Alexander the GreatThis article is about the ancient king of Macedon. Forother uses, see Alexander the Great (disambiguation).Alexander III of Macedon(20/21July 356BC10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known asAlexanderthe Great (Greek: , Alxan-dros hoMgas [a.lk.san.dros hom.gas]),iii[]was aKing (Basileus) of the Ancient Greek kingdomofMacedon[1][2][3]and a member of the Argead dynasty.Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his fa-ther, Philip II, to the throne at the age of twenty. Hespent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented mil-itary campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, untilbytheageofthirtyhehadcreatedoneofthelargestempires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece toEgypt and into northwest India.[4] He was undefeated inbattle and is considered one of historys most successfulmilitary commanders.[5]During his youth, Alexander was tutored by the philoso-pher Aristotle until the age of 16. After Philip was as-sassinated in 336 BC, Alexander succeeded his father tothe throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an ex-perienced army. He had been awarded the generalshipof Greece and used this authority to launch his fathersPanhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquestof Persia.[6][7]In 334 BC, he invaded the AchaemenidEmpire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of cam-paigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the powerof Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably thebattles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently over-threwthePersianKingDariusIII andconqueredtheAchaemenid Empire in its entirety.i[] At that point, hisempire stretched fromthe Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.Seeking to reach the ends of the world and the GreatOuter Sea, he invaded India in 326 BC, but was even-tually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops.Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city he plannedto establish as his capital, without executing a series ofplanned campaigns that would have begun with an inva-sion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series ofcivil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several statesruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals andheirs.Alexanders legacyincludes the cultural diusionhisconquestsengendered, suchasGreco-Buddhism. Hefoundedsometwentycitiesthat borehisname, mostnotably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexanders settlement ofGreek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culturein the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, as-pects of which were still evident in the traditions of theByzantine Empire in the mid-15th century and the pres-ence of Greek speakers in central and far eastern Anatoliauntil the 1920s. Alexander became legendary as a classi-cal hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features promi-nently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greekcultures. He became the measure against which militaryleaders comparedthemselves, andmilitaryacademiesthroughout the world still teach his tactics.[8]ii[] He is of-ten ranked among the worlds most inuential people ofall time, along with his teacher Aristotle.[9][10]1 Early life1.1 Lineage and childhoodBust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era,British MuseumAlexander was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greekmonth of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is not known,[11]12 1 EARLY LIFEAristotle tutoring Alexander, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferrisin Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon.[12] Hewas the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and hisfourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I,king of Epirus.[13][14][15]Although Philip had seven oreight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for sometime, likely a result of giving birth to Alexander.[16]Several legends surround Alexanders birth andchildhood.[17] According to the ancient Greek biographerPlutarch, Olympias, ontheeveoftheconsummationof her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb wasstruckbyathunderbolt, causingaamethat spreadfar and wide before dying away. Some time after thewedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream,securinghiswifeswombwithaseal engravedwithalions image.[18] Plutarch oered a variety of interpreta-tions of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant beforeher marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; orthat Alexanders father was Zeus. Ancient commentatorswere dividedabout whether the ambitious Olympiaspromulgated the story of Alexanders divine parentage,variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or thatshe dismissed the suggestion as impious.[18]On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was prepar-ing asiege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula ofChalcidice. That same day, Philip received news thathis general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrianand Paeonian armies, and that his horses had won at theOlympic Games. It was also said that on this day, theTemple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wondersof the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesiato say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away,attending the birth of Alexander.[14][19] Such legends mayhave emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly athis own instigation, to show that he was superhuman anddestined for greatness from conception.[17]Inhis earlyyears, Alexander was raisedbyanurse,Lanike, sister of Alexanders future general Cleitus theBlack. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutoredby the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and byPhilips general Lysimachus.[20] Alexander was raised inthe manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read,play the lyre, ride, ght, and hunt.[21]When Alexander was ten years old, a trader fromThessaly brought Philip a horse, which he oered to sellfor thirteen talents. The horse refused to be mountedand Philip ordered it away. Alexander however, detect-ing the horses fear of its own shadow, asked to tamethehorse, whichheeventuallymanaged.[17]Plutarchstated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courageand ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: Myboy, you must nd a kingdom big enough for your am-bitions. Macedon is too small for you, and bought thehorse for him.[22] Alexander named it Bucephalas, mean-ing ox-head. Bucephalas carried Alexander as far asIndia. When the animal died (due to old age, accordingto Plutarch, at age thirty), Alexander named a city afterhim, Bucephala.[15][23][24]1.2 Adolescence and educationWhen Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for atutor, andconsideredsuchacademicsasIsocratesandSpeusippus, the latter oering to resign to take up thepost. Intheend, PhilipchoseAristotleandprovidedtheTempleoftheNymphsat Miezaasaclassroom.InreturnforteachingAlexander, Philipagreedtore-build Aristotles hometown of Stageira, which Philip hadrazed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were inexile.[25][26][27]Miezawas likeaboardingschool for Alexander andthechildrenofMacedoniannobles, suchasPtolemy,Hephaistion, andCassander. Manyofthesestudentswould become his friends and future generals, and are of-ten known as the 'Companions. Aristotle taught Alexan-der andhis companions about medicine, philosophy,morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotles tute-lage, AlexanderdevelopedapassionfortheworksofHomer, and in particular theIliad; Aristotle gave himan annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on hiscampaigns.[28][29][30]2.1 Regency and ascent of Macedon 32 Philips heir2.1 Regency and ascent of MacedonMain articles: Philip II of Macedon and Rise of MacedonAt age 16, Alexanders education under Aristotle ended.Philip II of Macedon, Alexanders father.Philip waged war against Byzantion, leaving Alexanderin charge as regent and heir apparent.[17] During Philipsabsence, the Thracian Maedi revolted against Macedo-nia. Alexanderrespondedquickly, drivingthemfromtheir territory. He colonized it with Greeks, and foundeda city named Alexandropolis.[31][32][33]UponPhilipsreturn, hedispatchedAlexanderwithasmall force to subdue revolts in southern Thrace. Cam-paigning against the Greek city of Perinthus, Alexanderis reported to have saved his fathers life. Meanwhile, thecity of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred toApollo near Delphi, a sacrilege that gave Philip the op-portunity to further intervene in Greek aairs. Still occu-pied in Thrace, he ordered Alexander to muster an armyfor a campaign in Greece. Concerned that other Greekstates might intervene, Alexander made it look as thoughhe was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this tur-moil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelledby Alexander.[34]Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and theymarched south through Thermopylae, taking it after stub-bornresistancefromitsThebangarrison. Theywenton to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days marchfrom both Athens and Thebes. The Athenians, led byDemosthenes, voted to seek alliance with Thebes againstMacedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies towin Thebes favor, but Athens won the contest.[35][36][37]Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the re-quest of the Amphictyonic League), capturing the merce-naries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the cityssurrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a naloer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejectedit.[38][39][40]Statue of Alexander in Istanbul Archaeology Museum.AsPhilipmarchedsouth, hisopponentsblockedhimnear Chaeronea, Boeotia. DuringtheensuingBattleofChaeronea, Philipcommandedtheright wingandAlexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philipstrusted generals. According to the ancient sources, thetwo sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliber-ately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on theuntested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking theirline. Alexander was the rst to break the Theban lines,followed by Philips generals. Having damaged the en-emys cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press for-ward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost,4 3 KING OF MACEDONthe Thebans were surrounded. Left to ght alone, theywere defeated.[41]Afterthevictoryat Chaeronea, PhilipandAlexandermarched unopposed into the Peloponnese, welcomed byall cities; however, when they reached Sparta, they wererefused, but did not resort to war.