Alexander the Great

Alexander III, king of Macedonia, is known as Alexander the Great. In his short life he conquered all parts of the world that were known to his people. Alexander was born in 356 bc in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, a kingdom to the north of the Greek states. The Greek philosopher Aristotle gave him lessons. But Alexander’s chief interest was war. In 338 bc Alexander’s father, Philip II, brought all the Greek city-states except Sparta under his rule. Young Alexander commanded one section of the Macedonian army. In 336 bc Philip II was killed and Alexander became king. He soon won the loyalty of nearly all the Greek states. In 334 bc he brought together a large army and invaded Persia. He freed the Greek settlements in Asia Minor from Persian rule and made them his allies. In 333 bc Alexander defeated King Darius III of Persia, at Issus. Alexander then marched southward along the coast of Phoenicia. Late in 332 bc Alexander took Egypt from the Persians and became pharaoh. He then controlled the whole eastern Mediterranean. Near the Nile River he founded the city of Alexandria. In 331 bc Alexander went back into Asia and again defeated Darius. Then he was called king of Asia. Soon afterward he captured Babylon, and Susa, the Persian capital. Many of Alexander’s men wanted to go home, but instead he had them advance further into Asia. In 327 bc Alexander went to India. There he fought his last great battle. He defeated the Indians and founded two cities. At this point Alexander’s men refused to go farther. In 324 bc Alexander returned to Susa. The next year Alexander went to Babylon. Weakened by his travels and battles, he died there of a fever. His body was eventually placed in a golden coffin in Alexandria, Egypt. His generals divided up his empire.