, in the vicinity of the legendary Troy. According to legend, swimming to the other side, Alexander threw a spear towards Asia, which symbolized that everything conquered would belong to the king.

Diodorus of Siculus gives the composition of his troops, confirmed in general by other sources:

• Infantry - a total of 32 thousand - 12 thousand Macedonians (9 thousand in the Macedonian phalanx and 3 thousand in the units of shield-bearers), 7 thousand allies (from Greek cities), 5 thousand mercenaries (Greeks), 7 thousand barbarians (Thracians and Illyrians), 1 thousand archers and agrian (a Peonian tribe in Thrace).
• The cavalry - a total of 1500-1800 Macedonians (Getaira), 1800 Thessalians and 600 Greeks from other regions, 900 Thracians and Peonians. That is, there were 5 thousand cavalry in Alexander's army.

In addition, there were several thousand Macedonian soldiers in Asia Minor, who crossed there even under Philip. Thus, the total number of Alexander's troops at the beginning of the campaign reached 50 thousand soldiers. There were also many scientists and historians in Alexander's headquarters - Alexander initially set himself research goals.

Alexander's 334 campaign.

Alexander's 333 campaign.

When Alexander's army was near the city of Lampsak on the banks of the Hellespont, the townspeople sent the rhetorician Anaximenes to Alexander, who taught Alexander oratory, to ask him to save the city. Expecting sophisticated rhetorical tricks and requests from his teacher, Alexander exclaimed that he would not do anything that Anaximenes asked. However, the rhetorician asked him to capture and plunder his hometown, and the king had to keep his word - not to seize or plunder Lampsak. Occupying the nearby town of Priapus, Alexander's soldiers were surprised to learn about the cult of the local deity of the same name, and soon his veneration spread throughout the Mediterranean.

The commander of the Greek mercenaries in the Persian service, Memnon, who was well acquainted with the Macedonian army (he fought against Philip's troops sent to Asia Minor) and who personally knew Alexander, recommended refraining from open clashes with Alexander's army and suggested using the scorched earth tactics. He also insisted on the need to actively use the fleet and to strike at Macedonia itself. However, the Persian satraps refused to listen to the advice of the Greek and decided to give battle to Alexander on the Granik River near Troy. In the battle of Granicus, the detachments of the satraps, mostly horse (up to 20 thousand), were scattered, the Persian infantry fled, and the Greek hoplite mercenaries were surrounded and exterminated (2 thousand were taken prisoner).

Most of the cities of Asia Minor voluntarily opened the gates to the winner. Phrygia surrendered completely, and her satrap Atisiy committed suicide. Soon the commandant of the city of Sardis, Mithren, surrendered the city, despite the fact that it was perfectly fortified, and the citadel located on the mountain was almost impregnable. Thanks to this betrayal, Alexander without a fight got one of the most powerful fortresses in Asia Minor and the richest treasury. In gratitude, the king introduced Mithren to his inner circle, and soon appointed him satrap of Armenia. The inhabitants of Ephesus also surrendered the city without a fight: before the arrival of Alexander, they overthrew the pro-Persian elite and restored democracy to themselves. In place of the Persian satraps, Alexander appointed Macedonians, Greeks or, as in the case of Mithren, Persians loyal to him personally.

Soon after arriving in Caria, Alexandra met Ada, a former satrap of Caria who had been ousted from power by her brother Pixodar. She gave him the city of Alinda, where she lived after her suspension, and said that Alexander was like a son to her. Sometimes this phrase, recorded by Arrian, is interpreted as a legal adoption. For him, this became an opportunity to win over some of the Carians to his side - Ada still enjoyed authority among the local aristocracy.

In Caria, Alexander faced resistance from the cities of Miletus and Halicarnassus, where strong Persian garrisons were located, and where the troops of the satraps who had survived the battle at Granicus had accumulated. The entire fleet of Alexander approached Miletus, with the help of which he crossed the Hellespont. However, a few days later, a huge Persian fleet arrived at the city. Despite this, Alexander did not lift the siege from the city and rejected the proposal of the Milesian oligarchy to open the city to both armies. This was probably due to the fact that the commandant of the city, Gegesistratus, had secret negotiations with Alexander about surrender and had already contributed to the occupation of the outer fortifications of the city by the Greeks. Literally the next morning, the Greeks destroyed the walls of Miletus with the help of siege machines, after which the troops rushed into the city and captured it. In addition, the Greeks forced the Persian fleet to retreat, as it did not have sufficient supplies of food and water. The Persians soon returned, but after a small clash they sailed again from Miletus. After that, Alexander took an unexpected step and ordered to disband almost his entire fleet. Modern historians see in this decision of the tsar one of the few mistakes he made.

Alexander cuts the Gordian knot.
(Jean-Simon Berthelemy, late 18th - early 19th centuries)

Already near Halicarnassus, the king regretted his decision - the city was supplied from the sea, and since Alexander did not have the opportunity to block the supply channel, the army had to prepare for a notoriously difficult assault. During 334 BC. e. and until the fall of 333, Alexander conquered all of Asia Minor.

Barely leaving the boundaries of Asia Minor from Cilicia, Alexander near Issami faced in a battle with the Persian king Darius III in November 333 BC. e. The area favored Alexander, a huge army of the Persians was caught in a narrow gorge between the sea and the mountains. The battle of Issus ended with the complete defeat of Darius, he himself fled from the battlefield, leaving his family in the camp, which went to the Macedonians as a prize. Macedonian troops captured in Damascus part of the treasures of the Persian king and many noble captives.

The victory at Issus opened the way for the Macedonians to the south. Alexander, skirting the Mediterranean coast, went to Phenicia with the aim of conquering coastal cities and depriving the bases of the Persian fleet. Peaceful terms, twice proposed by Darius, were rejected by Alexander. Of the cities of Phenicia, only the impregnable Tire, located on the island, refused to recognize the authority of Alexander. However, in July 332 BC. e. after a 7-month siege, the impregnable city-fortress fell after the assault from the sea. With his fall, the Persian fleet in the Mediterranean ceased to exist, and Alexander could freely receive reinforcements by sea.

After Phenicia, Alexander continued on his way to Egypt through Palestine, where he was resisted by the city of Gaza, but he was taken by storm after a 2-month siege.

Egypt, whose armed detachments were destroyed in the battle of Issus, was surrendered by the satrap Mazak without any resistance. The local population welcomed him as a deliverer from the hated Persian yoke and readily recognized his power. Alexander did not touch on local customs and religious beliefs, in general he retained the system of government in Egypt, supporting it with Macedonian garrisons. Alexander stayed in Egypt for six months from December 332 BC. e. to May 331 There the king founded the city of Alexandria, which soon became one of the main cultural centers of the ancient world and largest city Egypt (currently the second largest city in Egypt). His long and dangerous pilgrimage to the oracle of Zeus-Amun in the Siwa oasis in the Libyan desert also dates back to this time. After meeting with him, Alexander began to actively spread a rumor about himself that he was the son of the supreme god Zeus. (The ascent of the pharaoh to the throne has long been accompanied in Egypt by his sacralization; Alexander adopted this tradition).

Having fortified enough in the conquered territory, Alexander decided to delve into lands unknown to the Greeks, in the central regions of Asia, where the Persian king Darius III managed to assemble a huge new army.

Defeat of the Persian Empire (331-330 BC)

In the summer of 331 BC. e. Alexander crossed the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and found himself on the outskirts of Media, the heart of the Persian state. On a large plain (on the territory of modern Iraqi Kurdistan), specially prepared for the action of large masses of cavalry, King Darius was waiting for the Macedonians. October 1, 331 BC. e. the grandiose battle of Gaugamela took place, during which the troops of the Persians and the peoples subject to them were defeated. King Darius, as in the previous battle, fled from the battlefield, although his troops were still fighting, and the outcome of the battle was not at all determined. Meanwhile, the battle of Megalopolis took place between the Greeks and the Macedonians, in which the Spartan king Agis and about five thousand Spartan soldiers died, the losses of the Macedonian side under the command of Antipater amounted to about three and a half thousand dead, - having learned about the outcome of the battle, Alexander told his companions: "While we are here fighting the great king [Darius], a mouse war is going on in Arcadia." Thus, he showed his extreme rejection of the civil strife that tore apart the ancient Greek lands, and his attitude to them as to something negligible, insignificant in the light of his grandiose campaign, despite the fact that the scale of the Megalopolis battle was at least comparable to the battles of its beginning, and in terms of losses of Macedonian forces, it was almost three times superior to the battle of Gaugamela.

Alexander moved south, where ancient Babylon and Susa, one of the capitals of the Persian Empire, opened their gates to him. The Persian satraps, having lost faith in Darius, began to go over to the service of the king of Asia, as Alexander was called.

From Susa, Alexander went through mountain passages to Persepolis, the center of the original Persian land. After unsuccessful attempt to break through on the move, Alexander with part of his army bypassed the detachments of the satrap of Persia Ariobarzanes, and in January 330 BC. e. Persepolis fell. The Macedonian army rested in the city until the end of spring, and before leaving, the palace of the Persian kings was burned down. According to the famous legend, the fire was organized by the hetaira Thais of Athens, the mistress of the military leader Ptolemy, who provoked Alexander's drunken company with his friends.

In May 330 BC. e. Alexander renewed his pursuit of Darius, first in Media and then in Parthia. In July, Darius was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by his generals. The Bactrian satrap Bessus, who killed Darius, called himself the new king of the Persian Empire under the name Artaxerxes. Bessus tried to organize resistance in the eastern satrapies, but was captured by his associates, extradited to Alexander and executed by him in June 329 BC. e.

King of asia

Having become the ruler of Asia, Alexander stopped looking at the Persians as a conquered people, tried to equalize the victors with the defeated and combine their customs into a single whole. The measures taken by Alexander at the beginning concerned external forms such as oriental clothes, harem, Persian court ceremonies. However, he did not demand their observance from the Macedonians. Alexander tried to rule the Persians like their previous kings. In historiography, there is no consensus about the title of Alexander - by accepting the title "king of Asia" the new king could either indicate the continuity of his state with the Achaemenid empire, or, on the contrary, he could emphasize the opposition of the new state and Persia, since he did not use such Achaemenid titles as "king of kings " and others.

The first complaints about Alexander appeared in the fall of 330 BC. e. Fighting comrades-in-arms, accustomed to the simplicity of manners and friendly relations between the tsar and his subjects, grumbled dully, refusing to accept eastern concepts, in particular proskinesis - prostration and kissing the king's feet. The closest friends and court flatterers followed Alexander without hesitation.

The Macedonian army was tired of a long campaign, the soldiers wanted to return home and did not share the goals of their king to become the master of the whole world. At the end of 330 BC. e. a conspiracy against Alexander by several ordinary soldiers was revealed (only 2 participants are known). However, the consequences of the unsuccessful conspiracy turned out to be more than serious due to the inter-clan struggle within Alexander's entourage. One of the leading generals, the commander of the hetaira Filota, was accused of passive complicity (he knew, but did not report). Even under torture, Filota did not confess to malicious intent, but was executed by soldiers at a meeting. Filota's father, the general Parmenion, was killed without trial or any proof of guilt due to Alexander's growing suspicion. The less significant officers, who were also suspected, were acquitted.