[42] At Corinth, PhilipestablishedaHellenicAlliance(modeledontheoldanti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), whichincludedmostGreekcity-statesexceptSparta. Philipwas then named Hegemon (often translated as SupremeCommander) of this league (known by modern scholarsas the League of Corinth), and announced his plans toattack the Persian Empire.[43][44]2.2 Exile and returnWhen Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with andmarriedCleopatraEurydice, thenieceofhisgeneralAttalus.[45]The marriage made Alexanders position asheirlesssecure, sinceanysonofCleopatraEurydicewould be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander wasonly half-Macedonian.[46] During the wedding banquet, adrunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the unionwould produce a legitimate heir.[45]At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philipfell in love with and married, she being muchtooyoungforhim, heruncleAttalusinhisdrink desired the Macedonians would implorethegodstogivethemalawful successortothekingdombyhisniece. ThissoirritatedAlexander, that throwing one of the cups at hishead, You villain, said he, what, am I thena bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attaluss part,rose up and would have run his son through;but by good fortune for them both, either hisover-hastyrage, or thewinehehaddrunk,madehisfoot slip, sothat hefell downonthe oor. At which Alexander reproachfullyinsulted over him: See there, said he, themanwhomakespreparationstopassoutofEurope into Asia, overturned in passing fromone seat to another.Plutarch, describing the feud at Philipswedding.[47]Alexander ed Macedon with his mother, dropping herowithher brother, KingAlexander I of Epirus inDodona, capital of the Molossians.[48]He continued toIllyria,[48] where he sought refuge with the Illyrian Kingand was treated as a guest, despite having defeated themin battle a few years before. However, it appears Philipnever intendedtodisownhis politicallyandmilitar-ilytrainedson.[48]Accordingly, AlexanderreturnedtoMacedon after six months due to the eorts of a fam-ilyfriend, Demaratus, whomediatedbetweenthetwoparties.[49][50]In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) ofCaria, Pixodarus, oered his eldest daughter to Alexan-ders half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus.[48]Olympias andseveral of Alexanders friends suggestedthis showedPhilip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir.[48] Alexan-der reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth,to tell Pixodarus that he should not oer his daughtershandtoanillegitimateson, but insteadtoAlexander.When Philip heard of this, he stopped the negotiationsand scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daugh-ter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bridefor him.[48]Philipexiledfour ofAlexandersfriends,Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erigyius, and had theCorinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.[46][51][52]3 King of Macedon3.1 AccessionA E G E A N S E ACYCLADESDODECANESEPROPONTIS The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC.In summer 336 BC, while at Aegae attending the wed-dingofhisdaughterCleopatratoOlympiassbrother,AlexanderIofEpirus, Philipwasassassinatedbythecaptain of his bodyguards, Pausanias.vi[]As Pausaniastried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed byhis pursuers, including two of Alexanders companions,PerdiccasandLeonnatus. Alexanderwasproclaimedking by the nobles and army at the age of 20.[53][54][55]3.2 Consolidation of powerAlexander began his reign by eliminating potential rivalsto the throne. He had his cousin, the former AmyntasIV, executed.[56]He also had two Macedonian princesfrom the region of Lyncestis killed, but spared a third,Alexander Lyncestes. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydiceand Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. WhenAlexander learned about this, he was furious. Alexander3.3 Balkan campaign 5The coronation of Alexander as depicted in the 15th century ro-mance The History of Alexanders Battles, J1 version. NLW MSPen.481Dalso ordered the murder of Attalus,[56] who was in com-mand of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minorand Cleopatras uncle.[57]Attalus was at that timecorrespondingwithDemos-thenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens.Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and follow-ing Cleopatras murder, Alexander may have consideredhim too dangerous to leave alive.[57]Alexander sparedArrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled,possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.[53][55][58]News of Philips death roused many states into revolt, in-cluding Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribesnorth of Macedon. When news of the revolts reachedAlexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to usediplomacy, Alexander mustered 3,000 Macedonian cav-alry and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thes-salian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympusand Mount Ossa, and ordered his men to ride over MountOssa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, theyfound Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered,adding their cavalry to Alexanders force. He then con-tinued south towards the Peloponnese.[59][60][61][62]Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was rec-ognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League be-fore heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace andAlexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounterbetweenAlexander andDiogenestheCynicoccurredduringAlexandersstayinCorinth. WhenAlexanderasked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philoso-pher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to theside, as he was blocking the sunlight.[63] This reply ap-parentlydelightedAlexander, whoisreportedtohavesaid But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would liketo be Diogenes.[64] At Corinth, Alexander took the ti-tle of Hegemon (leader) and, like Philip, was appointedcommander for the coming war against Persia. He alsoreceived news of a Thracian uprising.[60][65]3.3 Balkan campaignMain article: Alexanders Balkan campaignBefore crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguardhis northernborders. Inthespringof 335BC, headvancedtosuppress several revolts. Starting fromAmphipolis, he traveled east into the country of the In-dependent Thracians"; and at Mount Haemus, the Mace-donian army attacked and defeated the Thracian forcesmanning the heights.[66] The Macedonians marched intothe country of the Triballi, and defeated their army nearthe Lyginus river[67] (a tributary of the Danube). Alexan-der then marched for three days to the Danube, encoun-tering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing theriver at night, he surprised them and forced their army toretreat after the rst cavalry skirmish.[68][69]News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Il-lyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulanti were in openrevolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria,Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulersto ee with their troops. With these victories, he securedhis northern frontier.[70][71]WhileAlexandercampaignednorth, theThebansandAthenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediatelyheaded south.[72] While the other cities again hesitated,Thebes decided to ght. The Theban resistance was in-eective, and Alexander razed the city and divided itsterritory between the other Boeotian cities. The end ofThebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarilyat peace.[72]Alexander then set out on his Asian cam-paign, leaving Antipater as regent.[73]4 Conquest of the Persian EmpireMain articles: Wars of Alexander the Great andChronologyoftheexpeditionofAlexandertheGreatinto AsiaYouths of the Pellaians and of the Mace-doniansandoftheGreekAmphictionyandoftheLakedaimoniansandoftheCorinthi-ans and of all the Greek peoples, join yourfellow-soldiersandentrustyourselvestome,so that we can move against the barbarians andliberateourselvesfromthePersianbondage,for as Greeks we should not be slaves tobarbarians.AlexandertheGreat, Pseudo-Kallisthenes,Historia Alexandri Magni[74]6 4 CONQUEST OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE4.1 Asia MinorFurtherinformation: BattleoftheGranicus, SiegeofHalicarnassus and Siege of MiletusAlexanders army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC withMap of Alexanders empire and his routeapproximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry and a eetof120shipswithcrewsnumbering38,000,[72]drawnfrom Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenar-ies, andfeudallyraisedsoldiersfrom Thrace, Paionia,and Illyria.[75] (However, Arrian, who used Ptolemy as asource, said that Alexander crossed with more than 5,000horse and 30,000 foot; Diodorus quoted the same totals,but listed 5,100 horse and 32,000 foot. Diodorus also re-ferred to an advance force already present in Asia, whichPolyaenus, in his Stratagems of War (5.44.4), said num-bered 10,000 men.) He showed his intent to conquer theentirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear intoAsian soil and saying he accepted Asia as a gift from thegods.[72] This also showed Alexanders eagerness to ght,in contrast to his fathers preference for diplomacy.[72]After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battleof theGranicus, onthe24of Daisios (8April 334BC),[76] Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persianprovincial capital andtreasuryofSardis; hethenpro-ceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy anddemocracy to the cities. Miletos, held by Achaemenidforces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persiannaval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus, inCaria, Alexander successfully waged his rst large-scalesiege, eventuallyforcinghis opponents, the mercenarycaptainMemnonofRhodesandthePersiansatrapofCaria, Orontobates, to withdrawby sea.[77] Alexander leftthe government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomniddynasty, Ada, who adopted Alexander.[78]FromHalicarnassus, Alexanderproceededintomoun-tainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting controlover all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases.From Pamphylia onwards the coast held no major portsandAlexandermovedinland. AtTermessos, Alexan-der humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city.[79]Atthe ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Alexander un-did the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said toawait the future king of Asia".[80] According to the story,Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knotwas undone and hacked it apart with his sword.