Alexander the Great (Alexander the Great) Dr. b. July 20 (21) 356 BC e. - d. S. June 10 (13) 323 BC e. King of Macedonia since 336, the most famous commander of all times and peoples, who by force of arms created the largest monarchy of antiquity.
According to the deeds of Alexander the Great, it is difficult to compare with any of the great generals in world history. It is known that he was revered by such world-shocking conquerors as Genghis Khan and Napoleon Bonaparte … In fact, the conquests of the king of the small state of Macedonia in the very north of the Greek lands had a serious impact on all subsequent generations. And the military leadership art of the king of Macedonia became a classic for people who devoted themselves to the military cause.
Alexander the Great was born in Pella. He was the son of Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympias, daughter of the Epirus king Neoptolemus. The future hero of the Ancient World received a Hellenic upbringing - his mentor from 343 was perhaps the most legendary ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.
"Alexander … admired Aristotle and, in his own words, loved the teacher no less than his father, saying that he owes to Philip that he lives, and to Aristotle that he lives with dignity," Plutarch wrote.
Tsar-military leader Philip II himself taught his son the art of war, in which he soon succeeded. In ancient times, the winner in a war was considered a man of great statesmanship. Tsarevich Alexander commanded a detachment of Macedonian soldiers for the first time when he was 16 years old. For that time, this phenomenon is common - the king's son simply could not help being a military leader in the lands subject to him.
Fighting in the ranks of the Macedonian army, Alexander exposed himself to mortal danger and received several serious wounds. The great commander strove to overcome his own fate with audacity, and the strength of the enemy - with courage, for he believed that for the brave there was no obstacle, and for the cowards there was no support.
The talent and courage of a warrior Tsarevich Alexander demonstrated already in 338, when he defeated the "sacred detachment" of Thebans at the Battle of Chaeronea, in which the Macedonians clashed with the forces of Athens and Thebes united against them. The prince commanded the entire Macedonian cavalry in battle, numbering 2,000 horsemen (in addition, King Philip II had another 30,000 well-trained and disciplined infantrymen). The king himself sent him with a heavily armed cavalry to the enemy flank where the Thebans were stationed.
The young commander with Macedonian horsemen with a swift blow defeated the Thebans, who were almost all exterminated in the battle, and after that he attacked the flank and rear of the Athenians.
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This victory brought dominance in Greece for Macedonia. But for the winner, she was the last. Tsar Philip II, who was preparing a large military campaign to Persia, was killed by conspirators in August 336. The 20-year-old Alexander, who came to the throne of his father, executed all the conspirators. Along with the throne, the young tsar received a well-trained army, the core of which consisted of detachments of heavy infantry - spearmen, armed with long pikes - sarissa.
There were also numerous auxiliary troops, which consisted of mobile light infantry (mainly archers and slingers) and heavily armed cavalry. In the army of the king of Macedonia, various throwing and siege machines were widely used, which were transported disassembled for the army on the campaign. Among the ancient Greeks, military engineering was at a very high level for that era.
First of all, Alexander approved the hegemony of Macedonia among the Greek states. He forced to recognize the unlimited power of the supreme military leader in the upcoming war with Persia. The tsar threatened all his opponents only with military force. 336 - he was elected head of the Corinthian Union, he took the place of his father.
After Alexander made a victorious campaign against the barbarians who lived in the Danube valley (the Macedonian army at the same time crossed the deep river) and the coastal Illyria. The young king, by force of arms, forced them to recognize his dominion and help him with his troops in the war against the Persians. Because a rich war booty was expected, the barbarian leaders willingly agreed to march.
While the king was fighting in the northern lands, false rumors spread throughout Greece about his death, and the Greeks, especially the Thebans and Athenians, opposed Macedonian rule. Then the Macedonian forced march unexpectedly approached the walls of Thebes, captured and destroyed this city to the ground. Having learned a sad lesson, Athens surrendered and dealt with them generously. The harshness shown by him in relation to Thebes put an end to the opposition of the Greek states to the belligerent Macedonia, which at that time possessed the strongest and most efficient army in the Hellenic world.
334, spring - the king of Macedonia began a campaign in Asia Minor, leaving the governor of Antipater as the governor and giving him an army of 10 thousand. He quickly crossed the Hellespont in ships assembled for this purpose from everywhere at the head of an army of 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. The Persian fleet was unable to interfere with this operation. At first, Alexander did not meet with serious resistance until he reached the Granik River, where large enemy forces awaited him.
In May, on the banks of the Granik River, the first serious battle took place with the Persian troops commanded by the famous commander Memnon of Rhodes and several royal generals - satraps. The enemy army consisted of 20 thousand Persian cavalry and a large number of hired Greek foot soldiers. According to other sources, the 35,000th Macedonian army was opposed by the 40,000th enemy army.