In the summer of 327 BC. e. the "conspiracy of pages", noble youths under the Macedonian king was revealed. In addition to the immediate culprits, Callisthenes, a historian and philosopher, who alone dared to object to the king and openly criticize the new court order, was also executed. The death of the philosopher was a logical consequence of the development of Alexander's despotic inclinations. This tendency was especially clearly manifested in the death of Klit the Black, the commander of the royal bodyguards, whom Alexander personally killed as a result of a drunken quarrel in the fall of 328 BC. e. More frequent information about conspiracies is associated with the aggravated paranoia of Alexander.

Hike in Central Asia (329-327 BC)

After the death of Darius III, local rulers in the eastern satrapies of the disintegrated Persian Empire felt independent and were in no hurry to swear allegiance to the new monarch. Alexander, dreaming of becoming the king of the entire civilized world, found himself involved in a three-year military campaign in Central Asia (329-327 BC).

This was primarily a guerrilla war, not an army battle. The battle at Polymet can be noted. This was the first and only victory over the troops of the generals of Alexander the Great in the entire history of his campaign to the East. Local tribes acted in raids and retreats, uprisings broke out in different places, and the Macedonian detachments sent by Alexander, in revenge, destroyed entire villages. The fighting was fought in Bactria and Sogdiana. Alexander the Great conquered Paropamisades and founded a city here - Alexandria of the Caucasus.

In Sogdiana, Alexander defeated the Scythians. To do this, he had to cross the Yaxart River. Further to the north, the Macedonian troops did not go deeper, the places there were deserted and, according to the ideas of the Greeks, sparsely populated. In the mountains of Sogdiana and Bactria, the local population, when the Macedonians approached, hid in hard-to-reach mountain fortresses, but Alexander managed to capture them, if not by storm, then by cunning and perseverance. The king's troops brutally dealt with the recalcitrant local population, which led to the devastation of Central Asia.

In Sogdiana, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria Eskhata (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια Εσχάτη - Extreme Alexandria) (modern Khujand). In Bactria, on ancient ruins, he founded the city of Alexandria in Arachosia (present-day Kandahar). In the same place in Bactria in the winter of 328/327 BC. e. or in the summer of 327, Alexander married Roxane, the daughter of a local nobleman (possibly a satrap) Oxyartes. Although ancient authors generally assumed that the marriage was concluded for love, this union allowed the local aristocracy to be attracted to the side of the king. After the wedding, which consolidated the Macedonian rule in Bactria and Sogdiana, the king began preparations for a campaign in India.

Hike to India (326-325 BC)

In the spring of 326 BC. e. Alexander invaded the lands of the Indian peoples from Bactria through the Khyber Pass, conquered a number of tribes, crossed the Indus River and took possession of King Ambha from Taxila (the Greeks called the king "A man from Taxila", that is, Taxil) on the territory of present-day Pakistan. The main fighting Macedonian troops were deployed in the Punjab area.

Taxil swore allegiance to Alexander, hoping with his help to defeat his rival, King Pora of eastern Punjab. Por put an army and 200 elephants on the borders of his land, and in July 326 BC. e. there was a battle on the Hydasp River, in which Pora's army was defeated, and he himself was captured. Unexpectedly for Taxila, Alexander left Pora as king and even expanded his domain. This was Alexander's usual policy in the conquered lands: to make the conquered rulers dependent on himself, while trying to maintain a counterbalance to them in the person of other appanage rulers.

In the late summer of 326 BC. e. Alexander's advance to the east stopped. On the banks of the Bias River (a tributary of the Indus), the Macedonian army refused to follow the king further due to fatigue from a long campaign and endless battles. The immediate cause was rumors of huge armies with thousands of elephants beyond the Ganges. Alexander had no choice but to turn the army south. When retreating to Persia, he planned to seize other lands.

From about November 326, the Macedonian army for seven months rafted down the rivers Hydasp and Indus, making sorties along the way and conquering the surrounding tribes. In one of the battles for the city of Mallou (January 325 BC), Alexander was seriously wounded in the chest by an arrow. Irritated by the opposition and courage of the peoples of India, Alexander exterminates entire tribes, unable to stay here for a long time in order to lead them to submission.

Alexander sent part of the Macedonian army under the command of Crater to Persia, and with the rest reached the Indian Ocean.

In the summer of 325 BC. e. Alexander moved from the mouth of the Indus to Persia along the ocean coast. The return home through the deserts of Gedrosia, one of the coastal satrapies, turned out to be more difficult than battles - many Macedonians died on the way from heat and thirst.

Alexander's last years

In March 324 BC. e. Alexander entered Susa, where he and his army rested after a 10-year military campaign. Having secured dominion over the conquered lands, Alexander set about the final arrangement of his fragile empire. First of all, he dealt with the satraps on the ground, executed many for poor management.

One of his steps towards the creation of a single state from subjects of diverse cultures was a grand wedding, at which he took as his wife Statyra, the eldest daughter of Darius III, captured after the Battle of Issus, and Parysatus, the daughter of Artaxerxes III. Alexander also endowed his friends with wives from noble Persian families. In total, according to Arrian's testimony, up to 10 thousand Macedonians took wives from the locals, they all received gifts from the king.

A serious reform took place in the army: a phalanx of 30 thousand young men from Asian peoples was prepared and trained according to the Macedonian model. Local aristocrats were even enlisted in the elite cavalry of the Getaira. The concern of the Macedonians resulted in an open revolt in August 324 BC. e., when ordinary soldiers accused the king of almost treason. Having executed 13 instigators and defiantly ignoring the soldiers, Alexander forced obedience to the army, which no longer imagined any other commander except Alexander.

In February 323 BC. e. Alexander stopped in Babylon, where he began to plan new wars of conquest. The immediate target was the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, in the future, an expedition against Carthage was guessed. While the fleet is being prepared, Alexander builds harbors and canals, forms troops from recruits, receives embassies.

Death of Alexander

5 days before the start of the campaign against the Arabs, Alexander fell ill. From June 7, Alexander could no longer speak. After 10 days of severe fever on June 10 or 13, 323 BC. e. Alexander the Great died in Babylon at the age of 32, just over a month before his 33rd birthday and leaving no orders for heirs.

In modern historiography, the version about the natural death of the king is generally accepted. At the same time, the cause of his death has not yet been reliably established. Most often, the version is put forward about death from malaria. According to this version, the body of the king, weakened by daily attacks of malaria, could not resist two diseases at once. The second disease was thought to be either pneumonia or leukemia (leukemia) caused by malaria. According to another version, Alexander fell ill with West Nile fever. It has also been suggested that Alexander may have died of leishmaniasis or cancer. However, the fact that none of his companions got sick anymore reduces the plausibility of the version of an infectious disease. Historians pay attention to the more frequent by the end of the conquests of Alexander's drinking with the generals, which could undermine his health. There is also a version about an overdose of a poisonous hellebore by the king, which was used as a laxative. According to the modern opinion of British toxicologists, the symptoms of the disease from which Alexander died - prolonged vomiting, convulsions, muscle weakness and a slow pulse - indicate his poisoning with a drug made on the basis of a plant called white hellebore (lat.veratrum album), a poisonous plant, used by Greek doctors for medical purposes. Greek doctors gave a drink made from white hellebore with honey to drive out evil spirits and induce vomiting. Finally, even in antiquity, versions appeared about the poisoning of the king by Antipater, whom Alexander was going to remove from the post of governor of Macedonia, but no evidence of this appeared.

After Alexander

Empire section

According to legend, before his death, Alexander gave the royal ring with the seal to the military leader Perdikka, who was supposed to become regent under the pregnant Queen Roxanne. It was assumed that she would soon give birth to a legal heir, whose interests until adulthood would be protected by Perdiccas. A month after the death of Alexander, Roxana gave birth to a son named after his father Alexander. However, the supreme power of the regent of Perdiccas soon began to be challenged by other military leaders (diadochi), who wanted to become independent rulers in their satrapies.

Alexander's empire actually ceased to exist as early as 321 BC. e. after the death of Perdikkas in a clash with his former associates. The Hellenistic world entered the period of the Diadochi wars, which ended with the death of the last "heirs" in 281 BC. e. All members of Alexander's family and people close to him became victims of the struggle for power. Alexander's brother Arridey, who for some time was a puppet king under the name of Philip III, was killed; mother of Alexander Olympias; sister of Alexander Cleopatra. In 309 BC. e. Roxanne's son was killed at the age of 14, together with his mother, Diadochus Cassander; at the same time the diadochus Polyperchon also killed Hercules, the son of Alexander by the concubine Barsina.

Tomb of Alexander

Diadoch Ptolemy took possession of the embalmed body of Alexander the Great and transported it in 322 BC. e. to Memphis. In Memphis, Alexander's body was most likely preserved in the Serapeion Temple. Subsequently (probably at the initiative of Ptolemy Philadelphus) his body was transported to Alexandria.

After 300 years, the body of Alexander was touched by the first Roman emperor Octavian, breaking off the mummy's nose with an awkward movement. The last mention of the mummy of Alexander the Great is contained in the description of the campaign of the Roman emperor Caracalla to Alexandria in the 210s. Caracalla placed his tunic and ring on the tomb of the great conqueror. Since then, nothing is known about the king's mummy.

There is an assumption that the sarcophagus of Nectaneb II, found by the French expeditionary corps of Napoleon in Egypt and transferred to the British, could have been used for some time for the burial of the conqueror himself. This assumption is supported by the frequent use by the Ptolemies of the objects of the pharaohs (up to the obelisks) for their own purposes, the need for the new dynasty to propagate its succession with the previous pharaohs, as well as the fact that Ptolemy I took possession of the king's body so quickly that he could not have time to create a worthy great conqueror sarcophagus. This sarcophagus is currently kept in the British Museum in London.

Alexander's personality

Plutarch describes his appearance as follows:

“Alexander’s appearance is best conveyed by the statues of Lysippos, and he himself believed that only this sculptor was worthy of sculpting his images. This master was able to accurately reproduce what many of the king's successors and friends later imitated - a slight tilt of the neck to the left and a languid gaze. Apelles, painting Alexander in the form of a thunderer, did not convey the color of the skin characteristic of the king, but depicted him darker than he really was. Alexander was reportedly very light, and the whiteness of his skin turned red in places, especially on the chest and face. "

Alexander did not possess a heroic build and was indifferent to athletic competitions, preferring fun feasts and battles. The personality and character of Alexander as any great man cannot be accurately described by separate features or single stories and historical anecdotes; they are determined only by the totality of his deeds and their relation to the previous and subsequent eras.

Very often, Alexander rushed into the thick of the battle, Plutarch lists a list of his wounds:

“Under Granicus, his helmet was cut by a sword that penetrated to the hair ... under Iss, a sword in the thigh ... near Gaza, he was wounded with a dart in the shoulder, near Maracanda, with an arrow in the shin so that the split bone protruded from the wound; in Hyrcania - with a stone in the back of his head, after which his vision deteriorated and for several days he remained under the threat of blindness; in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Assakans - with an Indian spear in the ankle ... In the area of \u200b\u200bthe mulls, an arrow two elbows long, piercing the shell, wounded him in the chest; in the same place ... he was stabbed in the neck with a club.