[81]4.2 The Levant and SyriaFurther information: Battle of Issus and Siege of Tyre(332 BC)In spring 333 BC, Alexander crossed the Taurus intoDetail of Alexander Mosaic, showing Battle of Issus, from theHouse of the Faun, Pompeii.Cilicia. After a long pause due to illness, he marchedon towards Syria. Though outmanoeuvered by Dariussignicantlylargerarmy, hemarchedbacktoCilicia,where he defeated Darius at Issos. Darius ed the bat-tle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife,his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis, and a fabuloustreasure.[82] He oered a peace treaty that included thelands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talentsfor his family. Alexander replied that since he was nowking of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial di-visions.AlexanderproceededtotakepossessionofSyria, andmost of the coast of the Levant.[78] In the following year,332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he capturedafter a long and dicult siege.[83][84] Alexander massa-cred the men of military age and sold the women andchildren into slavery.[85]4.3 EgyptFurther information: Siege of GazaWhen Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns onthe route to Egypt quickly capitulated. A later traditionrecorded his entry into Jerusalem: according to Josephus,AlexanderwasshowntheBookofDanielsprophecy,presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greekking who would conquer the Persian Empire. He sparedJerusalemandpushedsouthintoEgypt.[86]However,Alexander met with resistance at Gaza. The strongholdwas heavily fortied and built on a hill, requiring a siege.When his engineers pointed out to him that because ofthe height of the mound it would be impossible this en-couraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt..[87] After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell,but not before Alexander had received a serious shoul-der wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were putto the sword and the women and children were sold into4.6 Fall of the Empire and the East 7Name of Alexander the Great in Egyptian hieroglyphs (writtenfrom right to left), c. 330 BC, Egypt. Louvre Museum.slavery.[88]AlexanderadvancedonEgyptinlater332BC, wherehe was regarded as a liberator.[89]He was pronouncedson of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis intheLibyandesert.[90]Henceforth, Alexanderoftenre-ferred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after hisdeath, currency depicted him adorned with rams horn asa symbol of his divinity.[91] During his stay in Egypt, hefounded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become theprosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after hisdeath.[92]4.4 Assyria and BabyloniaFurther information: Battle of GaugamelaLeaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastwardintoMesopotamia(nownorthernIraq) andagainde-feated Darius, at the Battle of Gaugamela.[93] Darius oncemore ed the eld, and Alexander chased him as far asArbela. Gaugamela would be the nal and decisive en-counter between the two. Darius ed over the mountainsto Ecbatana (modern Hamedan), while Alexander cap-tured Babylon.[94]4.5 PersiaFurther information: Battle of the Persian GateFromBabylon, Alexander went to Susa, one ofthe Achaemenidcapitals, andcapturedits legendarytreasury.[94]Hesent thebulkofhisarmytothePer-sian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Royal Road.Alexander himself tookselectedtroops onthedirectroute to the city. He had to storm the pass of the PersianGates (in the modern Zagros Mountains) which had beenblocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and thenhurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot thetreasury.[95]On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops toSite of the Persian Gate; the road was built in the 1990s.loot thecityfor several days.[96]Alexander stayedinPersepolis for ve months.[97] During his stay a re brokeout in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the restof the city. Possible causes include a drunken accidentor deliberate revenge for the burning of the Acropolis ofAthens during the Second Persian War.[98]4.6 Fall of the Empire and the EastSilvercoinofAlexanderwearingthelionscalpofHerakles,British Museum.Alexander thenchasedDarius, rst intoMedia, andthen Parthia.[99]The Persian king no longer controlledhis owndestiny, andwas takenprisoner byBessus,his Bactrian satrap and kinsman.[100]As Alexander ap-proached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great KingandthendeclaredhimselfDarius successorasArtax-erxesV, beforeretreatingintoCentral AsiatolaunchaguerrillacampaignagainstAlexander.[101]Alexanderburied Dariusremains next to his Achaemenid prede-cessorsinaregal funeral.[102]Heclaimedthat, whiledying, DariushadnamedhimashissuccessortotheAchaemenid throne.[103] The Achaemenid Empire is nor-mally considered to have fallen with Darius.[104]Alexander viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to de-feat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turnedintoagrandtour of centralAsia. Alexander foundedaseriesofnewcities, all calledAlexandria, includingmodernKandaharinAfghanistan, andAlexandriaEs-chate (The Furthest) in modern Tajikistan. The cam-paign took Alexander through Media, Parthia, Aria (West8 5 INDIAN CAMPAIGNAfghanistan), Drangiana, Arachosia (South and CentralAfghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan),and Scythia.[105]Spitamenes, who held an undened position in the satrapyofSogdiana, in329BCbetrayedBessustoPtolemy,one of Alexanders trusted companions, and Bessuswas executed.[106]However, when, at some point later,Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursionby a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana inrevolt. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at theBattle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaignagainst Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai.After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men,who then sued for peace.[107]4.7 Problems and plotsThe killing of Cleitus, Andr Castaigne 18981899During this time, Alexander adopted some elements ofPersian dress and customs at his court, notably the cus-tom of proskynesis, either a symbolic kissing of the hand,or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to theirsocial superiors.[108] The Greeks regarded the gesture asthe province of deities and believed that Alexander meantto deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympa-thies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually aban-doned it.[109]A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his o-cers, Philotas, was executed for failing to alert Alexan-der. The death of the son necessitated the death of thefather, and thus Parmenion, who had been charged withguardingthetreasuryatEcbatana, wasassassinatedatAlexanders command, to prevent attempts at vengeance.Most infamously, Alexander personally killed the manwho had saved his life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, dur-ing a violent drunken altercation at Maracanda (modernday Samarkand in Uzbekistan), in which Cleitus accusedAlexander of several judgemental mistakes and most es-pecially, ofhavingforgottentheMacedonianwaysinfavour of a corrupt oriental lifestyle.[110]Later, intheCentral Asiancampaign, asecondplotagainst his life was revealed, this one instigated by hisown royal pages. His ocial historian, Callisthenes ofOlynthus, was implicated in the plot; however, historianshave yet to reach a consensus regarding this involvement.Callisthenes had fallen out of favor by leading the oppo-sition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis.[111]4.8 Macedon in Alexanders absenceWhen Alexander set out for Asia, he left his gen-eral Antipater, an experiencedmilitary andpoliticalleader and part of Philip IIs Old Guard, in charge ofMacedon.[73] Alexanders sacking of Thebes ensured thatGreece remained quiet during his absence.[73]The oneexception was a call to arms by Spartan king Agis IIIin 331 BC, whom Antipater defeated and killed in bat-tle at Megalopolis the following year.[73]Antipater re-ferred the Spartans punishment to the League of Corinth,which then deferred to Alexander, who chose to pardonthem.[112] There was also considerable friction betweenAntipater and Olympias, and each complained to Alexan-der about the other.[113]In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosper-ity during Alexanders campaign in Asia.[114] Alexandersent back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulatedthe economy and increased trade across his empire.[115]However, Alexanders constant demands for troops andthe migration of Macedonians throughout his empire de-pleted Macedons manpower, greatly weakening it in theyears after Alexander, and ultimately led to its subjuga-tion by Rome.[21]5 Indian campaignMain article: Indian campaign of Alexander the Great5.2 Revolt of the army 9The phalanx attacking the centre in the Battle of the Hydaspesby Andr Castaigne (18981899)5.1 Forays into the Indian subcontinentAfter the death of Spitamenes and his marriage to Rox-ana (Roshanak in Bactrian) to cement relations with hisnew satrapies, Alexander turned to the Indian subconti-nent. He invited the chieftains of the former satrapy ofGandhara, in the north of what is now Pakistan, to cometo him and submit to his authority. Omphis(Indian nameAmbhi Kumar), the ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom ex-tended from the Indus to the Hydaspes (Jhelum), com-plied, but the chieftains of some hill clans, including theAspasioi and Assakenoi sections of the Kambojas (knownin Indian texts also as Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas), re-fused to submit.[116] Ambhi hastened to relieve Alexanderof his apprehension and met him with valuable presents,placing himself and all his forces at his disposal. Alexan-der not only returned Ambhi his title and the gifts buthe also presented him with a wardrobe of Persian robes,gold and silver ornaments, 30 horses and 1000 talents ingold. Alexander was emboldened to divide his forces,and Ambhi assisted Hephaestion and Perdiccas in con-structing a bridge over the Indus where it bends at Hund(Fox 1973), supplied their troops with provisions, and re-ceived Alexander himself, and his whole army, in his cap-ital city of Taxila, with every demonstration of friendshipand the most liberal hospitality.On the subsequent advance of the Macedonian king, Tax-iles accompanied him with a force of 5000 men and tookpart in the battle of the Hydaspes River. After that victoryhe was sent by Alexander in pursuit of Porus, to whom hewas charged to oer favourable terms, but narrowly es-caped losing his life at the hands of his old enemy. Sub-sequently, however, the two rivals were reconciled by thepersonal mediation of Alexander; and Taxiles, after hav-ing contributed zealously to the equipment of the eet onthe Hydaspes, was entrusted by the king with the govern-ment of the whole territory between that river and the In-dus. A considerable accession of power was granted himafter the death of Philip, son of Machatas; and he wasallowed to retain his authority at the death of Alexanderhimself (323 BC), as well as in the subsequent partitionof the provinces at Triparadisus, 321 BC.In the winter of 327/326 BC, Alexander personally leda campaign against these clans; the Aspasioi of Kunarvalleys, theGuraeansoftheGuraeusvalley, andtheAssakenoi of the Swat and Buner valleys.