Most likely, the Persians had a noticeable numerical advantage. In particular, it was expressed in the number of cavalry. Alexander the Great, in front of the enemy, decisively crossed Granik and was the first to attack the enemy. At first, he easily defeated and scattered the light Persian cavalry, and then destroyed a phalanx of Greek infantry mercenaries, of which less than 2,000 people remained alive, taken prisoner. The victors lost less than a hundred soldiers, the defeated - up to 20,000 people.
In the battle on the river Granik, the Macedonian king personally led the heavily armed Macedonian cavalry and often found himself in the thick of the battle. But he was rescued either by bodyguards who fought alongside, or by personal courage and martial art. It was personal courage, multiplied by military leadership, that brought the Great Commander unprecedented popularity among the Macedonian soldiers.
After this brilliant victory, most of the Asian Minor cities with a predominantly Hellenic population opened the fortress gates to the conqueror, including Sardis. Only the cities of Miletus and Halicarnassus, famous for their independence, offered stubborn armed resistance, but they could not repel the onslaught of the Macedonians. In late 334 - early 333 BC. e. The Macedonian king conquered the regions of Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia and Phrygia (in which he took the strong Persian fortress of Gordion), in the summer of 333 - Cappadocia and went to Cilicia. But the dangerous illness of Alexander suspended this victorious march of the Macedonians.
Barely recovered, the king moved through the Cilician mountain passages to Syria. The Persian king Darius III Kodoman, instead of waiting for the enemy on the Syrian plains, advanced at the head of a huge army to meet him and cut the enemy's communications. Near the city of Issa (modern Iskenderun, the former city of Alexandretta), in northern Syria, one of the largest battles in the history of the Ancient World took place.
The Persian army outnumbered the forces of Alexander the Great by about three times, and according to some estimates, even 10 times. Usually, sources indicate a figure of 120,000 people, of which 30,000 are Greek mercenaries. Therefore, King Darius and his military leaders did not doubt complete and quick victory.
The Persian army took up a convenient position on the right bank of the Pinar River, which crossed the Issa plain. It was simply impossible to go around it unnoticed from the flanks. King Darius III probably decided to intimidate the Macedonians with one kind of his huge army and achieve complete victory. Therefore, he did not rush events on the day of the battle and gave the enemy the initiative to start the battle. It cost him dearly.
The king of Macedonia was the first to launch the attack, moving forward a phalanx of spearmen and cavalry operating on the flanks. Heavy Macedonian cavalry (cavalry "comrades") under the command of Alexander the Great himself advanced to the attack from the left bank of the river. With her impulse, she drew the Macedonians and their allies into the battle, setting them up for victory.
The ranks of the Persians mingled and they fled. The Macedonian cavalry pursued the fleeing for a long time, but could not catch Darius. The Persian casualties were enormous, possibly over 50,000.
The marching camp of the Persians, together with the family of Darius, went to the winner. In an effort to win the sympathy of the population of the conquered lands, the king showed mercy to the wife and children of Darius, and allowed the captured Persians, if they so wished, to join the ranks of the Macedonian army, into its auxiliary units. Many captive Persians took advantage of this unexpected opportunity to escape the shameful slavery on Greek soil.
Because Darius with the remnants of his army fled far to the banks of the Euphrates River, the Great General moved to Phenicia in order to conquer the entire eastern Syrian coast of the Mediterranean Sea. At this time, he twice rejected the offer of the Persian king for peace. Alexander the Great dreamed only of conquering the huge Persian state.
In Palestine, the Macedonians met unexpected resistance from the Phoenician fortified city of Tira (Sur), located on an island near the coast. The shooting range was separated from the land by a strip of water 900 meters. The city had high and strong fortress walls, a strong garrison and squadron, large supplies of everything necessary, and its inhabitants were determined to defend their native Tire from foreign invaders with weapons in their hands.
A seven-month, incredibly heavy siege of the city began, in which the Macedonian navy took part. Various throwing and battering machines were brought up along the dam under the most fortress walls. After many days of efforts by these machines, the Tire fortress was taken by the besiegers in a fierce assault.
Only a part of the inhabitants of the city was able to flee on ships, whose crews broke through the blockade ring of the enemy fleet and were able to escape to the Mediterranean Sea. During the bloody assault on Tire, 8,000 townspeople died, and about 30,000 were sold into slavery by the victors. The city itself, for the edification of others, was practically destroyed and for a long time ceased to be the center of navigation in the Mediterranean.
After that, all the cities in Palestine submitted to the Macedonian army, except for Gaza, which they had to take by force. The victors in a rage killed the entire Persian garrison, the city itself was plundered, and the inhabitants were sold into slavery. This happened in November 332.
Egypt, one of the most densely populated countries of the ancient world, submitted to the great military leader of antiquity without any resistance. At the end of 332, the conqueror founded the city of Alexandria (one of many who bore his name) in the Nile Delta on the sea coast, which soon became a major commercial, scientific and cultural center of Hellenic culture.