Sex life

The opinion of Alexander's bisexuality dates back to antiquity; his close friend Hephaestion and favorite Bagoi are called partners. The king often compared himself with Achilles, and Hephaestion with Patroclus. At the same time, in Ancient Greece, the two heroes of the Iliad were generally considered a homosexual couple. The Macedonian aristocrats often practiced relationships with men and adolescents. Relatives turned a blind eye to such relationships and usually showed concern only if the man did not express interest in women in adulthood, which created problems for procreation.

However, Plutarch, in Comparative Biographies, gives other facts.

Once Philoxenus, who commanded an army stationed on the seashore, wrote to Alexander that he had a certain Trentinian Theodore who wanted to sell two boys of remarkable beauty, and asked the king if he wanted to buy them. Alexander was extremely outraged by the letter and more than once complained to friends, asking if Philoxenus really thinks so badly of him that he offers him this abomination. He severely cursed Philoxenus himself in a letter and ordered him to drive away Theodore along with his goods. No less harshly he scolded Gagnon, who wrote that he was going to buy and bring him the boy Krobilus, famous in Corinth.

At the same time, Alexander had mistresses, three legitimate wives (Bactrian princess Roxana, daughters of Persian kings Statira and Parysat) and two sons: Hercules from the concubine Barsina and Alexander from Roxana. In general, the king had great respect for women, although even Alexander's teacher Aristotle defended the subordinate position of women in society.

Religious views

Before the first successes in the fight against the Persians, Alexander actively made sacrifices to the gods, but later he ceased to treat the gods with reverence. So, even earlier, he trampled on the ban on visiting the Delphic oracle, and mourning the death of his friend Hephaestion, Alexander equated him with heroes, organized his cult and laid two temples in his honor.

In Egypt, Alexander proclaimed himself the son of Amun-Ra and thus declared his divine essence; the Egyptian priests began to venerate him both as a son of God and as a god. He also visited the famous oracle of Ammon in the Siwa oasis. These actions are usually seen as a pragmatic political move aimed at legitimizing control over Egypt. Among the Greeks, the king's desire to deify himself did not always find support - most of the Greek city-states recognized his divine essence (as the son of Zeus, the Greek analogue of Amun-Ra) only shortly before his death, including with obvious reluctance, like the Spartans (they decided: “So how Alexander wants to be God, let him be ”). Soon in honor of the king, Alexandria began to be held - general Ionian games like the Olympics, and shortly before his death, the ambassadors of the Greek policies crowned him with golden wreaths, which symbolically recognized his divine essence. The declaration of the divine nature of Alexander seriously shaken the confidence in him of many soldiers and generals. In Greece, the victorious generals were sometimes given similar honors, so only Alexander's renunciation of his father and the demand to recognize himself as an invincible god caused discontent.

A later author, Josephus Flavius, wrote down the legend that Yahweh appeared to Alexander in a dream, and therefore Alexander had great respect for the Jewish high priest in Jerusalem, and also allegedly read the Book of the Prophet Daniel and recognized himself there.

Performance evaluations

The book is about the righteous Viraz. Per. A.I. Kolesnikov.

Then the accursed and wicked Evil Spirit, in order to make people doubt this belief, sent the Romei Alexander, who was found in Egypt, to Iran to create devastation and create fear. He killed the Iranian king, destroyed the royal palace, devastated the state. AND religious books, including Avesta and Zend, written in gold letters on specially prepared ox skins and stored in Stakhra, where Ardashir Papakan was born, in the "Castle of Writings", that vile, vicious, sinful, malevolent Roman Alexander from Egypt collected and burned. He killed many high priests and judges, herbids and mobids, adherents of Zoroastrianism, active and wise people of Iran.

Ferdowsi. Shahnameh. Per. V.V.Derzhavin.

And Ardashir opened his mouth before them:
“Hey, glorious with your knowledge,
Those who have comprehended the essence of everything with their hearts!
I know there is not one among you,
Who would not have heard what he subjected to adversity
Iskandar is an alien, low by birth!
He cast ancient glory into darkness,
The whole world is in a violent fist.
<...>
Remember Iskandar that you ruined
The most glorious, the color of the universe has destroyed.
Where are they all? Where is their stately shine?
Only a bad name remained about them.
Not to blooming heaven - to freezing hell
They left. Haftwad is not eternal! "

The nickname "Great" has been firmly entrenched in Alexander since ancient times. The Roman writer Curtius in the 1st century called his work “The History of Alexander the Great” (Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis); Diodorus noted “ greatness of glory»The general (17.1); Plutarch also referred to Alexander as a "great warrior." The Roman historian Titus Livy reported on the high assessment given to Alexander by another famous commander in history, Hannibal:

Scipio ... asked who Hannibal considered the greatest commander, and he replied that Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, for he defeated countless armies with small forces and reached the most distant countries, which people never hoped to see.

According to Justin, “ there was not a single enemy that he would not defeat, there was not a single city that he would not take, not a single people that he would not conquer».

Napoleon Bonaparte admired not so much Alexander's military genius as his state talents:

What I admire about Alexander the Great is not his campaigns, for which we have no means of evaluation, but his political instinct. His appeal to Amun was a profound political action; thus he conquered Egypt.

However, the achievements of the commander were questioned by ancient philosophers, who did not see the greatness of glory in the seizure of new lands. Seneca called Alexander an unhappy man who was driven to unknown lands by a passion for ambition and cruelty, and who tried to subjugate everything except passions, because from the sciences he had to learn "how small the land, of which he captured an insignificant part."

Alexander was assessed differently in the East. So, in the Zoroastrian "Book of the Righteous Viraz" (Arda Viraz Namag) Alexander is presented as the messenger of the ruler of evil Angra Mainyu. Subsequently, the official Persian historiographers tried to portray Alexander as a descendant of the Achaemenids in order to substantiate the theory of the hereditary succession of the Persian throne. It is often assumed that Alexander is hiding under the name Zul-Qarnain in the Qur'an, where he is described as a righteous man. The pseudo-historical novel "The Story of Alexander the Great" was translated into the Pahlavi language, and through it, probably, into the Arabic language before the appearance of the Koran, and was known in Mecca. Subsequently, the personality of Alexander was popular in the Muslim world, and they often tried to attribute to him a non-Greek origin. For example, the North African Arab authors traced its roots to the territory of the Maghreb, and the Spanish to the Pyrenees. The medieval Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh poem includes Alexander among the rulers of Iran, speaks neutrally about his philosophical conversation with the sages, but through the mouth of King Ardashir he voices a negative assessment of the conqueror. A separate poem "Iskender-name" in the cycle "Khamsa" was dedicated to Alexander by the poet Nizami Ganjavi.

Alexander was a popular character in the Jewish tradition - in particular, in the Bible, rabbinical literature, and Josephus. In the Book of the Prophet Daniel, which Alexander allegedly read, he is not named directly, but is considered as part of the divine plan to save the Jewish people. In the First Book of Maccabees, Alexander is presented as a moderately hostile conqueror, one of whose successors was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the organizer of the persecution of adherents of Judaism. In rabbinic literature, the attitude towards Alexander is mixed.

The image of Alexander in historiography

Already in antiquity, two traditions stood out in the depiction of Alexander: apologetic and critical; the first was represented by the works of Plutarch and Arrian, the second by Diodorus Siculus, Pompey Trog, Quintus Curtius Rufus. Yu. Belokh: “Of all the heroes of antiquity, the greatest interest in an educated society was aroused even in times of decline the great Alexander”.

Attempts to research Alexander's activities were undertaken during the Renaissance, but a systematic study of the life and work of the commander began only in the 19th century with the emergence of historical scientific schools. For most studies of the 19th - early 20th centuries about the life and work of Alexander, idealization of the commander is characteristic. They were started by the author of the fundamental "History of Hellenism" I. Droysen. Also, the author of the "History of Greek Culture" Jacob Burckhardt, J.P. Magaffi, J. Rade, P. Jouguet and others noted high marks for Alexander's activities. Arnold Toynbee considered Alexander a genius who single-handedly created hellenistic world... The military art of Alexander was devoted to a separate work by the American military historian Theodore Dodge, who sought to learn from Alexander's campaigns lessons for modernity. The apologetic tradition received the greatest support in Germany, where attention to his personality was especially great.

In the book of the famous German teacher and popularizer historical science GV Shtol "Heroes of Greece in War and Peace" (1866) Alexander was portrayed as a successful commander and wise statesman... Translated into Russian at the end of the 19th century, GV Shtol's book enjoyed great success among Russian gymnasium and student youth.

Researchers of the late XIX - early XX centuries are characterized by extreme Eurocentrism and justification of the aggressive policy of the Macedonian king: for Burckhardt, Alexander's greatness is determined by the spread of Greek culture and civilization among the barbarian peoples of the East, and for Jouguet, his conquests are assessed in line with the concept of “beneficent imperialism” and seem to be unconditionally progressive phenomenon. Alexander Mikhail Rostovtsev and some other representatives of Anglo-American historiography considered Alexander to be the herald of the "brotherhood of peoples". Sometimes such views persisted later: in particular, in the entire Greek historiography of the 20th century, Alexander, as a rule, was presented as a bearer of high culture and the leader of Western civilization in its eternal struggle with the East.

After the Second World War, large studies appeared that critically evaluated the activities of the commander. British historians Robert David Milns and Peter Greene introduced Alexander as a politician led only by cold calculation (in 2010, the latter's monograph was translated into Russian). Pierre Briand's monograph focuses on the opposition to Alexander. The ambivalence of Alexander's actions was shown by Fritz Schahermayr (his monograph about Alexander was repeatedly reprinted in Russian). In his opinion, Alexander and his father Philip represent completely different types of historical figures - unbridled and rational, respectively. Shahermayr also blames Alexandra for destroying her father's work in bringing the Macedonians closer to the rest of the Greek world. Among the case studies, the two-volume work of Alfred R. Bellinger on the Macedonian king's coinage with an insight into his economic policy stands out.

In Soviet historiography, Alexander the Great was primarily studied by S.I.Kovalev (published a monograph about him in 1937), A.S. Alexander the Great "in 1976 and articles) and GA Koshelenko (" Greek policy in the Hellenistic East "in 1979 and a number of articles).

Memory of Alexander

Sources

Alexander was accompanied on his campaigns by many intellectuals, including the historian Callisthenes and several philosophers. Many of them subsequently published memoirs of their great contemporary. Thus, Alexander's courtier, Haret Mitylensky, wrote The History of Alexander in ten books, which described primarily Alexander's personal life, but survived only in insignificant fragments. His work was not structured chronologically, but was rather a collection of anecdotes. Similar labors were left behind by Medeus and Polyclitus of Larissa and Ephippus of Olynthos. In addition, the Cynic philosopher Onesikrit of Astypalea, who traveled with the army headquarters to India, described in detail the king's conquests. Onesikrit was especially interested in India, and he described in detail the types of local animals and plants, the customs of the peoples. Despite the abundance of fables and invented stories, in the ancient era, the information of Onesikrit served as one of the most important sources in the description of India by geographers (in particular, Oneskirit is widely used by Strabo). Nearchus, who commanded the fleet on his return from India, also left memories of the war.