[117]A ercecontest ensuedwiththeAspasioi inwhichAlexanderwas woundedintheshoulder byadart, but eventu-allytheAspasioi lost. AlexanderthenfacedtheAs-sakenoi, who fought in the strongholds of Massaga, Oraand Aornos.[116]Thefort of Massagawas reducedonlyafter days ofbloody ghting, in which Alexander was wounded seri-ously in the ankle. According to Curtius, Not only didAlexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, butalso did he reduce its buildings to rubble.[118] A similarslaughter followed at Ora. In the aftermath of Massagaand Ora, numerous Assakenians ed to the fortress ofAornos. Alexander followed close behind and capturedthe strategic hill-fort after four bloody days.[116]After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and foughtand won an epic battle against King Porus, who ruled aregion in the Punjab, in the Battle of the Hydaspes in326 BC.[119] Alexander was impressed by Poruss brav-ery, and made him an ally. He appointed Porus as satrap,and added to Porusterritory land that he did not pre-viously own. Choosing a local helped him control theselands so distant from Greece.[120] Alexander founded twocities on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river, naming oneBucephala, in honor of his horse, who died around thistime.[121] The other was Nicaea (Victory), thought to belocated at the site of modern day Mong, Punjab.[122]5.2 Revolt of the armyEastofPorus kingdom, neartheGangesRiver, weretheNanda Empireof Magadha andfurther east theGangaridai Empire (of modern day Bangladesh). Fearingthe prospect of facing other large armies and exhaustedby years of campaigning, Alexanders army mutinied atthe Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east.This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexan-ders conquests.[123]10 6 LAST YEARS IN PERSIAAlexanders invasion of the Indian subcontinentAsfor theMacedonians, however, theirstruggle with Porus blunted their courage andstayedtheirfurtheradvanceintoIndia. Forhaving had all they could do to repulse an en-emy who mustered only twenty thousand in-fantry and two thousand horse, they violentlyopposed Alexander when he insisted on cross-ing the river Ganges also, the width of which,astheylearned, wasthirty-twofurlongs, itsdepth a hundred fathoms, while its banks onthe further side were covered with multitudesof men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants.For they were told that the kings of the Gan-deritesandPraesii wereawaitingthemwitheighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thou-sand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and sixthousand war elephants.[124]Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther,but his general Coenus pleaded with him to change hisopinion and return; the men, he said, longed to again seetheir parents, their wives and children, their homeland.Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, marchingalong the Indus. Along the way his army conquered theMalhi (in modern day Multan) and other Indian tribes andsustained an injury during the siege.[125]Alexander sent much of his army to Carmania (modernsouthern Iran) with general Craterus, and commissioneda eet to explore the Persian Gulf shore under his admiralNearchus, while he led the rest back to Persia through themore dicult southern route along the Gedrosian Desertand Makran.[126] Alexander reached Susa in 324 BC, butnot before losing many men to the harsh desert.[127]6 Last years in PersiaAlexander, left, and Hephaestion, rightDiscovering that many of his satraps and military gover-nors had misbehaved in his absence, Alexander executedseveral of them as examples on his way to Susa.[128][129]As a gesture of thanks, he paid o the debts of his sol-diers, and announced that he would send over-aged anddisabled veterans back to Macedon, led by Craterus. Histroops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at thetown of Opis. They refused to be sent away and criticizedhis adoption of Persian customs and dress and the intro-duction of Persian ocers and soldiers into Macedonianunits.[130]Afterthreedays, unabletopersuadehismentobackdown, AlexandergavePersianscommandpostsinthearmy and conferred Macedonian military titles upon Per-sian units. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness,which Alexander accepted, and held a great banquet forseveralthousandofhismenatwhichheandtheyatetogether.[131] In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony be-tween his Macedonian and Persian subjects, Alexanderheld a mass marriage of his senior ocers to Persian andother noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriagesseem to have lasted much beyond a year.[129] Meanwhile,uponhisreturn, Alexanderlearnedthatguardsofthetomb of Cyrus the Great had desecrated it, and swiftlyexecuted them.[132] this was because Alexander the Greatwas himself infatuated with and admired Cyrus the Great,from an early age reading Xenophons Cyropaedia, whichdescribed Cyruss heroism in battle and governance andhis abilities as a king and a legislator.[133] During his visitto Pasargadae he ordered Aristobulus to decorate the in-terior of the sepulchral chamber of Cyrus tomb.[133]After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulkof the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possiblelover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning.[134][135]HephaestionsdeathdevastatedAlexander, andheor-11Painting of Alexander the Great at the desecrated tomb of Cyrusthe Greatderedthepreparationofanexpensivefuneral pyreinBabylon, aswell asadecreeforpublicmourning.[134]Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of newcam-paigns, beginningwithaninvasionofArabia, but hewould not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortlythereafter.[136]7 Death and successionMain article: Death of Alexander the GreatOn either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in theABabylonian astronomical diary (c. 323322 BC) recording thedeath of Alexander (British Museum, London)19th century depiction of Alexanders funeral procession basedon the description of Diodoruspalace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32.[137]There are two dierent versions of Alexanders death anddetails of the death dier slightly in each. Plutarch's ac-count is that roughly 14 days before his death, Alexanderentertained admiral Nearchus, and spent the night andnext day drinking with Medius of Larissa.[138]He de-veloped a fever, which worsened until he was unable tospeak. The common soldiers, anxious about his health,were granted the right to le past himas he silently wavedat them.[139]In the second account, Diodorus recountsthat Alexander was struck with pain after downing a largebowl of unmixed wine in honour of Heracles, followed by11 days of weakness; he did not develop a fever and diedafter some agony.[140] Arrian also mentioned this as an al-ternative, but Plutarch specically denied this claim.[138]Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy toassassination,[141] foul play featured in multiple accountsof his death. Diodorus, Plutarch, ArrianandJustinall mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned.Justin stated that Alexander was the victim of a poison-ing conspiracy, Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication,[142]whilebothDiodorusandArriannotedthattheymen-tioned it only for the sake of completeness.[140][143] Theaccounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designat-ing Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy,and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the allegedplot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a deathsentence,[144] and having seen the fate of Parmenion andPhilotas,[145] Antipater purportedly arranged for Alexan-der to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexan-ders wine-pourer.[143][145] There was even a suggestionthat Aristotle may have participated.[143]It is claimed that the strongest argument against the poi-son theory is the fact that twelve days passed between thestart of his illness and his death; such long-acting poi-sons were probably not available.[146] However, in 2003Dr Leo Schep From The New Zealand National PoisonsCentre proposed in a BBC documentary investigating hisdeaththattheplantwhitehellebore(Veratrumalbum)may have been used to poison Alexander.[147][148][149] In2014 Dr Leo Schep published this theory in the peer-reviewedmedical journal Clinical Toxicology; inthisjournal articleit wassuggestedAlexanderswinewasspiked with Veratrum album, a plant known to the An-cient Greeks, which produces poisoning symptoms thatmatch the course of events as described in the AlexanderRomance.[150] Veratrum album poisoning can have a pro-longedcourseandit wassuggestedthat ifAlexanderwaspoisoned, Veratrumalbumoersthemostplausi-ble cause.[150][151] Another poisoning explanation was putforward in 2010, it was proposed that the circumstancesof his death were compatible with poisoning by water ofthe river Styx (Mavroneri) that contained calicheamicin,a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.[152]Several natural causes (diseases) have been suggested, in-cluding malaria and typhoid fever. A 1998 article in theNew England Journal of Medicine attributed his death totyphoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and as-cending paralysis.[153] Another recent analysis suggestedpyogenic spondylitis or meningitis.[154] Other illnesses tthe symptoms, including acute pancreatitis and West Nile12 7 DEATH AND SUCCESSIONvirus.[155][156] Natural-cause theories also tend to empha-sise that Alexanders health may have been in general de-cline after years of heavy drinking and severe wounds.The anguish that Alexander felt after Hephaestion's deathmay also have contributed to his declining health.[153]7.1 After deathSee also: Tomb of Alexander the GreatAlexanders body was laid in a gold anthropoidDetail of Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus.sarcophagusthat waslledwithhoney, whichwasinturn placed in a gold casket.[157][158] According to Aelian,aseer calledAristander foretoldthat thelandwhereAlexander was laid to rest would be happy and unvan-quishable forever.[159] Perhaps more likely, the succes-sors may have seen possession of the body as a symbolof legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royalprerogative.