During the conquest of Egypt, Alexander showed the wisdom of a great statesman: he did not touch local customs and religious beliefs, in contrast to the Persians, who constantly insulted these feelings of the Egyptians. He was able to win the trust and love of the local population, which was facilitated by the extremely reasonable organization of governing the country.
331, spring - the Macedonian king, having received significant reinforcements from the royal governor in Hellas Antipater, again went to war against Darius, who had already managed to collect a large army in Assyria. The Macedonian army crossed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and at Gavgamel, not far from the city of Arbela and the ruins of Nineveh, on October 1 of the same year, opponents met in battle. Despite the significant superiority of the Persian army in numbers and absolute in the cavalry, Alexander the Great, thanks to the skillful tactics of conducting an offensive battle, was again able to win a brilliant victory.
Alexander the Great, who was with his heavy cavalry "comrades" on the right flank of the Macedonian combat position, made a gap between the left flank and the center of the Persians and then attacked their center. After stubborn resistance, despite the fact that the left flank of the Macedonians was under strong enemy pressure, the Persians retreated. In a short time, their huge army turned into crowds of unruly armed people. Darius III fled among the first, and his entire army ran after him in complete disarray, suffering huge losses. The winners lost only 500 people.
From the battlefield, Alexander the Great moved to the city of Babylon, which surrendered without a fight, although it had powerful fortress walls. Soon the victors captured the Persian capital of Persepolis and the huge royal treasury. The brilliantly won victory at Gaugamel made Alexander the Great the ruler of Asia - now the Persian state lay at his feet.
By the end of 330, the great commander subjugated all of Asia Minor and Persia, reaching the goal set by his father. In less than 5 years, the king of Macedonia was able to create the greatest empire for that era. In the conquered territories, the local nobility rules. Only military and financial matters were entrusted to the Greeks and Macedonians. In these matters, Alexander the Great trusted exclusively his people from among the Hellenes.
In the next three years, Alexander made military campaigns to the territory of what is now Afghanistan, Central Asia and North India. After which he finally put an end to the Persian empire, whose fugitive king, Darius III Kodoman, was killed by his own satraps. Then followed the conquest of the regions - Hyrcania, Aria, Drangiana, Arachosia, Bactria and Sogdiana.
Having conquered the finally populous and rich Sogdiana, the Macedonian king married Roxalana, the daughter of the Bactrian prince Oxyartes, who fought especially valiantly against him, trying in this way to strengthen his dominance in Central Asia.
328 year - Macedonian, in a fit of anger and intoxicated with wine, stabbed the military leader Cletes during a feast, who saved his life in the battle of Granicus. At the beginning of 327, a conspiracy of noble Macedonians was discovered in Bactria, all of whom were executed. The same conspiracy led to the death of the philosopher Callisthenes, a relative of Aristotle. This last punitive act of the great conqueror was difficult to explain, because his contemporaries were well aware of how highly the disciple respected his wise teacher.
Having finally subdued Bactria, Alexander the Great in the spring of 327 undertook a campaign in Northern India. His army of 120,000 people consisted mainly of the troops of the conquered lands. Crossing the Hydasp River, he entered into battle with the army of King Porus, which included 30,000 foot soldiers, 200 war elephants and 300 war chariots.
The bloody battle on the banks of the Hydasp River ended with another victory of the great commander. A significant role in it was played by the light Greek infantry, which fearlessly attacked the war elephants, which the Eastern warriors feared so much. A fair number of the elephants, enraged by the numerous wounds, turned and rushed through their own battle formations, mixing the ranks of the Indian army.
The victors lost only 1,000 soldiers, the defeated much more - 12,000 killed and another 9,000 Indians were captured. The Indian king Por was captured, but was soon released by the victor. Then the army of Alexander the Great entered the territory of modern Punjab, having won several more battles.
But further advance into the interior of India was stopped: an open murmur began in the Macedonian army. The soldiers, exhausted by eight years of constant military campaigns and battles, begged Alexander to return home to distant Macedonia. After reaching the Indian Ocean along the Indus coast, Alexander the Great had a chance to obey the will of the army.
But the king of Macedonia never had a chance to return home. In Babylon, where he lived, busy with state affairs and plans for new campaigns of conquest, after one of the feasts, Alexander unexpectedly fell ill and a few days later died at the age of 33. Dying, he did not manage to appoint his successor. One of his closest associates, Ptolemy, transported the body of Alexander the Great in a golden coffin to Alexandria and buried there.
The consequences of the death of the great commander of antiquity were not long in coming. Just a year later, the huge empire created by Alexander the Great ceased to exist. It split into several constantly warring states, which were ruled by the closest associates of the hero of the Ancient World.
A. Shishov