A completely different fate befell the staff historiographer Callisthenes of Olynthos - in 327 he was executed on charges of plotting a conspiracy. Because of this, the last of his detailed records describe the events of the Battle of Gaugamela. His "Acts of Alexander" had a pronounced apologetic character and was conceived as an excuse for the king to a Greek audience. However, already in ancient times, the unfinished work of Callisthenes was criticized for bias and distortion of the facts by Timaeus of Tauromenia and Polybius. Not immediately after the death of Alexander, the commander Ptolemy, who by this time had already become the ruler of Egypt, systematized his memoirs. Ptolemy created the image of Alexander as a genius commander. It is assumed that due to the military background of Ptolemy, his essay contained many precise details related to military operations. Not immediately wrote the history of Alexander's campaigns and the engineer (possibly an architect) Aristobulus, who was in his army, in which he paid much attention to the geographical and ethnographic description of the conquered lands. Despite the fact that Aristobulus began writing history at the age of 84, he accurately recorded all distances, amounts of money, as well as days and months of events. It is known that the last two works contained the richest factual material. With the exception of a few fragments, all the works written by Alexander's contemporaries have been lost.

Only in small fragments did the work of Klitarch, the younger contemporary of Alexander, survived to this day, who probably did not participate in the campaigns with him, but tried to put together scattered eyewitness accounts and already published works. His work "About Alexander" consisted of at least 12 books and was close in style to a heroic novel. Despite criticism of Klitarch's work by ancient historians, his work was very popular in ancient times. The formation of a cycle of fantastic legends associated with Alexander dates back to the same time, although legends around the personality of the great conqueror began to appear during his lifetime. Together, they created a tradition of truthful and fictitious information about Alexander, which is known in historiography as the "vulgate". Also, "Ephemeris" (records of the court journal of the king) and "Hypomnematics" (notes of Alexander himself with plans for further conquests) were not preserved. Ancient writers often cited Alexander's correspondence with friends, relatives and officials, but most of these letters are later forgeries.

Due to the fact that interest in Alexander's personality did not fade away, the Greeks, and then the Romans, wrote about him and much later, relying on the work of his predecessors. It is these works that have been partially preserved to this day and serve as the main sources for studying the life and work of the king. Most of them relied in one way or another on the work of Klitarch and, to some extent, on the works of Timagen. The writings of Alexander's sympathetic tradition include Diodorus Siculus's Historical Library, The History of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus, and The History of Philip by Pompey Trogus (the last work is preserved in an abridged form by Justin). To a large extent independent of this tradition, Arrian is considered the most reliable source for the life of Alexander. Of great value is the biography of Alexander in the Comparative Biographies of Plutarch, who selected materials in accordance with his ideas about the role of personality in history.

Medieval novels about Alexander. Alexander in European folklore

E. A. Kostyukhin about the medieval perception of Alexander.

In the early Western European Middle Ages, history is rethought and acquires a new pattern, the past is closely related to the present and similar to it. So, Priam is called the first king of the Franks, Alexander the Great - Greek, and Caesar - Roman Charlemagne, they walk around the world with twelve peers and crush the Saracens.

After the death of the tsar, "The Novel of Alexander" (The History of Alexander the Great) was written. The time of the formation of its final version is unclear - it dates back to the times from the reign of Ptolemy II (III century BC) to the beginning of the III century AD. e. The novel is of a fantastic nature, and it was composed based on materials from historical writings, memoirs and semi-legendary legends. Many of the events, which are described in the "Novel" as real, are found by ancient historians only as voiced plans. At the same time, the "Roman" was written even from more materials than the five surviving works about Alexander. The author of "Roman" is unknown. In one of the manuscripts, Callisfen is named the author, but he could not write this essay, since Alexander executed him, and therefore the conditional author of the work is sometimes referred to as Pseudo-Callisthenes. There is an assumption that the first versions of the novel appeared in the East before final processing, where there was an urgent need to justify the conquests of Alexander and the establishment of Greek rule there. Factual information in the novel is often distorted, chronology is often violated. In the classical form, the novel consisted of 10 parts, although in earlier versions, perhaps, there were practically no topics related to Greece.

Even in antiquity, the novel was translated into Latin by Julius Valery Polemius; it was followed by translations into other languages. In the 10th century, the archpresbyter of Naples Leo translated the Byzantine version of the later edition of Pseudo-Callisthenes from Greek into Latin, which was more common in Europe. Leo's work was called "History of battles" (Latin Historia de preliis).

Around 1130, a cleric of Lamprecht of Trier wrote the Song of Alexander based on a similar, but almost extinct, work by Alberic of Besançon. This work is not yet chivalrous a novel, but in some respects anticipates it. Lamprecht's work contains a number of fantastic innovations in the legend of Alexander, prevailing in Europe at that time: the ruler is dressed in armor, tempered in dragon's blood; his army has reached the place where the sky touches the ground; along the way he met people with six arms and flies the size of a dove; finally, Alexander tries to impose tribute on the angels in paradise. The "Song" of Lamprecht is also inherent in a religious mood: the author preaches the ideals of asceticism, calls for renunciation of worldly vanity and repentance of sins.

Plots related to Alexander's campaigns were found in European knightly novels in different countries (in particular, in England, Germany, Spain, France, Czech Republic). In the first half of the 12th century, Alberic of Pisançon wrote a novel in Old French, since there were a very large number of people who did not speak Latin. He bore the imprint of new trends in literature and was close to a knightly romance. At the end of the 12th century, Walter Chatillonsky wrote the poem "Alexandreis" in Latin. During this period, several more revisions of the legend of Alexander arose, the largest of which (16 thousand verses) belongs to Alexander of Paris (de Berne). In the XIII century, based on the poems about Alexander, prose novels, the first translations and further adaptations, which were very popular in medieval Europe, appeared. The Old French "Novel of Alexander" was written in a special twelve-syllabic syllabic verse, which was later called "Alexandrian". In the later editions of the novel, the idealized image of Alexander as a courageous but humane commander was finally formed. For a long time, this character was a model of a knight-king for European culture and, in particular, was included in the list of nine worthy (other righteous pagans were Hector and Guy Julius Caesar). In various versions of the novel, there are allusions to events that were relevant for their time: for example, in the Czech poetic "Alexandreis" of the early 14th century, there are many references to Czech reality, to the dominance of Germans and German culture in Prague.

However, along with the novels about Alexander, there were other works that supplemented the legend about him with new fictional details. For example, in the XIII century, Henri d "Andely created" Le about Aristotle ", which is based on the popular legend about Aristotle and Phyllis, Alexander's mistress. ...

The novel about Alexander was known back in Kievan Rus - a translation from one of the Byzantine editions made in the 12th or even 11th century is contained in a number of manuscripts. At the same time, some episodes from the Bible and Greek literature were introduced into the text, which were absent in the Byzantine editions of the novel. Around 1490-91, the monk of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Euphrosynus, included in the collection of secular stories a translation of one of the versions of the novel, known as Serbian Alexandria. According to Ya. S. Lurie, this “ typical medieval chivalric romance". It is not known where this novel came from in the monastery, but according to a number of signs, the source is called the South Slavic version of the novel, probably compiled in Dalmatia according to the Greek and Western European versions. When translated into Russian (probably, Euphrosynus was only a compiler, editor and scribe, but not a translator), the South Slavic words incomprehensible to the reader were replaced, some plot motifs also changed, and the main part of the novel was divided into legends. In addition, due to insufficient familiarity with the plots of the Trojan War (the Iliad in Russia was often considered a book about the destruction of Jerusalem), numerous references to Homer were reduced. The compilers of "Serbian Alexandria" artificially Christianized the image of the great conqueror, attributed to him sayings in the Christian spirit and presented him as a fighter for the faith. In the 16th century, "Serbian Alexandria" was practically forgotten in the Moscow state, and only in the 17th century it became widespread again. At the same time, translations from the Western European editions of the novel made in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth also appeared.

Alexander the Great is one of the main characters. Most of us know the name of this great commander from childhood.

They make feature films about him, write about him in books, and his exploits are the real legends. Our hero was born in 356 BC. He was the son of Philip II of Macedonia.

Parents paid special attention to the education of their son, among the teachers was Aristotle himself. The boy loved medicine, philosophy and literature. Alexander was ambitious, indifferent to material values \u200b\u200band dreamed of campaigns and exploits.

In 336 BC, Philip was killed in a conspiracy. Who will take the throne? There were several applicants. But the Macedonian army, who knew courage young Alexander in battles, supported him.

Having ascended the throne, he first of all dealt with the conspirators and other pretenders. Meanwhile, in Greece, which was dependent on Macedonia, an uprising broke out. The ancient city of Thebes refused to obey Alexander. The army quickly brought the city into submission. The city's defenders were massacred and the inhabitants enslaved. The brutality and strength of the Macedonian weapons brought Greece into submission.

Having dealt with internal affairs, the future Great General decided to proceed to conquests. His gaze was directed to Persia, where Darius III ruled. Alexander was to command a united army of Macedonians, Greek states (except Sparta), and Thracians.

From 334 BC to 332 BC the allied army completely captured Syria and Egypt, while almost completely defeating the enemy troops. On October 1, 331 BC, the famous battle of Gaugamela took place. The Persian army was defeated, Darius fled from the battlefield in the middle of the battle, when its outcome was not decided.

Stunning views of Babylon and Susa opened before Alexander the Great. The capital opened its doors to the king of Asia, and the local nobility, who had ceased to trust Darius, went over to the Macedonian service. For some time, Alexander was actively involved in the internal affairs of the conquered state. Communicating with the Persians not as a conquered people, but on an equal footing. But soon it was time for new campaigns. Alexander the Great did not like a peaceful life.

Only during the war did he feel comfortable. Now the commander's path lay in Central Asia, where on the territory of present-day Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, he fought with local tribes, depriving them of statehood. In 326 BC. Alexander the Great tried his luck in India. The trip began well, the local tribes fell into dependence on the Greeks. But then the army rebelled, tired of the campaigns, and for a long time, not seeing home and family. I had to turn back.

In 323 BC. Alexander fell seriously ill and died. Alexander the Great was an amazing person. During his life, he founded more than 70 cities. Most of them were named - Alexandria, in his honor. The largest such city was founded at the mouth of the Nile River, it was destined to become a major trade center. The horse's name was Bucephalus. This horse lived for 30 years, faithfully served its master. During a march to India, the horse was killed. The city of the same name was founded in his honor.

Alexander the Great
Born: July 20, 356 BC e.
Died: June 10, 323 BC e.

Biography

Alexander the Great - Macedonian king from 336 BC e. from the Argead dynasty, commander, creator of a world power, which disintegrated after his death. In Western historiography, it is better known as Alexander the Great. Even in Antiquity, Alexander gained the fame of one of the greatest military leaders in history.

Having ascended the throne at the age of 20 after the death of his father, the Macedonian king Philip II, Alexander secured the northern borders of Macedonia and completed the subjugation of Greece by defeating the rebellious city of Thebes. In the spring of 334 BC. e. Alexander began the legendary campaign to the East and in seven years completely conquered the Persian Empire. Then he began the conquest of India, but at the insistence of the soldiers, tired of a long march, he retreated.

The cities founded by Alexander, which in our time are the largest in several countries, and the colonization of new territories by the Greeks in Asia contributed to the spread of Greek culture in the East. Nearly reaching the age of 33, Alexander died in Babylon from a serious illness. Immediately his empire was divided by his generals (diadochi) among themselves, and for several decades a series of wars of diadochi reigned.