[160]WhileAlexanders funeral cortegewas onits waytoMacedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily toMemphis.[157][159]Hissuccessor, PtolemyII Philadel-phus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where itremained until at least late Antiquity. Ptolemy IX Lath-yros, one of Ptolemys nal successors, replaced Alexan-ders sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convertthe original to coinage.[161]The recent discovery of anenormous tomb in northern Greece, at Amphipolis, dat-ing from the time of Alexander the Great [162] has givenrise to speculation that its original intent was to be theburial place of Alexander. This would t with the in-tended destination of Alexanders funeral cortege.Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tombinAlexandria, whereAugustus, allegedly, accidentallyknocked the nose o. Caligula was said to have takenAlexanders breastplate from the tomb for his own use.AroundAD200, Emperor Septimius Severus closedAlexanders tomb to the public. His son and successor,Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during hisown reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb arehazy.[161]The so-called "Alexander Sarcophagus", discovered nearSidon and now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, isso named not because it was thought to have containedAlexandersremains, butbecauseitsbas-reliefsdepictAlexander and his companions ghting the Persians andhunting. It was originally thought to have been the sar-cophagus of Abdalonymus (died 311 BC), the king ofSidon appointed by Alexander immediately following thebattle of Issus in 331.[163][164] However, more recently,it has been suggested that it may date from earlier thanAbdalonymus death.7.2 Division of the empireMain article: DiadochiAlexanders deathwas sosuddenthat whenreportsKingdoms of the Diadochi in 281 BC: the Ptolemaic Kingdom(dark blue), the Seleucid Empire (yellow), Kingdomof Pergamon(orange), and Macedonia (green). Also shown are the RomanRepublic (light blue), the Carthaginian Republic (purple), andthe Kingdom of Epirus (red).ofhisdeathreachedGreece, theywerenot immedi-ately believed.[73] Alexander had no obvious or legitimateheir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born afterAlexanders death.[165] According to Diodorus, Alexan-ders companions asked him on his deathbed to whomhe bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was tikratisti"to the strongest.[140]Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speech-less by this point, implying that this was an apocryphalstory.[166] Diodorus, Curtius and Justin oered the moreplausible storythat Alexander passedhis signet ringtoPerdiccas, abodyguardandleaderofthecompan-ioncavalry, infront ofwitnesses, therebynominatinghim.[140][165]Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggest-ing that Roxanes baby would be king, if male; with him-self, Craterus, Leonnatus, andAntipaterasguardians.However, the infantry, under the command of Meleager,rejected this arrangement since they had been excludedfromthediscussion. Instead, theysupportedAlexan-ders half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the twosides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, heand Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in nameonly.[167]Dissension and rivalry soon aicted the Macedonians,however. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the8.1 Generalship 13Partition of Babylon became power bases each generalused to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdic-cas in321BC, Macedonianunitycollapsed, and40years of war between The Successors (Diadochi) en-sued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stablepower blocks: Ptolemaic Egypt, Selucid Mesopotamiaand Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Mace-don. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip IIIwere murdered.[168]7.3 TestamentDiodorus stated that Alexander had given detailed writteninstructions to Craterus some time before his death.[169]Craterus started to carry out Alexanders commands, butthe successors chose not to further implement them, onthe grounds they were impractical and extravagant.[169]Nevertheless, Perdiccas read Alexanders will to histroops.[73]The testament calledfor militaryexpansionintothesouthern and western Mediterranean, monumental con-structions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Westernpopulations. It included:Construction of a monumental tomb for his fatherPhilip, to match the greatest of the pyramids ofEgypt"[73]Erection of great temples in Delos, Delphi, Dodona,Dium, Amphipolis, andamonumental templetoAthena at Troy[73]Conquest of Arabia and the entire MediterraneanBasin[73]Circumnavigation of Africa[73]Development of cities and the transplant of popu-lations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite di-rection from Europe to Asia, in order to bring thelargest continent to common unity and to friendshipby means of intermarriage and family ties.[170]8 Character8.1 GeneralshipAlexander earned the epithet the Great due to his un-paralleled success as a military commander.[72] He neverlost a battle, despite typically being outnumbered.[72] Thiswas due to use of terrain, phalanx and cavalry tactics, boldstrategy, and the erce loyalty of his troops.[171][172] TheMacedonian phalanx, armed with the sarissa, a spear 6metres (20 ft) long, had been developed and perfectedby Philip II through rigorous training,[172] and Alexanderused its speed and maneuverability to great eect againstThe Battle of the Granicus, 334 BCThe Battle of Issus, 333 BClarger but moredisparatePersianforces.[172]Alexan-der also recognized the potential for disunity among hisdiversearmy, whichemployedvarious languages andweapons. He overcame this by being personally involvedin battle,[97] in the manner of a Macedonian king.[171][172]In his rst battle in Asia, at Granicus, Alexander usedonly a small part of his forces, perhaps 13,000 infantrywith 5,000 cavalry, against a much larger Persian force of40,000. Alexander placed the phalanx at the center andcavalry and archers on the wings, so that his line matchedthe length of the Persian cavalry line, about 3 km (1.86mi). By contrast, the Persian infantry was stationed be-hind its cavalry. This ensured that Alexander would notbe outanked, while his phalanx, armed with long pikes,had a considerable advantage over the Persians scimitarsand javelins. Macedonian losses were negligible com-pared to those of the Persians.[173]At Issus in 333 BC, his rst confrontation with Darius,he used the same deployment, and again the central pha-lanxpushedthrough.[173]Alexanderpersonallyledthecharge in the center, routing the opposing army.[171] Atthe decisive encounter with Darius at Gaugamela, Dar-ius equipped his chariots with scythes on the wheels tobreak up the phalanx and equipped his cavalry with pikes.14 8 CHARACTERAlexanderarrangedadoublephalanx, withthecenteradvancingatanangle, partingwhenthechariotsboredown and then reforming. The advance was successfuland broke Darius center, causing the latter to ee onceagain.[173]When faced with opponents who used unfamiliar ghtingtechniques, such as in Central Asia and India, Alexan-der adapted his forces to his opponents style. Thus, inBactriaandSogdiana, Alexandersuccessfullyusedhisjavelin throwers and archers to prevent outanking move-ments, while massing his cavalry at the center.[171] In In-dia, confronted by Poruselephant corps, the Macedo-niansopenedtheirrankstoenveloptheelephantsandused their sarissas to strike upwards and dislodge the ele-phants handlers.[131]8.2 Physical appearanceRoman copy of a herma by Lysippos, Louvre Museum. Plutarchreports that sculptures by Lysippos were the most faithful.Greek biographer Plutarch (c. 45120 AD) describesAlexanders appearance as: The outward appearance of Alexander isbest represented by the statues of him whichLysippus made, and it was by this artist alonethat Alexanderhimselfthought it t that heshould be modelled. For those peculiaritieswhich many of his successors and friends af-terwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise ofthe neck, which was bent slightly to the left,and the melting glance of his eyes, this artisthas accurately observed. Apelles, however,in painting him as wielder of the thunder-bolt,did not reproduce his complexion, but made ittoo dark and swarthy. Whereas he was of a faircolour, as they say, and his fairness passed intoruddiness on his breast particularly, and in hisface.4Moreover, that a very pleasant odourexhaled from his skin and that there was a fra-grance about his mouth and all his esh, so thathis garments were lled with it, this we haveread in the Memoirs of Aristoxenus.[174]Greek historian Arrian (Lucius Flavius Arrianus'Xenophon' c. 86160) described Alexander as:[T]he strong, handsome commander withone eye dark as the night and one blue as thesky.[175][176]Thesemi-legendaryAlexander Romancealsosuggeststhat Alexander suered from heterochromia iridum: thatone eye was dark and the other light.[177]British historian Peter Green provided a description ofAlexanders appearance, based on his review of statuesand some ancient documents:Physically, Alexander was not prepossess-ing. EvenbyMacedonianstandardshewasvery short, though stocky and tough. His beardwas scanty, and he stood out against his hirsuteMacedonian barons by going clean-shaven. Hisneck was in some way twisted, so that he ap-peared to be gazing upward at an angle. Hiseyes (one blue,one brown) revealed a dewy,feminine quality. He had a high complexionand a harsh voice.[178]Ancient authors recorded that Alexander was so pleasedwithportraitsofhimselfcreatedbyLysipposthat heforbade other sculptors fromcrafting his image.[179]Lysippos hadoftenusedtheContrappostosculpturalscheme to portray Alexander and other characters suchas Apoxyomenos, Hermes and Eros.[180] Lysippos sculp-ture, famous for its naturalism, as opposed to a stier,more static pose, is thought tobe the most faithfuldepiction.[181]8.3 PersonalitySome of Alexanders strongest personality traits formedin response to his parents.[178] His mother had huge am-bitions, and encouraged him to believe it was his destinyto conquer the Persian Empire.[178] Olympias inuenceinstilled a sense of destiny in him,[182] and Plutarch tellsus that his ambition kept his spirit serious and lofty in8.4 Personal relationships 15Alexander (left) ghting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus(detail). 3rd century BC mosaic, Pella Museum.advance of his years.[183] However, his father Philip wasAlexanders most immediate and inuential role model,as the young Alexander watched him campaign practi-cally every year, winning victory after victory while ig-noring severe wounds.