Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great: Alexander, recognized as one of the most famous military commanders in history, was born in July 356 BC, and died in June 323 BC He conquered most of the known world at that time, coming from ancient Greece to the banks of the Indus in India. During his life and after his death, inspired a literary tradition in which it appears as a legendary hero.
Alexander the Great, was the son of King Philip II of Macedonia and his fourth wife who was Olympia. Being small was educated by Aristotle, the great philosopher of the West, who taught rhetoric, philosophy, medicine, and science. When the father of Alexander the Great took his fifth wife, there was a family dispute about the legitimacy for the young Alexander could ascend the throne after his father had died, which meant he had to leave Macedonia with his mother and sister. Subsequently Macedonia's army seizes power over Greece, and soon after Philip II is assassinated, so Alexander is named king of Macedonia. Once in power, must conquer the cities of Thebes and Athens, which rebelled against Macedonian army, after achieving these gains, the unit of Greece. This allowed the legendary warrior, traverse the Dardanelles (Hellespont formerly), with an army estimated at 42,000 men, mainly from Greece and Macedonia, to conquer the Persian Empire led by Emperor Darius III. In 333 BC, manages to defeat the Persians at the Battle of Issus, which involved the army break into the Persian empire. Between 332 B.C. and 331 B.C. enters Egypt as a deliverer and founded the city of Alexandria, which was the capital of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Once conquered Egypt, faces and finally defeat the Persian army led by Darius at the Battle of Gaugamela in Assyria, which allowed Alexander leave and take the city of Babylon. After this historic feat, conquest Persepolis the capital of the Persian Empire. However, because it begins to take the customs of the conquered people, arise hostilities against him, for the Greeks began to notice that one began to deify. This meant that began to surface numerous plots to assassinate him, which resulted in numerous military members (some of them very close to it), were executed for treason. After the conquest of the Persian Empire, decides to conquer India, where he lost many of his men in fighting that had to overcome. However, in 326 BC, manages to defeat the Indians at the Battle of Hydaspes, allowing Alexander could continue his conquests to the east. But at this point, the soldiers were exhausted, so it was decided to return to Greece. On his return, he died in the city of Babylon at 33 years of age for reasons that are unknown.
After the death of Alexander the Great, he founded the empire is divided among his officers. Although they wanted to preserve the unity, rivalries emerge soon, so the empire split into 4 parts. However, the legacy of that was one of the greatest military strategists, can be seen in the cities he founded, as founded Alexandria in Egypt, which still has an enormous importance today.


 
Alexander the Great 2012