Birth and childhood

Alexander was born in 356 BC. e. in the Macedonian capital Pella. According to legend, Alexander was born on the night when Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Already during the campaigns of Alexander, a legend spread that the Persian magicians interpreted this fire as a sign of a future catastrophe for their state. But since all kinds of legends and signs have always accompanied the birth and life of the great people of antiquity, the successfully coincident date of Alexander's birth is sometimes considered artificial.

Alexander's exact birthday is unknown. It is often taken for July 20, because according to Plutarch, Alexander was born “on the sixth day of the month of Hecatombeon (ancient Greek ἑκατομβαιών), which the Macedonians call loy (ancient Greek λῷος)”; there are also dates between 21 and 23 July. It is often assumed that 1 day of hecatombeon is July 15, but the exact match has not been proven. However, from the testimony of Aristobulus recorded by Arrian, it can be calculated that Alexander was born in the fall. In addition, according to the testimony of Demosthenes, a contemporary king The Macedonian month of Loi actually corresponded to the Attic Boedromion (September and October). Therefore, the period from October 6 to October 10 is often called the date of birth.

His parents - macedonian King Philip II and daughter of the King of Epirus Olympias. Alexander himself, according to tradition, led his family from the mythical Hercules through the kings of Argos, from whom the first Macedonian king Karan supposedly branched off. According to the legendary version, which became widespread at the suggestion of Alexander himself, Pharaoh Nectaneb II was his real father. The child was expected to be named Aminta in honor of Philip's father, but he named him Alexander - probably with political overtones in honor of the Macedonian king Alexander I, nicknamed "Philellinus" (friend of the Greeks).

The greatest influence on little Alexander was his mother. The father was engaged in wars with the Greek policies, and most of the time the child spent with the Olympics. She probably tried to turn her son against Philip, and Alexander developed an ambivalent attitude towards his father: while admiring his stories about the war, he at the same time disliked him because of his mother's gossip.

A talented child was seen in Alexander from early childhood. Thanks to this, he was very early recognized as the heir to his father's business, and Olympias became the most influential of at least six of Philip's wives. However, Alexander could be the only son of Philip worthy to accept his kingdom. The fact is that, according to the evidence of ancient authors, his brother Philip (later known as Philip III Arrideus) was feeble-minded. Philip had no other reliably known sons, or at least none of them was ready to rule his father's kingdom by 336.

Alexander was trained from early childhood for diplomacy, politics, war. Although Alexander was born in Pella, he was taught along with other noble youths in Mieza, not far from the city. The choice of a place remote from the capital was probably associated with a desire to remove the child from the mother. Educators and mentors of Alexander were: a relative on the mother's side, Leonid, to whom he retained deep affection in adulthood, despite the strict Spartan upbringing in childhood; the jester and actor Lysimachus; and from 343 BC. e. - the great philosopher Aristotle. The choice of him as a mentor was not accidental - Aristotle was close to the Macedonian royal house, and also well known Hermius, the tyrant of Atarneus, who maintained friendly relations with Philip. Under the leadership of Aristotle, who focused on the study of ethics and politics, Alexander received a classical Greek education, and he was also instilled in a love of medicine, philosophy and literature. Although all Greeks read the classics of Homer, Alexander studied the Iliad especially diligently, as his mother traced her origin to the protagonist of this epic, Achilles. Subsequently, he often re-read this work. Also from sources it is known about Alexander's good knowledge of "Anabasis" Xenophon, Euripides, as well as the poets of Pindar, Stesichor, Telest, Philoxenus and others.

Youth

Even in childhood, Alexander was different from his peers: he was indifferent to bodily pleasures and indulged in them very moderately; Alexander's ambition was limitless. He showed no interest in women (see the article on Kalliksen), but at the age of 10 he tamed Bucephalus, a stallion, because of whose obstinacy Tsar Philip refused to take him. Plutarch on the character of Alexander:

“Philip saw that Alexander is naturally stubborn, and when he gets angry, he does not yield to any violence, but with a reasonable word he can easily be persuaded to make the right decision; so my father tried to persuade rather than order. "

At the age of 16, Alexander remained with the king in Macedonia under the supervision of the commander Antipater when Philip was besieging Byzantium. Leading the troops remaining in Macedonia, he suppressed the uprising of the Thracian tribe of Meds and created the city of Alexandropol on the site of the Thracian settlement (by analogy with Philippopolis, which his father named after himself). And 2 years later, in 338 BC. e. at the Battle of Chaeronea, Alexander showed his personal courage and skills as a commander, leading the left wing of the Macedonian army under the supervision of experienced commanders.

Alexander demonstrated his penchant for adventures in his youth, when, without the will of his father, he wanted to marry the daughter of Pixodar, the ruler of Caria (see article Philip III Arrideus). Later, he seriously quarreled with his father because of the latter's marriage to the young noble Cleopatra, as a result of which there was a break in relations between Philip and Olympias, whom Alexander truly loved. Philip's wedding with a noble Macedonian woman may have been organized by part of the local aristocracy. Many noble Macedonians did not want to put up with the fact that Philip's heir would be the son of a foreigner, who, moreover, was under her strong influence. After this Olympias tried to overthrow Philip with the help of his brother Alexander Molossky, ruler of Epirus. However, Philip learned about the plans of Olympias and suggested that the king of Epirus marry Cleopatra, the sister of his heir Alexander, and he agreed. By the wedding of Cleopatra, the future conqueror reconciled with his father and returned to Macedonia.

During weddings in 336 BC. e. Philip was killed by his bodyguard Pausanias. The circumstances of the murder are not entirely clear, and it is often pointed to the possibility of participation in the conspiracy of various stakeholders who became enemies of Philip due to his aggressive policies. Pausanias himself was captured and immediately killed by people from Alexander's retinue, which is sometimes interpreted as the desire of the future king to hide the true customer of the attack. The Macedonian army, who knew and saw Alexander well in battles, proclaimed him king (probably at the behest of Antipater). However, of all the children of Philip, only Alexander was worthy of taking the throne (see above).

Ascent to the throne

Upon accession to the throne, Alexander first dealt with the alleged participants in the conspiracy against his father and, according to Macedonian tradition, with other possible rivals. As a rule, they were accused of conspiracy and actions on behalf of Persia - for this, for example, they executed two princes from the Linkestid dynasty (Arrabai and Geromen), representing Upper Macedonia and claiming the Macedonian throne. However, the third of the Linkestids was Antipater's son-in-law, and therefore Alexander brought him closer to him. At the same time, he executed his cousin Aminta and left his half-sister Keenana a widow. Amynta represented the "older" line of the Argeads (from Perdiccas III) and nominally ruled Macedonia in infancy for some time until his guardian Philip II removed him. Finally, Alexander decided to eliminate the popular commander Attalos - he was accused of treason and negotiations with Athenian politicians. Alexander drew the nobility and the Macedonian people to his side by canceling taxes. At the same time, the treasury after the reign of Philip was practically empty, and debts reached 500 talents.

Upon the news of Philip's death, many of his enemies tried to take advantage of the difficult situation that had arisen. Thus, the Thracian and Illyrian tribes revolted, opponents of Macedonian domination became active in Athens, and Thebes and some other Greek city-states tried to expel the garrisons left by Philip and weaken the influence of Macedonia. However, Alexander took the initiative into his own hands. As Philip's successor, he organized a congress in Corinth, at which a previously concluded treaty with the Greeks was confirmed. The treaty declared the full sovereignty of the Greek policies, their independent decision of internal affairs, the right to withdraw from the agreement. To guide the foreign policy of the Greek states, a general council was created and the "office" of the Hellenic hegemon, with military powers, was introduced. The Greeks made concessions, and many policies allowed the Macedonian garrisons to enter (this, in particular, Thebes did).

In Corinth, Alexander met the cynical philosopher Diogenes. According to legend, the tsar invited Diogenes to ask him what he wants, and the philosopher replied, "Do not block the sun for me." Soon, Alexander visited Delphi, but they refused to accept him there, referring to non-attendance days. But the king found the pythia (soothsayer) and demanded that she predict his fate, and she in response exclaimed "You are invincible, my son!"

Hike North and Conquer Thebes (335 BC)

With still calm Greece behind him, eyeing the new king, in the spring of 335 BC. e. set off on a campaign against the insurgent Illyrians and Thracians. According to modern estimates, no more than 15,000 soldiers went on the northern campaign, and almost all of them were Macedonians. First, Alexander defeated the Thracians in the battle at Mount Emon (Shipka): the barbarians set up a camp of carts on a hill and hoped to put the Macedonians to flight by derailing their carts; Alexander ordered his soldiers to avoid the carts in an organized manner. During the battle, the Macedonians captured many of the women and children whom the barbarians had left in the camp and brought them to Macedonia. Soon, the king defeated the tribal tribe, and their ruler Sirm, along with most of his fellow tribesmen, took refuge on the island of Pevka on the Danube. Alexander, using the few ships that arrived from Byzantium, was unable to land on the island. Harvest time was approaching, and Alexander's army could destroy all of the tribal crops and try to force them to surrender before they run out of supplies. However, the king soon noticed that the troops of the Getae tribe were gathering on the other side of the Danube. The Getae hoped that Alexander would not land on the shore occupied by the soldiers, but the king, on the contrary, considered the appearance of the Getae a challenge. Therefore, on makeshift rafts, he crossed to the other side of the Danube, defeated the Getae and thereby deprived the ruler of the Tribals Sirm of hope for an early end to the war. It is possible that Alexander borrowed the organization of the crossing from Xenophon, who described the crossing of the Euphrates on homemade boats in his work "Anabasis". Soon, Alexander concluded allied treaties with all northern barbarians. According to legend, during the conclusion of contracts, the king asked the barbarian rulers whom they fear most. All the leaders answered that they were most afraid of him, Alexander, and only the leader of a small Celtic tribe living in Greece said that he was most afraid if the sky suddenly fell to the ground.

However, while Alexander was settling affairs in the north, in the south at the end of the summer, under the influence of a false rumor about Alexander's death, a mutiny broke out in Thebes, the Greek city most affected by Philip. The inhabitants of Thebes called the whole of Greece for an uprising, but the Greeks, in words expressing solidarity with the Thebes, in fact preferred to observe the development of events.

The Athenian orator Demosthenes called Alexander a child, convincing his fellow citizens that he was not dangerous. The king, however, sent a reply that he would soon appear at the walls of Athens and prove that he was already a grown man. In the tense situation, Alexander wasted no time. With impetuous marches, he transferred the army from Illyria to Thebes. The siege took several days. Before the storming of Thebes, Alexander repeatedly proposes peace negotiations and is refused.

At the end of September 335, the assault on the city began. Sources name various reasons for the defeat of the Thebans: Arrian believes that the Theban troops lost heart and could no longer restrain the Macedonians, while Diodorus believes that the main reason was the discovery by the Macedonians of an unprotected section of the city walls. In any case, the Macedonian troops occupied the city walls, and the Macedonian garrison opened the gates and helped encircle the Thebans. The city was seized by storm, plundered, and the entire population was enslaved (see the article Siege of Thebes). With the money raised (about 440 talents), Alexander fully or partially covered the debts of the Macedonian treasury. All of Greece was struck by the fate of the ancient city, one of the largest and strongest in Hellas, and by the quick victory of the Macedonian arms. The inhabitants of a number of cities themselves brought to justice politicians who called for a revolt against Macedonian hegemony. Almost immediately after the capture of Thebes, Alexander headed back to Macedonia, where he began to prepare for a campaign in Asia.