[56]Alexanders relationship withhis father forged the competitive side of his personality;he had a need to out-do his father, illustrated by his reck-less behavior in battle.[178] While Alexander worried thathis father would leave him no great or brilliant achieve-ment to be displayed to the world,[184]he also down-played his fathers achievements to his companions.[178]AccordingtoPlutarch, amongAlexanderstraitswerea violent temper and rash, impulsive nature,[185]whichundoubtedlycontributedtosomeofhisdecisions.[178]Although Alexander was stubborn and did not respondwell to orders from his father, he was open to reasoneddebate.[186]He had a calmer sideperceptive, logical,and calculating. He had a great desire for knowledge,a love for philosophy, and was an avid reader.[187] Thiswas no doubt in part due to Aristotles tutelage; Alexan-der was intelligent and quick to learn.[178] His intelligentand rational side was amply demonstrated by his abilityand success as a general.[185] He had great self-restraintin pleasures of the body, in contrast with his lack of selfcontrol with alcohol.[188]Alexander was erudite andpatronizedbotharts andsciences.[183][187] However, he had little interest in sportsor the Olympic games (unlike his father), seeking only theHomeric ideals of honor (tim) and glory (kudos).[56][182]He had great charisma and force of personality, char-acteristics which made him a great leader.[165][185]Hisunique abilities were further demonstrated by the inabilityof any of his generals to unite Macedonia and retain theEmpire after his death only Alexander had the abilityto do so.[165]Duringhis nal years, andespeciallyafter thedeathof Hephaestion, Alexander began to exhibit signsof megalomania and paranoia.[144]His extraordinaryachievements, coupled with his own ineable sense ofdestiny and the attery of his companions, may have com-bined to produce this eect.[189] His delusions of grandeurare readily visible in his testament and in his desire to con-quer the world,[144] in as much, he is by various sourcesdescribed as having boundless ambition,[190][191] an epi-thet, the meaning of which, has descended into an histor-ical clich.[192][193]He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at leastsought to deify himself.[144] Olympias always insisted tohim that he was the son of Zeus,[194] a theory apparentlyconrmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa.[195] Hebegan to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon.[195]Alexander adopted elements of Persian dress and customsat court, notably proskynesis, a practice of which Mace-donians disapproved, andwereloathtoperform.[108]This behavior cost him the sympathies of many of hiscountrymen.[196]However, Alexander also was a prag-matic ruler who understood the diculties of ruling cul-turally disparate peoples, many of whom lived in king-domswherethekingwasdivine.[109][197]Thus, ratherthan megalomania, his behavior may simply have beena practical attempt at strengthening his rule and keepinghis empire together.[97][197]8.4 Personal relationshipsMainarticle: Personal relationshipsofAlexandertheGreatAlexander marriedtwice: Roxana, daughter of theA mural in Pompeii, depicting the marriage of Alexander to Bar-sine (Stateira) in 324 BC. The couple are apparently dressed asAres and Aphrodite.Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes, out of love;[198] and StateiraII, a Persianprincess anddaughter of Darius III ofPersia, for political reasons.[199] He apparently had twosons, AlexanderIVofMacedonofRoxanaand, pos-sibly, Heracles of Macedon fromhis mistress Bar-sine. He lost another child when Roxana miscarried at16 9 LEGACYBabylon.[200][201]Alexander also had a close relationship with his friend,general, and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Mace-donian noble.[134][178][202] Hephaestions death devastatedAlexander.[134][203]This event may have contributed toAlexanders failing health and detached mental state dur-ing his nal months.[144][153]Alexanders sexualityhas beenthesubject of specu-lationandcontroversy.[204]Noancient sources statedthat Alexander hadhomosexual relationships, or thatAlexandersrelationshipwithHephaestionwassexual.Aelian, however, writes of Alexanders visit toTroywhere AlexandergarlandedthetombofAchillesandHephaestionthat ofPatroclus, thelatter riddlingthathewasabelovedofAlexander, injustthesamewayas Patroclus was of Achilles.[205] Noting that the worderomenos (ancient Greek for beloved) does not necessar-ily bear sexual meaning, Alexander may have been bisex-ual, which in his time was not controversial.[206]Greenargues that there is little evidence inancientsources that Alexander had much carnal interest inwomen; he did not produce an heir until the very end ofhis life.[178]However, he was relatively young when hedied, and Ogden suggests that Alexanders matrimonialrecord is more impressive than his fathers at the sameage.[207] Apart from wives, Alexander had many more fe-male companions. Alexander accumulated a haremin thestyle of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly;[208]showing great self-control in pleasures of the body.[188]Nevertheless, Plutarch described how Alexander was in-fatuatedbyRoxanawhilecomplimentinghimonnotforcing himself on her.[209] Green suggested that, in thecontext oftheperiod, Alexanderformedquitestrongfriendshipswithwomen, includingAdaofCaria, whoadopted him, and even Dariuss mother Sisygambis, whosupposedly died from grief upon hearing of Alexandersdeath.[178]9 LegacyThe Hellenistic world view after Alexander: ancient world mapof Eratosthenes (276194 BC), incorporating information fromthe campaigns of Alexander and his successors.[210]Alexanderslegacyextendedbeyondhismilitarycon-quests. HiscampaignsgreatlyincreasedcontactsandtradebetweenEast andWest, andvast areas totheeast were signicantly exposed to Greek civilization andinuence.[21] Some of the cities he founded became ma-jor cultural centers, many surviving into the 21st century.His chroniclers recorded valuable information about theareas through which he marched, while the Greeks them-selves got a sense of belonging to a world beyond theMediterranean.[21]9.1 Hellenistic kingdomsMain article: Hellenistic periodAlexanders most immediate legacy was the introductionof Macedonian rule to huge new swathes of Asia. Atthe time of his death, Alexanders empire covered some5,200,000 km2(2,000,000 sq mi),[211] and was the largeststate of its time. Many of these areas remained in Mace-donian hands or under Greek inuence for the next 200300 years. The successor states that emerged were, atleast initially, dominant forces, and these 300 years areoften referred to as the Hellenistic period.[212]PharosI.NESWSE SWNE NW}Plan of Alexandria c. 30 BCThe eastern borders of Alexanders empire began to col-lapse even during his lifetime.[165]However, the powervacuum he left in the northwest of the Indian subcon-tinent directlygaverisetooneofthemost powerfulIndiandynastiesinhistory. Takingadvantageofthis,Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources asSandrokottos), of relatively humble origin, took con-trol of the Punjab, and with that power base proceeded toconquer the Nanda Empire.[213]9.2 Founding of citiesOverthecourseofhisconquests, Alexanderfoundedsometwentycitiesthat borehisname, most ofthem9.3 Hellenization 17east oftheTigris.[109][214]Therst, andgreatest, wasAlexandria in Egypt, which would become one of theleading Mediterranean cities.[109] The cities locations re-ected trade routes as well as defensive positions. At rst,the cities must have been inhospitable, little more thandefensive garrisons.[109]Following Alexanders death,manyGreekswhohadsettledtheretriedtoreturntoGreece.[109][214] However, a century or so after Alexan-ders death, many of the Alexandrias were thriving, withelaborate public buildings and substantial populations thatincluded both Greek and local peoples.[109]9.3 HellenizationMain article: Hellenistic civilizationHellenization was coined by the German historian JohannAlexanders empire was the largest state of its time, covering ap-proximately 5.2 million square km.Gustav Droysen to denote the spread of Greek language,culture, and population into the former Persian empireafter Alexanders conquest.[212]That this export tookplace is undoubted, and can be seen in the great Hel-lenistic cities of, for instance, Alexandria, Antioch[215]and Seleucia (south of modern Baghdad).[216] Alexandersought to insert Greek elements into Persian culture andattempted to hybridize Greek and Persian culture. Thisculminated in his aspiration to homogenize the popula-tions of Asia and Europe. However, his successors ex-plicitly rejected such policies. Nevertheless, Helleniza-tion occurred throughout the region, accompanied by adistinct and opposite 'Orientalization'of the Successorstates.[215][217]The core of Hellenistic culture was essentiallyAthenian.[215][218]The close association of menfrom across Greece in Alexanders army directly led totheemergenceof thelargelyAttic-based"koine", orcommon Greek dialect.[219]Koine spread throughouttheHellenisticworld, becomingthelinguafrancaofHellenistic lands and eventually the ancestor of modernGreek.[219] Furthermore, town planning, education, localgovernment, andart current intheHellenisticperiodwere all based on Classical Greek ideals, evolving intodistinct new forms commonly grouped as Hellenistic.[215]AspectsofHellenisticculturewerestillevidentinthetraditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15thcentury.[220][221]The Buddha, inGreco-Buddhist style, 1st2ndcenturyAD,Gandhara, ancient India. Tokyo National Museum.Some of the most pronounced eects of Hellenizationcan be seen in Afghanistan and India, in the region of therelatively late-arising Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC-125 BC) in modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and TajikistanandtheGreco-IndianKingdom(180BC-10CE)inmodern Afghanistan and India.[222] There on the newlyformed Silk Road Greek culture apparently hybridizedwithIndian, andespeciallyBuddhistculture. There-sulting syncretism known as Greco-Buddhism heavily in-uencedthedevelopment ofBuddhismandcreatedaculture of Greco-Buddhist art. These Greco-Buddhistkingdoms sent some of the rst Buddhist missionariestoChina, Sri Lanka, andtheMediterranean(Greco-Buddhist monasticism). The some of the rst and mostinuential gurative portrayals of the Buddha, appearedat this time; perhaps modeled on Greek statues of ApollointheGreco-Buddhist style.[222]Several Buddhisttra-ditions may have been inuenced by the ancient Greekreligion: the concept of Boddhisatvas is reminiscent ofGreek divine heroes,[223] and some Mahayana ceremonialpractices(burningincense, giftsofowers, andfoodplacedonaltars)aresimilartothosepracticedbythe18 9 LEGACYancient Greeks, however similar practices were also ob-servedamongst thenativeculture. OneGreekking,MenanderI, probablybecameBuddhist, andwasim-mortalizedinBuddhistliteratureas'Milinda'.