In 339, while still just a teen, Alexander became a soldier and embarked on his first military expedition, against the Thracian tribes. In 338, Alexander took charge of the Companion Cavalry and aided his father in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea. Once Philip II had su...
6. After defeating the Persians, Alexander started dressing like them. After six years of ever-deeper incursions into the Persian empire, in 330 B.C. Alexander conquered Persepolis, the longtime center of Persian culture. Realizing that the best way to maintain control of the Persians was to ...
Alexander repeatedly defeated the Persians in battle; marched through Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Bactria; and in the process he overthrew the Persian king Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire.ii[›] Following his desire to reach the "ends of the world and ...
Meanwhile, the Persians delivered a potentially deadly strategic counter-punch, employing Greek mercenary forces to thrust through the Aegean toward Greece and Macedon itself. Defeating Darius When Alexander's army marched into Syria in the winter of 333 BCE, it was reasonable for the Persian ...
Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeating many kings and warlords throughout the ancient world. Perhaps his most recognized conquest was of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and its ‘King of Kings’ Darius III during the Battle of Issus 1. After defeating the Persians at th...
the European, energy, genius, and force. On the one hand were vastcities, splendid palaces, and gardens which were the wonder of theworld; on the other, strong citadels, military roads and bridges,and compact and well-defended towns. The Persians had enormous armies,perfectly provided for, ...
From Maracanda (modernSamarkand) Alexander advanced by way of Cyropolis to theJaxartes(modern Syrdarya), the boundary of the Persian empire. There he broke the opposition of theScythiannomadsby his use ofcatapultsand, after defeating them in a battle on the north bank of the river, pursued ...
Alexander invades India, defeating several local rulers. His last great battle is against KingPorusat Hydaspes River. Afterward, his weary troops refuse to go further, and he is forced to turn back. A disastrous march through the Gedrosia desert causes great suffering and many deaths. ...
Alexander first encountered Persian troops at the Granicus River in modern day Turkey. In May of 334, Alexander's army surprised the Persians. During the battle, Alexander was in great danger when the Persian army surrounded and disarmed him. His soldiers were able to rescue him, and eventually...
A marble bust of Alexander the Great found at Pergamon in modern-day Turkey, now residing in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.(Image credit: Shutterstock) Pharaoh of Egypt Alexander then moved south along the eastern Mediterranean, continuing a strategy designed to deprive the Persians of their na...