At this stage, Alexander's military expeditions were clothed in the form of pacification of the opponents of the Corinthian Union and the Panhellenic idea of \u200b\u200brevenge on the barbarians. Alexander justifies all his aggressive actions in the "Macedonian" period by an inextricable connection with the goals of the all-Greek union. After all, formally, it was the Corinthian Congress that sanctioned the dominant status of Alexander in Hellas.

Conquest of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt (334-332 BC)

Appointing Antipater as his governor in Europe and leaving him 12 thousand infantry and 1500 cavalry, in the early spring of 334 BC. e. Alexander, at the head of the combined forces of Macedonia, the Greek city-states (except for Sparta, which refused to participate) and the allied Thracians, marched against the Persians. The moment for the start of the campaign was chosen very well, since the Persian fleet was still in the ports of Asia Minor and could not interfere with the crossing of the army. In May, he crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor, in the vicinity of the legendary Troy. According to legend, swimming to the other side, Alexander threw a spear towards Asia, which symbolized that everything conquered would belong to the king.

The ancient historian Diodorus cites the composition of his troops, confirmed in general by other sources:

Infantry - a total of 32 thousand - 12 thousand Macedonians (9 thousand in the Macedonian phalanx and 3 thousand in the units of shield-bearers), 7 thousand allies (from Greek cities), 5 thousand mercenaries (Greeks), 7 thousand barbarians (Thracians and Illyrians), 1 thousand archers and agrian (a Peonian tribe in Thrace).
The cavalry - a total of 1500-1800 Macedonians (Getairas), 1800 Thessalians and 600 Greeks from other regions, 900 Thracians and Peonians. That is, there were 5 thousand cavalry in Alexander's army.

In addition, there were several thousand Macedonian soldiers in Asia Minor, who crossed there even under Philip. Thus, the total number of Alexander's troops at the beginning of the campaign reached 50,000 soldiers. There were also many scientists and historians in Alexander's headquarters - Alexander initially set himself research goals.

When Alexander's army was near the city of Lampsak on the banks of the Hellespont, the townspeople sent the rhetorician Anaximenes to Alexander, who taught Alexander oratory, to ask him to save the city. Expecting sophisticated rhetorical tricks and requests from his teacher, Alexander exclaimed that he would not do anything that Anaximenes asked. However, the rhetorician asked him to capture and plunder his hometown, and the king had to keep his word - not to seize or plunder Lampsak. Occupying the nearby town of Priapus, Alexander's soldiers were surprised to learn about the cult of the local deity of the same name, and soon his veneration spread throughout the Mediterranean.

The commander of the Greek mercenaries in the Persian service, Memnon, who was well acquainted with the Macedonian army (he fought against Philip's troops sent to Asia Minor) and who personally knew Alexander, recommended refraining from open clashes with Alexander's army and suggested using the scorched earth tactics. He also insisted on the need to actively use the fleet and to strike at Macedonia itself. However, the Persian satraps refused to listen to the advice of the Greek and decided to give battle to Alexander on the Granik River near Troy. In the battle of Granicus, the detachments of the satraps, mostly horse (up to 20 thousand), were scattered, the Persian infantry fled, and the Greek hoplite mercenaries were surrounded and exterminated (2 thousand were taken prisoner).

Most of the cities of Asia Minor voluntarily opened the gates to the winner. Phrygia surrendered completely, and her satrap Atisiy committed suicide. Soon, the commandant of the city of Sardis, Mithren, surrendered the city despite the fact that it was perfectly fortified, and the citadel located on the mountain was almost impregnable. Thanks to this betrayal, Alexander without a fight got one of the most powerful fortresses in Asia Minor and the richest treasury. In gratitude, the king introduced Mithren to his inner circle, and soon appointed him satrap of Armenia. The inhabitants of Ephesus also surrendered the city without a fight: before the arrival of Alexander, they overthrew the pro-Persian leadership and restored their democracy. In place of the Persian satraps, Alexander appointed Macedonians, Greeks or, as in the case of Mithren, Persians loyal to him personally.

Soon after arriving in Caria, Alexandra met Ada, a former satrap of Caria who had been ousted from power by her brother Pixodar. She gave him the city of Alinda, where she lived after her suspension, and said that Alexander was like a son to her. Sometimes this phrase, recorded by Arrian, is interpreted as a legal adoption. For him, this became an opportunity to win over some of the Carians to his side - Ada still enjoyed authority among the local aristocracy.

In Caria, Alexander faced resistance from the cities of Miletus and Halicarnassus, where strong Persian garrisons were located, and where the troops of the satraps who had survived the battle at Granicus had accumulated. The entire fleet of Alexander approached Miletus, with the help of which he crossed the Hellespont. However, a few days later, a huge Persian fleet arrived at the city. Despite this, Alexander did not lift the siege from the city and rejected the proposal of the Milesian oligarchy to open the city to both armies. This was probably due to the fact that the commandant of the city, Gegesistratus, had secret negotiations with Alexander about surrender and had already contributed to the occupation of the outer fortifications of the city by the Greeks. Literally the next morning, the Greeks destroyed the walls of Miletus with the help of siege machines, after which the troops rushed into the city and captured it. In addition, the Greeks forced the Persian fleet to retreat, as it did not have sufficient supplies of food and water. The Persians soon returned, but after a small clash they sailed again from Miletus. After that, Alexander took an unexpected step and ordered to disband almost his entire fleet. Modern historians see in this decision of the tsar one of the few mistakes he made.

Already near Halicarnassus, the king regretted his decision - the city was supplied from the sea, and since Alexander did not have the opportunity to block the supply channel, the army had to prepare for a notoriously difficult assault (see Siege of Halicarnassus). During 334 BC. e. and until the fall of 333 BC e. Alexander conquered all of Asia Minor.

Barely leaving the boundaries of Asia Minor from Cilicia, Alexander near Issami faced in battle with the Persian king Darius III in November 333 BC. e. The area favored Alexander, a huge army of the Persians was caught in a narrow gorge between the sea and the mountains. The Battle of Issus ended with the complete defeat of Darius, he himself fled from the battlefield, leaving his family in the camp, which went to the Macedonians as a prize (see Statir's article). Macedonian troops captured in Damascus part of the treasures of the Persian king and many noble captives.

The victory at Issus opened the way for the Macedonians to the south. Alexander, skirting the Mediterranean coast, went to Phenicia with the aim of conquering coastal cities and depriving the bases of the Persian fleet. Peaceful terms, twice proposed by Darius, were rejected by Alexander. Of the cities of Phenicia, only the impregnable Tire, located on the island, refused to recognize the authority of Alexander. However, in July 332 BC. e. after a 7-month siege, the impregnable city-fortress fell after the assault from the sea (see the article Siege of Tire). With his fall, the Persian fleet in the Mediterranean ceased to exist, and Alexander could freely receive reinforcements by sea.

After Phenicia, Alexander continued on his way to Egypt through Palestine, where he was resisted by the city of Gaza, but he was also taken by storm after a 2-month siege (see the article Siege of Gaza).

Egypt, whose armed detachments were destroyed in the battle of Issus, was surrendered by the satrap Mazak without any resistance. The local population welcomed him as a deliverer from the hated Persian yoke and readily recognized his power. Alexander did not touch on local customs and religious beliefs, in general he retained the system of government in Egypt, supporting it with Macedonian garrisons. In Egypt, Alexander stayed six months from December 332 BC. e. to May 331 BC e. There the king founded the city of Alexandria, which soon became one of the main cultural centers of the ancient world and the largest city in Egypt (currently the second largest city in Egypt). His long and dangerous pilgrimage to the oracle of Zeus-Amun in the Siwa oasis in the Libyan desert also dates back to this time. After meeting with him, Alexander began to actively spread a rumor about himself that he was the son of the supreme god Zeus. (The ascent of the pharaoh to the throne has long been accompanied in Egypt by his sacralization; Alexander adopted this tradition).

Having fortified enough in the conquered territory, Alexander decided to delve into lands unknown to the Greeks, in the central regions of Asia, where the Persian king Darius managed to assemble a huge new army.

Defeat of the Persian Empire (331-330 BC)

In the summer of 331 BC. e. Alexander crossed the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and found himself on the outskirts of Media, the heart of the Persian state. On a large plain (on the territory of present-day Iraqi Kurdistan), specially prepared for the action of large masses of cavalry, King Darius was waiting for the Macedonians. October 1, 331 BC e. the grandiose battle of Gaugamela took place, during which the troops of the Persians and the peoples subject to them were defeated. King Darius, as in the previous battle, fled from the battlefield, although his troops were still fighting, and the outcome of the battle was not at all determined.

Alexander moved south, where ancient Babylon and Susa, one of the capitals of the Persian Empire, opened their gates to him. The Persian satraps, having lost faith in Darius, began to go over to the service of the king of Asia, as Alexander was called.

From Susa, Alexander went through mountain passages to Persepolis, the center of the original Persian land. After an unsuccessful attempt to break through on the move, Alexander with part of his army bypassed the detachments of the satrap of Persia Ariobarzan, and in January 330 BC. e. Persepolis fell. The Macedonian army rested in the city until the end of spring, and before leaving, the palace of the Persian kings was burned down. According to the famous legend, the fire was organized by the hetaira Thais of Athens, the mistress of the military leader Ptolemy, who provoked Alexander's drunken company with his friends.

In May 330 BC. e. Alexander renewed his pursuit of Darius, first in Media and then in Parthia. In July 330 BC. e. King Darius was killed as a result of a conspiracy by his military leaders. The Bactrian satrap Bessus, who killed Darius, called himself the new king of the Persian Empire under the name Artaxerxes. Bessus tried to organize resistance in the eastern satrapies, but was captured by his associates, extradited to Alexander and executed by him in June 329 BC. e.

King of asia

Having become the ruler of Asia, Alexander stopped looking at the Persians as a conquered people, tried to equalize the victors with the defeated and combine their customs into a single whole. The measures taken by Alexander at the beginning concerned external forms such as oriental clothes, harem, Persian court ceremonies. However, he did not demand their observance from the Macedonians. Alexander tried to rule the Persians like their previous kings. In historiography, there is no consensus on the title of Alexander - by accepting the title "king of Asia", the new king could either indicate the continuity of his state with the Achaemenid empire, or, on the contrary, could emphasize the opposition of the new power and Persia, since he did not use such titles of the Achaemenids as "King of kings" and others.

The first complaints about Alexander appeared in the fall of 330 BC. e. Fighting comrades-in-arms, accustomed to the simplicity of manners and friendly relations between the tsar and his subjects, grumbled dully, refusing to accept eastern concepts, in particular proskinesis - prostration and kissing the king's feet. The closest friends and court flatterers followed Alexander without hesitation.