[222]Theprocess of Hellenization also spurred trade between theeast and west.[224] For example, Greek astronomical in-struments dating to the 3rd century BC were found inthe Greco-Bactrian city of Ai Khanoum in modern-dayAfghanistan[225] while the Greek concept of a sphericalearth surrounded by the spheres of planets competed withthe long-standing Indian cosmological belief of a spher-ical earth with planets in an ellipsoid orbit.[224][226][227]The Yavanajataka (lit. Greek astronomical treatise) andPaulisa Siddhanta texts show Greek inuence.9.4 Inuence on RomeThismedallionwasproducedinImperial Rome, demonstrat-ing the inuence of Alexanders memory. Walters Art Museum,Baltimore.Alexander and his exploits were admired by many Ro-mans, especially generals, who wanted to associate them-selves withhis achievements.[228]Polybius beganhisHistories by reminding Romans of Alexanders achieve-ments, and thereafter Roman leaders saw him as a rolemodel. Pompey the Great adopted the epithet Magnusand even Alexanders anastole-type haircut, and searchedthe conquered lands of the east for Alexanders 260-year-old cloak, which he then wore as a sign of greatness.[228]Julius Caesar dedicated a Lysippean equestrian bronzestatue but replaced Alexanders head with his own, whileOctavianvisitedAlexanders tombinAlexandriaandtemporarily changed his seal froma sphinx to Alexandersprole.[228]TheemperorTrajanalsoadmiredAlexan-der, as did Nero and Caracalla.[228] The Macriani, a Ro-manfamilythatinthepersonofMacrinusbrieyas-cended to the imperial throne, kept images of Alexanderon their persons, either on jewelry, or embroidered intotheir clothes.[229]The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (reigned c. 200180 BC),wearing an elephant scalp, took over Alexanders legacy in theeast by again invading India,and establishing the Indo-Greekkingdom (180 BC10 AD).Ontheotherhand, someRomanwriters, particularlyRepublican gures, used Alexander as a cautionary taleofhowautocratictendenciescanbekeptincheckbyrepublican values.[230] Alexander was used by these writ-ers as an example of ruler values such as amicita (friend-ship) and clementia (clemency), but also iracundia (anger)and cupiditas gloriae (over-desire for glory).[230]9.5 LegendMain article: Alexander the Great in legendLegendary accounts surround the life of Alexander theGreat, manyderivingfromhisownlifetime, probablyencouraged by Alexander himself.[231]His court histo-rianCallisthenesportrayedtheseainCiliciaasdraw-ing back from him in proskynesis. Writing shortly afterAlexanders death, another participant, Onesicritus, in-vented a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris, queenof the mythical Amazons. When Onesicritus read thispassage to his patron, Alexanders general and later KingLysimachus reportedly quipped, I wonder where I wasat the time.[232]IntherstcenturiesafterAlexandersdeath, probablyin Alexandria, a quantity of the legendary material co-alescedintoatext knownastheAlexanderRomance,later falsely ascribed to Callisthenes and therefore knownasPseudo-Callisthenes. This text underwent numerousexpansionsandrevisionsthroughoutAntiquityandtheMiddle Ages,[233]containing many dubious stories,[231]and was translated into numerous languages.[234]9.6 In ancient and modern culture 199.6 In ancient and modern cultureMain articles: Cultural depictions of Alexander the Greatand Alexander the Great in the QuranAlexander the Greats accomplishments and legacy haveAlexander the Great depicted in a 14th-century Byzantinemanuscriptbeen depicted in many cultures. Alexander has gured inboth high and popular culture beginning in his own era tothe present day. The Alexander Romance, in particular,has had a signicant impact on portrayals of Alexanderin later cultures, from Persian to medieval European tomodern Greek.[234]Alexander may already have considered himself as theKing of Asia after his victory at Issos, a conceptionstrengthened by his subsequent successes.[235] The con-ception might have inspired the title given to Alexanderin Babylonian documents, king of the world (since kingof Asia had no meaning in Babylonian geography).[236]ItmightalsobealludedinthesarcasticcommentsbyAnaxarchus, trying to rouse Alexander after the murderof Cleitus.[237] or in the orator Demades comments that ifAlexander were dead, the whole world would stink of hiscorpse.[238] Alexander is called kosmokrator, ruler ofthe world, in the later Alexander Romance.[239] Alexan-der features prominently in modern Greek folklore, moreso than any other ancient gure.[240] The colloquial formof his name in modern Greek (O Megalexandros) is ahousehold name, and he is the only ancient hero to ap-pear in the Karagiozis shadow play.[240] One well-knownfable among Greek seamen involves a solitary mermaidwho would grasp a ships prow during a storm and ask thecaptain Is King Alexander alive?". The correct answeris He is alive and well and rules the world!", causing themermaid to vanish and the sea to calm. Any other answerwould cause the mermaid to turn into a raging Gorgonwho would drag the ship to the bottom of the sea, allhands aboard.[240]St. Augustine, in his book City of God, restated Cicerosparable showing that Alexander the Great was little morethan a leader of a robber band:Post-Islamic Persian miniature depicting Khidr and Alexanderwatching the Water of Life revive a salted shAnd so if justice is left out, what are king-doms except great robber bands? For what arerobber bands except little kingdoms? The bandalsoisagroupofmengovernedbytheor-ders of a leader, bound by a social compact,anditsbootyisdividedaccordingtoalawagreed upon. If by repeatedly adding desper-ate men this plague grows to the point whereit holds territory and establishes a xed seat,seizes cities and subdues people, then it moreconspicuously assumes the name of kingdom,and this name is now openly granted to it, notfor any subtraction of cupidity, but by additionof impunity. For it was an elegant and true re-ply that was made to Alexander the Great bya certain pirate whom he had captured. Whenthe king asked him what he was thinking of,that he should molest the sea, he said with de-ant independence: 'The same as you when youmolest the world! Since I do this with a littleship I am called a pirate. You do it with a greateet and are called emperor'.[241]Inpre-IslamicMiddlePersian(Zoroastrian)literature,Alexander is referred to by the epithet gujastak, mean-ing accursed, and is accused of destroying temples andburning the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism.[242] In IslamicIran, under the inuence of the Alexander Romance (inPersian: Iskandarnamah), a more positive por-trayal of Alexander emerges.[243] Firdausis Shahnameh(The Book of Kings) includes Alexander in a line oflegitimate Iranian shahs, a mythical gure who exploredthe far reaches of the world in search of the Fountainof Youth.[244]Later Persian writers associate him withphilosophy, portrayinghimat asymposiumwithg-ures such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in search ofimmortality.[243]The Syriac version of the Alexander Romance portrays20 14 REFERENCEShim as an ideal Christian world conqueror who prayedto the one true God.[243] In Egypt, Alexander was por-trayed as the son of Nectanebo II, the last pharaoh be-fore the Persian conquest.[245] His defeat of Darius wasdepicted as Egypts salvation, proving Egypt was stillruled by an Egyptian.[245]The gure of Dhul-Qarnayn (literally the Two-HornedOne) mentioned in the Quran is believed by some schol-ars torepresent Alexander, duetoparallels withtheAlexander Romance.[243] In this tradition, he was a heroicgure who built a wall to defend against the nations ofGog and Magog.[245] He then traveled the known worldin search for the Water of Life and Immortality, eventu-ally becoming a prophet.[245]In Hindi and Urdu, the name Sikandar, derived fromPersian, denotes a rising young talent.[246]In medievalEurope he was made a member of the Nine Worthies,a group of heroes who encapsulated all the ideal qualitiesof chivalry.10 HistoriographyMain article: Alexander the Great in historiographyApart from a few inscriptions and fragments, texts writ-ten by people who actually knew Alexander or who gath-eredinformationfrommenwhoservedwithAlexan-der were all lost.[21] Contemporaries who wrote accountsof his life included Alexanders campaign historian Cal-listhenes; AlexandersgeneralsPtolemyandNearchus;Aristobulus, a junior ocer on the campaigns; andOnesicritus, Alexanders chief helmsman. Their worksare lost, but later works based on these original sourceshave survived. The earliest of these is Diodorus Sicu-lus (1st century BC), followed by Quintus Curtius Rufus(mid-to-late 1st century AD), Arrian (1st to 2nd centuryAD), the biographer Plutarch (1st to 2nd century AD),and nally Justin, whose work dated as late as the 4thcentury.[21] Of these, Arrian is generally considered themost reliable, given that he used Ptolemy and Aristobulusas his sources, closely followed by Diodorus.[21]11 Ancestry12 See alsoAlexander the Great in the Qur'anBucephalusChronology of European exploration of AsiaDiogenes and AlexanderList of people known as The GreatThe Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander Secret13 Notes^ i: By the time of his death, he had conquered the entireAchaemenidPersianEmpire, addingit toMacedonsEuropean territories; according to some modern writers,this was most of the world then known to the ancientGreeks (the 'Ecumene').[247][248] An approximate view ofthe world known to Alexander can be seen in Hecataeusof Miletus's map; see Hecataeus world map.^ ii:For instance, Hannibal supposedly ranked Alexan-derasthegreatest general;[249]JuliusCaesarwept onseeing a statue of Alexander, since he had achieved solittle by the same age;[250] Pompey consciously posed asthe 'new Alexander';[251] the young Napoleon Bonapartealso encouraged comparisons with Alexander.[252]^iii: The name derives from the Greekverb (alex) ward o, avert, defend[253][254] and- (andr-), the stem of (anr) man,[255][254]and means protector of men.[256]^iv: Inthe early5thcenturythe royal house ofMacedon, the Temenidae, was recognised as Greek bythe Presidents of the Olympic Games. Their verdict wasand is decisive. It is certain that the Kings consideredthemselves to be of Greek descent from Heracles son ofZeus.[257]^v: AEACIDS Descendants of Aeacus, son of ZeusandthenymphAegina, eponymous(seetheterm)tothe island of that name. His son was Peleus, father ofAchilles, whosedescendants(real orsupposed)calledthemselves Aeacids: thus Pyrrhus andAlexander theGreat.[258]^ vi:There have been, since the time, many suspicionsthat Pausanias was actually hired to murder Philip.Suspicion has fallen upon Alexander, Olympias and eventhe newly crowned Persian Emperor, Darius III. All threeof these people had motive to have Philip murdered.[259]14 References[1] Alexander the Great: Youths of the Pellaians and ofthe Macedonians and of the Hellenic Amphictiony and ofthe Lakedaimonians and of the Corinthians and of allthe Hellenic peoples, join your fellow-soldiers and entrustyourselves to me, so that we can move against the barbar-ians and liberate ourselves from the Persian bondage, foras Greeks we should not be slaves to barbarians. Pseudo-Kallisthenes, Historia Alexandri Magni, 1.15.1-4 Alexander the Great: Now you fear punishment andbeg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any otherreason so that you can see the dierence between a Greekking and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suer anyharm from me. A king does not kill messengers. HistoriaAlexandri Magni of Pseudo-Kallisthenes, 1.37.9-13 Alexander the Great addressing his troops prior to the21Battle of Issus: There are Greek troops, to be sure, inPersian service but how dierent is their cause fromours!They will be ghting for pay and not much of atthat; we, on the contrary, shall ght for Greece, and ourhearts will be in it. Anabasis Alexandri by Roman histo-rian Arrian, Book II, 7 Alexanders letter to Persian king Darius in response toa truce plea: Your ancestors came to Macedonia and therest of Hellas (Greece) and did us great harm, though wehad done them no prior injury. I have been appointedleader of the Greeks, and wanting to punish the PersiansI have come to Asia, which I took from you. AnabasisAlexandri by Arrian; translated as Anabasis of Alexanderby P. A. Brunt, for the Loeb Edition Book II 14, 4 Alexander the Great: If it were not my purpose to com-bine barbarian things with things Hellenic (Greek), to tra-verse and civilize every continent, to search out the utter-most parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedo-nia to the farthest Ocean, and to disseminate and showerthe blessings of the Hellenic justice and peace over everynation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury ofidle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes.But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I imitate Her-akles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps ofDionysos, the divine author and progenitor of my family,and desire that victorious Hellenes should dance again inIndia and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels amongthe savage mountain tribes beyond the Kaukasos. On theFortune of Alexander by Plutarch, 332 a-b Alexander addressing the dead Hellenes (the Athenianand Thebean Greeks) of the Battle of Chaeronea: Holyshadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel andbitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sisternations and brother people, to ght one another. I do notfeel happy for this victory of mine. On the contrary, Iwould be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing herenext to me, since we are united by the same language,the same blood and the same visions. Historiae AlexandriMagni by Quintus Curtius RufusAlexanderIofMacedon, ancestorofAlexandertheGreat, member of the Argead dynasty: Tell your king(Xerxes), who sent you, how his Greek viceroy of Mace-donia has received you hospitably. Herodotus, Histories,5.20.4, LoebAlexanderIofMacedon, ancestorofAlexandertheGreat, member of the Argead dynasty, when he was ad-mitted to the Olympic games: Men of Athens... In truthI would not tell it to you if I did not care so much forall Hellas; I myself am by ancient descent a Greek, andI would not willingly see Hellas change her freedom forslavery. I tell you, then, that Mardonius and his army can-not get omens to his liking from the sacrices. Otherwiseyou would have fought long before this. Now, however,it is his purpose to pay no heed to the sacrices, and toattack at the rst glimmer of dawn, for he fears, as I sur-mise, that your numbers will become still greater. There-fore, I urge you to prepare, and if (as may be) Mardoniusshould delay and not attack, wait patiently where you are;for he has but a few days provisions left. If, however, thiswar ends as you wish, then must you take thought how tosave me too from slavery, who have done so desperate adeed as this for the sake of Hellas in my desire to declareto you Mardonius intent so that the barbarians may notattack you suddenly before you yet expect them. I whospeak am Alexander the Macedonian. Herodotus, Histo-ries, 9.45 (ed. A. D. Godley) Ian Worthington,English historian and archaeologist:Not much need to be said about the Greekness of ancientMacedonia: it is undeniable. Ian Worthington, Philip IIof Macedonia, Yale University Press, 2008 Ulrich Wilcken: When we take into account the politi-cal conditions, religion and morals of the Macedonians,ourconvictionisstrengthenedthat theywereaGreekrace and akin to the Dorians. Having stayed behind inthe extreme north, they were unable to participate in theprogressive civilization of the tribes which went furthersouth. Ulrich Wilcken, Alexander the Great, p. 22Strabo: AndMacedonia, of course, is a part ofGreece. Strabo. VII, Frg. 9 (Loeb, H.L. Jones) Herodotus: Now that these descendants of Perdiccas(Perdiccas I of Macedon, King of Macedonia from about700 BCE to about 678 BCE) are Greeks, as they them-selves say, I myself chance to know and will prove it inthe later part of my history. Herodotus, Book 5, Ch. 22,1 (Loeb) Josephus: And when the book of Daniel was showedto Alexander the Great, where Daniel declared that one ofthe Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, hesupposed that himself was the person intended; and as hewas then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present.Josephus 11.8.5Arrian: ThereamanappearedtothemwearingaGreek cloak and dressed otherwise in the Greek fashion,and speaking Greek also. Those Macedonians who rstsighted him said that they burst into teers, so strange didit seem after all these miseries to see a Greek, and to hearGreek spoken. Arrian: Anabasis Alexandri: Book VIII(Indica)Titus Livius: TheAitolians, theAkarnanians, theMacedonians, men of the same speech, are united or dis-united by trivial causes that arise from time to time; withaliens, with barbarians, all Greeks wage and will wageeternal war; for they are enemies by the will of nature,which is eternal, and not from reasons that change fromday to day. Titus Livius, Liber XXXI, 29, 15 David H. Levinson: It should be noted that there isno connection between the Macedonians of the time ofAlexander the Great who were related to other Hellenictribes and the Macedonians of today, who are of SlavicOriginandrelatedtotheBulgarians.EncyclopediaofWorld Cultures (1991), by David H. Levinson, page 239. Nicholas Hammond: Philip was born a Greek of themost aristocratic, indeed of divine, descent... Philip wasboth a Greek and a Macedonian, even as Demostheneswas a Greek and an Athenian... The Macedonians overwhom Philip was to rule were an outlying family mem-ber of the Greek-speaking peoples. Nicholas Hummond,Philip of Macedon, Duckworth Publishing, 1998 Nicholas Hammond: All in all, the language of theMacedones was a distinct and particular form of Greek,resistant to outside inunces and conservative in pronun-ciation. It remained so until the fourth century when it wasalmost totally submerged by the ood tide of standardizedGreek. Nicholas Hummond, AHistory of Macedonia Volii, 550-336 BC Nicholas Hammond: As members of the Greek race22 14 REFERENCESandspeakersoftheGreeklanguage, theMacedoniansshared in the ability to initiate ideas and create politicalforms. Nicholas Hummond, The Miracle that was Mace-donia, 1992, p. 206 M. Opperman, The Oxford Classical Dictionary 3rd ed.(1996) - Macedonia, Cults, page 905: Nowadays histori-ans generally agree that the Macedonian ethnos form partof the Greek ethnos; hence they also shared in the com-mon religious and cultural features of the Hellenic worldRobinLaneFox: 1)Alexanderwasstill theGreekavenger of Persian sacrilege who told his troops, it wassaid 'that Persepolis was the most hateful city in the world'.On the road there, he met with the families of Greekswho had deported to Persia by previous kings, and true tohis slogan, he honoured them conspicuously, giving themmoney, ve changes of clothing, farmanimals, corn, a freepassage home, and exemption fromtaxes and bureaucraticharassments. p. 256,2) To his ancestors (to a Persians ancestors) Macedo-nians were only known as 'yona takabara', the 'Greeks whowear shields on their heads, an allusion to their broad-brimmed hats. p. 104,3) Alexander was not the rst Greek to be honoured as agod for political favour. p. 131,4) In spirit, Alexander made a gesture to the Lydianssensitivities, though his Greek crusade owed them noth-ing as they were not Greeks. p. 128. Robin Lane Fox,Alexander the Great, Penguin Books, UK, 1997 Katheryn A. Bard: The Macedonians were originallyone of several Greek tribes living on the northern frontierof the Hellenic world. Katheryn A. Bard, Encyclopaediaof the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Taylor & Francis,1999, p. 460. Benjamin Ide Wheeler: That the Macedonians wereGreek by race there can be no longer any doubt. Theywere the northernmost fragments of the race left strandedbehind the barriers. Benjamin Ide Wheeler, Alexanderthe Great: The Merging of East and West in Universal His-tory, Elibron Classics, 2011[2] Zacharia 2008, Simon Hornblower, Greek Identity in theArchaic and Classical Periods, pp. 5558; Joint Associ-ation of Classical Teachers 1984, pp. 5051; Errington1990; Fine1983, pp. 607608; Hall 2000, p. 64;Hammond2001, p. 11; Jones2001, p. 21; Osborne2004, p. 127; Hammond 1989, pp. 1213; Hammond1993, p. 97; Starr 1991, pp. 260, 367; Toynbee 1981, p.67; Worthington 2008, pp. 8, 219; Chamoux 2002, p. 8;Cawkwell 1978, p. 22; Perlman 1973, p. 78; Hamilton1974, Chapter2: TheMacedonianHomeland, p. 23;Bryant 1996, p. 306; O'Brien 1994, p. 25.[3] Simon Hornblower, Greek Identity in the Archaic andClassical Periods in Katerina Zacharia, Hellenisms, Ash-gate Publishing, 2008, pp. 5558.[4] Alexander the Great (356323 BC)". UK: BBC.[5] Yenne 2010, p. 159.[6] Heckel, Waldemar; Tritle, LawrenceA., eds. (2009).The Corinthian League. Alexander the Great: A NewHistory. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 99. ISBN 1405130822.[7] Burger, Michael (2008). The Shaping of Western Civiliza-tion: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment. University ofToronto Press. p. 76. ISBN 1551114321.[8] Yenne 2010, p. viii.[9] Guardian on Time Magazines 100 personalities of alltime.[10] Ranker.com - The most inuential people of all time.[11] The birth of Alexander the Great. Livius. Retrieved16December2011. AlexanderwasbornthesixthofHekatombaion.[12] Green, Peter(1970), AlexanderofMacedon, 356323B.C.: a historical biography, Hellenistic culture and so-ciety (illustrated, revised reprint ed.), University of Cali-fornia Press, p. xxxiii, ISBN 978-0-520-07165-0, 356 Alexander born in Pella. 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