The Macedonian army was tired of a long campaign, the soldiers wanted to return home and did not share the goals of their king to become the master of the whole world. At the end of 330 BC. e. a conspiracy against Alexander by several ordinary soldiers was revealed (only 2 participants are known). However, the consequences of the unsuccessful conspiracy turned out to be more than serious due to the inter-clan struggle within Alexander's entourage. One of the leading generals, the commander of the hetaira Filota, was accused of passive complicity (he knew, but did not report). Even under torture, Filota did not confess to malicious intent, but was executed by soldiers at a meeting. Filota's father, the general Parmenion, was killed without trial or any proof of guilt due to Alexander's growing suspicion. The less significant officers, who were also suspected, were acquitted.

In the summer of 327 BC. e. the "conspiracy of pages", noble youths under the Macedonian king was revealed. In addition to the immediate culprits, Callisthenes, a historian and philosopher, who alone dared to object to the king and openly criticize the new court order, was also executed. The death of the philosopher was a logical consequence of the development of Alexander's despotic inclinations. This tendency was especially clearly manifested in the death of Klit the Black, the commander of the royal bodyguards, whom Alexander personally killed as a result of a drunken quarrel in the fall of 328 BC. e. More frequent information about conspiracies is associated with the aggravated paranoia of Alexander.

Hike in Central Asia (329-327 BC)

After the death of Darius III, local rulers in the eastern satrapies of the disintegrated Persian Empire felt independent and were in no hurry to swear allegiance to the new monarch. Alexander, dreaming of becoming the king of the entire civilized world, found himself involved in a three-year military campaign in Central Asia (329 -327 BC).

This was primarily a guerrilla war, not an army battle. The battle at Polymet can be noted. This was the first and only victory over the troops of the generals of Alexander the Great in the entire history of his campaign to the East. Local tribes acted in raids and retreats, uprisings broke out in different places, and the Macedonian detachments sent by Alexander, in revenge, destroyed entire villages. The fighting took place in Bactria and Sogdiana, on the territory of modern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In Sogdiana, Alexander defeated the Scythians. To do this, he had to cross the Yaxart River. Further to the north, the Macedonian troops did not go deeper, the places there were deserted and, according to the ideas of the Greeks, sparsely populated. In the mountains of Sogdiana and Bactria, the local population, when the Macedonians approached, hid in hard-to-reach mountain fortresses, but Alexander managed to capture them, if not by storm, then by cunning and persistence (see the article Alexander's Mountain War). The king's troops brutally dealt with the recalcitrant local population, which led to the devastation of Central Asia.

In Sogdiana, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria Eskhata (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια Εσχάτη - Alexandria Extreme) (modern Khujand), currently the second largest city in Tajikistan. In Bactria, on the ancient ruins, he founded the city of Alexandria in Arachosia (modern Kandahar), now the second largest city in Afghanistan. In the same place in Bactria in the winter of 328/327 BC. e. or in the summer of 327 BC e. Alexander married Roxane, the daughter of a local nobleman (possibly a satrap) Oxyartes. Although ancient authors generally assumed that the marriage was concluded for love, this union allowed the local aristocracy to be attracted to the side of the king. After the wedding, which consolidated the Macedonian rule in Bactria and Sogdiana, the king began preparations for a campaign in India.

Hike to India (326-325 BC)

In the spring of 326 BC. e. Alexander invaded the lands of the Indian peoples from Bactria through the Khyber Pass, conquered a number of tribes, crossed the Indus River and took possession of King Abhi from Taxila (the Greeks called the king "a man from Taxila," that is, Taxil) in what is now Pakistan. The main hostilities of the Macedonian troops took place in the Punjab region, the "five-river" - a fertile area in the basin of the five eastern tributaries of the Indus.

Taxil swore allegiance to Alexander, hoping with his help to defeat his rival, King Pora of eastern Punjab. Por put an army and 200 elephants on the borders of his land, and in July 326 BC. e. there was a battle on the Hydasp River, in which Pora's army was defeated, and he himself was captured. Unexpectedly for Taxila, Alexander left Pora as king, and even expanded his possessions. This was Alexander's usual policy in the conquered lands: to make the conquered rulers dependent on himself, while trying to maintain a counterbalance to them in the person of other appanage rulers.

Late summer 326 BC. e. Alexander's advance to the east stopped. On the banks of the Bias River (a tributary of the Indus), the Macedonian army refused to follow the king further due to fatigue from a long campaign and endless battles. The immediate cause was rumors of huge armies with thousands of elephants beyond the Ganges. Alexander had no choice but to turn the army south. When retreating to Persia, he planned to seize other lands.

From about November 326 BC. e. For seven months, the Macedonian army rafting down the rivers Hydaspes and Indus, making sorties along the way and conquering the surrounding tribes. In one of the battles for the city of Malla (January 325 BC), Alexander was seriously wounded by an arrow in the chest (see Assault on the city of Mallov). Irritated by the opposition and courage of the peoples of India, Alexander exterminates entire tribes, unable to stay here for a long time in order to lead them to submission.

Alexander sent part of the Macedonian army under the command of Crater to Persia, and with the rest reached the Indian Ocean.

In the summer of 325 BC. e. Alexander moved from the mouth of the Indus to Persia along the ocean coast. The return home through the deserts of Gedrosia, one of the coastal satrapies, turned out to be more difficult than the battles - many Macedonians died on the way from heat and thirst.

Alexander's last years

In March 324 BC. e. Alexander entered the city of Susa (in southern Iran), where he and his army rested after a 10-year military campaign. Having secured dominion over the conquered lands, Alexander set about the final arrangement of his fragile empire. First of all, he dealt with the satraps on the ground, executed many for poor management.

One of his steps towards the creation of a unified state of subjects of diverse culture was a grand wedding, at which he married Statyra, the eldest daughter of King Darius, captured after the battle of Issus, and Parysat, daughter of the Persian king Artaxerxes III. Alexander also endowed his friends with wives from noble Persian families. And in total, according to Arrian's testimony, up to 10 thousand Macedonians took wives from the locals, they all received gifts from the king.

A serious reform took place in the army: a phalanx of 30 thousand young men from Asian peoples was prepared and trained according to the Macedonian model. Local aristocrats were even enlisted in the elite cavalry of the Getaira. The concern of the Macedonians resulted in an open riot in August 324 BC. e., when ordinary soldiers accused the king of almost treason. Having executed 13 instigators and defiantly ignoring the soldiers, Alexander forced obedience to the army, which no longer imagined any other commander except Alexander.

In February 323 BC. e. Alexander stopped in Babylon, where he began to plan new wars of conquest. The immediate target was the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, in the future, an expedition against Carthage was guessed. While the fleet is being prepared, Alexander builds harbors and canals, forms troops from recruits, receives embassies.

Death of Alexander

5 days before the start of the campaign against the Arabs, Alexander fell ill. From June 7, Alexander could no longer speak. After 10 days of severe fever on June 10 or 13, 323 BC. e. Alexander the Great died in Babylon at the age of 32, just over a month before his 33rd birthday and leaving no orders for heirs.

In modern historiography, the version about the natural death of the king is generally accepted. At the same time, the cause of his death has not yet been reliably established. Most often, the version is put forward about death from malaria. According to this version, the king's body, weakened by daily attacks of malaria, could not resist two diseases at once; the second disease was either pneumonia or transient leukemia (leukemia) caused by malaria. According to another version, Alexander fell ill with West Nile fever. It has also been suggested that Alexander may have died of leishmaniasis or cancer. However, the fact that none of his companions got sick anymore reduces the plausibility of the version of an infectious disease. Historians pay attention to the more frequent by the end of the conquests of Alexander's drinking with the generals, which could undermine his health. There is also a version about an overdose of a poisonous hellebore by the king, which was used as a laxative. According to the modern opinion of British toxicologists, the symptoms of the disease from which Alexander died - prolonged vomiting, convulsions, muscle weakness and slowing of the pulse - indicate his poisoning with a drug made on the basis of a plant called White hellebore (Latin veratrum album) - a poisonous plant used by Greek doctors for medical purposes. Greek doctors gave a drink made from white hellebore with honey to drive out evil spirits and induce vomiting. Finally, even in antiquity, versions appeared about the poisoning of the king by Antipater, whom Alexander was going to remove from the post of governor of Macedonia, but no evidence of this appeared.

The life of Alexander the Great is a story about how one man with a small army conquered almost the entire world then known. His soldiers saw in him a military genius, the enemies called him cursed. He himself considered himself a god.

Notable lineage

Alexander the Great was born in July 356 BC from the marriage of the Macedonian king Philip and one of his many queens, Olympias. But he could boast of more famous ancestors. According to the dynastic legend, on the father's side he traced his descent from Hercules - the son of Zeus, and on his mother was a direct descendant of the famous Achilles, the hero of Homer's Iliad. Olympias itself became famous for the fact that it was a constant participant in religious orgies in honor of Dionysus.

Plutarch wrote about her: "The Olympiad was more zealous than others who were committed to these mysteries and raged in a completely barbaric manner." Sources tell us that during the processions she carried two tame snakes in her hands. The queen's excessive love for reptiles and the cold relationship between her and her husband gave rise to rumors that Alexander's real father was not the Macedonian king at all, but Zeus himself, who took the form of a snake.

City for Science

In Alexander, since childhood, they saw a talented child, with early years prepared for the throne. Aristotle, who was close to the royal court, was appointed the mentor of the future Macedonian king. To pay for his son's education, Philip II rebuilt the city of Stragiru, which he himself had destroyed, where Aristotle was from, and returned there citizens who had fled and were in slavery.

Invincible and vain

Since his first victory at age 18, Alexander the Great has never lost a battle. His military successes brought him to Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, to Cyrenaica and India, to the territories of the Massagets and Albania. He was the Pharaoh of Egypt, king of Persia, Syria and Lydia.
Alexander led his warriors, each of whom he knew by sight, with impressive speed, overtaking enemies by surprise, even before they were ready for battle. The central place of Alexander's fighting force was occupied by the 15,000-strong Macedonian phalanx, whose warriors went to the Persians with 5-meter peaks - sarissa. For all its military career Alexander founded more than 70 cities, which he ordered to be named after himself, and one in honor of his horse - Bucephalus, which exists to this day, however, under the name Jalalpur in Pakistan.

Become a god

Alexander's vanity was the flip side of his greatness. He dreamed of divine status. Having founded the city of Alexandria in the Nile delta in Egypt, he set off on a long trip to the Siwa oasis in the desert, to the priests of the Egyptian supreme god Amun-Ra, who was likened to the Greek Zeus. According to the idea, the priests were to recognize him as a descendant of a god. History is silent about what the deity "said" to him through the lips of his servants, but it allegedly confirmed the divine origin of Alexander.

True, Plutarch subsequently gave the following curious interpretation of this episode: the Egyptian priest who adopted Alexander said to him in Greek "paidion", which means "child." But as a result of a bad pronunciation, it turned out "Pai Dios", that is, "Son of God."

One way or another, Alexander was pleased with the answer. Having proclaimed himself with the "blessing" of the priest a god in Egypt, he decided to become a god for the Greeks. In one of his letters to Aristotle, he asked the latter to argue the Greeks and Macedonians for his divine nature: “Dear teacher, now I ask you, my wise friend and mentor, to philosophically substantiate and convincingly motivate the Greeks and Macedonians to declare me God. In doing this, I am acting like a responsible politician and statesman. " However, in the homeland of Alexander, his cult did not take root.

Of course, there was a political calculation behind Alexander's maniacal desire to become a god for his subjects. Divine authority greatly simplified the management of his fragile empire, which was divided among the sartraps (rulers). But the personal factor also played an important role. In all cities founded by Alexander, he was to be honored on an equal basis with the gods. In addition, his superhuman desire to conquer the whole world and unite Europe and Asia, which literally took possession of him in the last months of his life, suggests that he himself believed in the legend he created, considering himself more a god than a man.

The mystery of Alexander's death

Death overtook Alexander in the midst of his grandiose plans. Despite his lifestyle, he did not die during the battle, but on his bed, preparing for another campaign, this time to Carthage. In early June 323 BC. e., the king suddenly had a strong fever. On June 7, he could no longer speak, and three days later he died in his prime, at the age of 32. The reason for such a sudden death of Alexander still remains one of the most important mysteries of the ancient world.

The Persians, whom he mercilessly defeated, argued that the commander was punished by the sky for desecrating the tomb of King Cyrus. The Macedonians who returned home said that the great commander died of drunkenness and debauchery (sources brought us information about his 360 concubines). Roman historians believed that he was poisoned with some kind of Asian poison of delayed action. The main argument in favor of this version is considered to be the poor health of Alexander, who, returning from India, allegedly often fainted, lost his voice and suffered from muscle weakness and vomiting. In 2013, British scientists in the journal Clinical Toxicology put forward a version that Alexander was poisoned with a drug made on the basis of a poisonous plant - White Cheremitsa, used by Greek doctors to induce vomiting. The most common version is that Alexander was mowed down by malaria.

Finding Alexander

It is still unknown where Alexander is buried. Immediately after his death, the division of his empire began between his closest associates. In order not to waste time on a lavish funeral, Alexander was temporarily buried in Babylon. Two years later, it was dug up to transport the remains to Macedonia. But on the way, Alexander's half-brother, Ptolemy, attacked the funeral cortege, who by force and bribery took the "trophy" and transported it to Memphis, where he buried it near one of the temples of Amun. But apparently Alexander was not destined to find peace.

Two years later, the new tomb was opened and transported with all the appropriate honors to Alexandria. There, the body was re-embalmed, placed in a new sarcophagus and installed in a mausoleum in the central square.

The next time Alexander's dream was obviously disturbed by the first Christians, for whom he was "the king of the pagans." Some historians believe that the sarcophagus was stolen and buried somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Then the Arabs poured into Egypt and erected a mosque on the site of the mausoleum. On this, the traces of the burial are completely lost, the Muslims for many centuries did not allow anyone to enter Alexandria.

Today there are many versions about the tomb of Alexander the Great. A Persian legend from the beginning of the century says that Alexander remained in the lands of Babylon; Macedonian claims that the body was taken to the ancient capital of Aegeus, where Alexander was born. In the XX century, archaeologists countless times were "close" to solving the mystery of Alexander's last refuge - he was looked for in the dungeons of Alexandria, in the Sivi oasis, in the ancient city of Amphipolis, but so far all is in vain. However, scientists do not give up. In the end, the game is worth the candle - according to one version, he was buried in a sarcophagus of pure gold, along with numerous trophies from Asia and manuscripts from the legendary Library of Alexandria.

Alexander, king of Macedonia, is one of the most legendary representatives of antiquity. Despite its very short life, the young king was able to enslave the impregnable Persian empire in just 12 years of his reign. And to this day there are many legends and myths about the great commander. The biography of Alexander the Great still contains many white spots... So, who is he, this great man who amazed everyone with his art of war?

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Becoming a great commander

The Greek king, the great commander Alexander the Third, is one of the most bright personalities in history. He was also called the Great and at the same time they noted the cruelty and ruthlessness of this ambitious conqueror, who changed the entire course of history, the fate of not only his own, but also many other peoples of the world. The growth of Alexander the Great by today's standards was short - 150 cm, but for that time it was considered average.

The birthplace of the great conqueror is the city of Pella, year - 356 BC. The father was the Macedonian king Philip II, who laid the foundation for future great conquests. Without this man, the future huge empire simply would not exist.

The exam may require information about the name of Alexander's mother. Her name was Olympias, in character she fully corresponded to him, was an unusual, reasonable, dignified and strong woman.

The future ruler and conqueror was especially attached to the Olympics and relied on her in everything. Mother played an important role in the life of Alexander the Great.

Important! Mostly they pay more attention to Philip II, but thanks to the mother of Alexander the Great, she helped her son reach unprecedented heights.

Olympias, a priestess of Dionysus, a snake tamer, contributed to the suicide of Philip's seventh wife and children. It was she who became the regent of her son. While he was in the East, she was an adviser and assistant in all matters. The Greek philosopher Aristotle was engaged in the intellectual development of the future commander.

This is the Macedonian teacher in the field of politics and methods of government. Father Philip II participated in multiple military campaigns, so he was practically not at home. The boy was raised by Aristotle, who paid special attention to the study of politics, ethics, as well as medicine, literature and philosophy. We can say that in his youth, the future conqueror received the classical Greek education of that era.

Having become the king of Macedonia at the age of twenty, in the first years of his reign he proved himself as a great strategist and conqueror, capable of creating a huge empire, the territory of which reached the borders of India itself. A life oversaturated with military campaigns ended too early - in 323 BC, Alexander was only 33 years old. Courage and activities of the young king have become an integral part of the culture and history of the whole world.

The exploits of the great commander were reflected in the work of writers, artists and filmmakers, among them the following:

• works of famous authors of antiquity: Diodorus, Siculo and Plutarch. Diodorus Siculus, a historian of antiquity, wrote a biography of the great commander, which was included in the historical collections "Library of History". Siculo dedicated to the Macedonian king a number of poems and songs that were among the first documents in Latin;
• the Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote about Alexander in the 12th canto of 3 parts "" under the title "Hell", where the story was dedicated to the tyrants;
• the figure of the conqueror still inspires many filmmakers. A prime example is the film of the same name with Colin Farrell in the title role, released in 2004.

A life of conquest

At the age of only 16, he was forced to temporarily replace his father on the throne of Macedonia, who went on a military campaign to conquer.

Two years later, the young ruler had to defend the interests of his state and survive first military test - Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC The Macedonian army defeated the Greek army. In 336 BC, after Philip II was killed by the head imperial guard, his son took the throne of Macedonia.

The ascent of the young king to the throne was not easy. The death of his father created problems in the government and revived the hope of the Greeks for independence from Macedonia. In addition, it halted preparations for the invasion of Asia by Macedonian troops in order to enslave the Persian empire. After eliminating the enemies within the government, having dealt with the conspirators and having enlisted the support of the Macedonian army, the king decided first of all to strengthen the position of Macedonia in Greece. what territories were conquered by the army of Alexander the great during his reign.

Corinth

In 336 BC. Alexander was appointed commander-in-chief of the military League of Corinth. In the city he met with the famous philosopher Diogenes. The extravagant philosopher lived in a barrel, and greatly surprised the young ruler with such a lifestyle. because the king agreed to fulfill any desire of the philosopher. He invited the ruler to leave, as he was covering the sun. Surprised by the answer, the young warrior said: "If I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."

Thebes

In 335 BC. the city of the rebels of Thebes was destroyed and all its people were turned into slavery. Having established a firm position in Greece, he decided to complete the plans of his father Philip and free the Greeks who were in slavery of the Persian Empire.

Conquest of Asia

In 334 BC. The Macedonian army arrived in Asia at the same time as a huge fleet to attack the Persians. There is information that earlier Alexander went to Troy to pay tribute to the great Greek warrior Achilles.

In the same year, the Gordian knot was broken. According to legend, a man who managed to do this soon became the ruler of all Asia. Legend was brought to life.

In 333 BC. the great military leader won the battle with the troops of the Persian king Darius III and liberated all the Greek cities, the inhabitants of which welcomed him as a liberator.

Finally, the Greek cities were free, but D aria managed to escape... It was required not only to strengthen the position of Macedonia among the Greeks, but also to seize the lands of the barbarians and Persians completely, thus creating the Macedonian Empire. It was these two desires that prompted Alexander to make a number of military decisions:

• during the hostilities of the period 332-325. BC, the Persian Empire was completely enslaved.
• 332 BC Phenicia, Syria and Egypt were conquered, the inhabitants of their conqueror named the son of Amun. Only representatives of the pharaoh's family dynasty received such a title.
• 331 BC The victory over the army of Darius was again won, after which the conquest of the capitals of the Persian empire began: Babylon, Susa, Persepolis and Pasargadae. After the death of Darius at the hands of Besso, the conquest of the Persian Empire in 327 BC. was completed.

The death of the great conqueror

At the age of 33, the victorious king was at the peak of his glory, but misfortunes did not take long to appear. Numerous military spending led the people and government to intolerance towards the new regime.

To avoid problems, the great conqueror built military fortress cities in all strategic points of the territory of the empire, appointing them as rulers of their closest military leaders. All cities were called Alexandria. All attempts to revolt against his rule were nipped in the bud.

Attention! The capital of the Macedonian Empire was moved to Babylon, which at that time was located in the very center of the conquered territory.

In the hope of putting an end to the strife between his empire, the Greeks and Persia, Alexander the Great married Statera, the eldest daughter of the Persian king Darius, and many of his entourage married Persians.

On the eve of a new trip to Saudi Arabia, June 10, 323 BC., Alexander died suddenly. The death is believed to have been caused by malaria. Although this information is not confirmed by ancient documents and may be erroneous.

Other reasons could be: liver cirrhosis or poisoning. During a noisy feast, secret enemies presented the emperor with a goblet of poisoned wine. The true circumstances of the death of the Macedonian ruler are still unknown.

It is worth noting a very interesting fact about heritage throne after death Macedonian king. Despite the fact that he had two sons, none of them took the father's throne. As predicted in the Bible centuries before Alexander's reign, his empire was divided among the four generals of his army.

Conqueror of women's hearts

Not only the wars of Alexander the Great ended with triumphant victories and brought him fame, but his personal life was no less eventful.

His ability to win women's hearts has become one of the favorite topics of many poets and writers of our day. There were many women, but those who deserve special attention were able to win the heart the young emperor.

The first wife of Alexander the Great, Roxana, was considered one of the most beautiful women in Asia. Perhaps the choice was due precisely to this reason, as you know, the Conqueror was distinguished by a special vanity. The second wife of the emperor was Statyra, the eldest daughter of the Persian king Darius. The third wife was Parysatis, daughter of the king of Persia Artaxerxes III. In addition to official wives, there were a large number of mistresses.

Unwavering character

From an early age, Alexander began to study the art of war and diplomacy. Thanks to his stubborn and unshakable character, he firmly knew what he wanted and was able to independently make serious decisions concerning both strategic decisions and transformations in all other areas of life.

The king limited himself to food without any problems and for a long time remained completely indifferent to the opposite sex. He had other important goals. But if his leadership was not recognized by others, he was willing to sacrifice everything to be in the spotlight. Many ancient historians speak of him as a proud, self-centered person.

The great military leader had a special charisma, therefore he enjoyed authority among his soldiers, was distinguished by great courage, and fought on the front line shoulder to shoulder with ordinary soldiers.

Biography of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, biography

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Alexander the Great is a very interesting person and unique in its own way... the commander serves as an example for many. Studying the biography of the great conqueror will be a very useful matter, will leave a vivid imprint on the mind and heart of any person.