Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him. Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, marching along the Indus. [67], From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. [216] She instilled a sense of destiny in him,[218] and Plutarch tells how his ambition "kept his spirit serious and lofty in advance of his years". GERIN Dominique, GRANDJEAN Catherine, AMANDRY Michel, DE CALLATAY Franois, La monnaie grecque, "L'Antiquit: une histoire", Ellipse, 2001. p117-119. The Great Macedonian King on the Buddhist Trail. Demades likened the Macedonian army, after the death of Alexander, to the blinded Cyclops, due to the many random and disorderly movements that it made. [44], In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus. He was taken to his bedchamber where, after days of agony, he fell into a coma and died. Some of the first and most influential figurative portrayals of the Buddha appeared at this time, perhaps modelled on Greek statues of Apollo in the Greco-Buddhist style. [283] The Corinthian order is also heavily represented in the art of Gandhara, especially through Indo-Corinthian capitals. Greek-speaking communities in central Anatolia and in far-eastern Anatolia survived until the Greek genocide and GreekTurkish population exchanges of the early 20th century AD. [citation needed], The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available. Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa. At Termessos, Alexander humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city. After a long pause due to an illness, he marched on towards Syria. [279][281][282] The Yavanajataka (lit. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish. [14], On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea, Philip commanded the right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. The horse refused to be mounted, and Philip ordered it away. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. [53], Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth. [65][f] He showed his intent to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying he accepted Asia as a gift from the gods. This star symbol with sixteen rays is the national Macedonian royal symbol of Phillip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and the ancient Macedonian Empire. [91] Curtius claims that Alexander did not regret his decision until the next morning. Their works are lost, but later works based on these original sources have survived. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice, and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: , romanized: Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC - 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources as "Sandrokottos"), of relatively humble origin, took control of the Punjab, and with that power base proceeded to conquer the Nanda Empire. While there, he encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and realised with dissatisfaction that he was now at an age when Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved comparatively little. [268], Hellenization was coined by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to denote the spread of Greek language, culture, and population into the former Persian empire after Alexander's conquest. [112], In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during Alexander's campaign in Asia. [263][264][265], Libanius wrote that Alexander founded the temple of Zeus Bottiaios (Ancient Greek: ), in the place where later the city of Antioch was built. This cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it. [102] This created a problem for Alexander as to whether he had to make use of the various segments and people that had given the empire its solidity and unity for a lengthy period of time. Osprey Publishing. A few years earlier, in 332 BC, Alexander invaded Bactria and Gandhara when this territory was under ramanic influence (perhaps Buddhist and Jain). [199][198] Nevertheless, Andrew Stewart highlights the fact that artistic portraits, not least because of who they are commissioned by, are always partisan, and that artistic portrayals of Alexander "seek to legitimize him (or, by extension, his Successors), to interpret him to their audiences, to answer their critiques, and to persuade them of his greatness", and thus should be considered within a framework of "praise and blame", in the same way sources such as praise poetry are. [311], In Hindi and Urdu, the name "Sikandar", derived from the Persian name for Alexander, denotes a rising young talent, and the Delhi Sultanate ruler Aladdin Khalji stylized himself as "Sikandar-i-Sani" (the Second Alexander the Great). 14K Gold Alexander The Great Greek Macedonian King Thin Pendant . After his trip to Siwa, Alexander was crowned in the temple of Ptah at Memphis. Macedonian losses were negligible compared to those of the Persians. [190], Alexander perhaps earned the epithet "the Great" due to his unparalleled success as a military commander; he never lost a battle, despite typically being outnumbered. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan. Ronald H. Fritze, Egyptomania: A History of Fascination, Obsession and Fantasy, p 103. [146] There are two different versions of Alexander's death, differing slightly in details. Apelles, however, in painting him as wielder of the thunder-bolt, did not reproduce his complexion, but made it too dark and swarthy. [88] Alexander stayed in Persepolis for five months. [314] During the first Italian campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars, in a question from Bourrienne, asking whether he gave his preference to Alexander or Caesar, Napoleon said that he places Alexander The Great in the first rank, the main reason being his campaign on Asia. [85] He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Persian Royal Road. It is also known as the Macedonian Star, Macedonian Sun, Sun of Vergina, and Star of Vegina, after Macedonian royal tombs. [194] Alexander placed the phalanx at the center and cavalry and archers on the wings, so that his line matched the length of the Persian cavalry line, about 3km (1.86mi). [122] A fierce contest ensued with the Aspasioi in which Alexander was wounded in the shoulder by a dart, but eventually the Aspasioi lost. [259], Over the course of his conquests, Alexander founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most of them east of the Tigris. ", Peter Turchin, Thomas D. Hall and Jonathan M. Adams, ", Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, pp 158. Born in 356 BC, Alexander was a successor to his father Philip II of Macedon. [78] He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania. [62], After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), Philip II began the work of establishing himself as hgemn (Greek: ) of a league which according to Diodorus was to wage a campaign against the Persians for the sundry grievances Greece suffered in 480 and free the Greek cities of the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. As a young boy, Alexander was taught to read, write, and play the lyre. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned. [149][152] The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, replaced by Craterus, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. [202], Both Curtius and Diodorus report a story that when Darius III's mother, Sisygambis, first met Alexander and Hephaestion, she assumed that the latter was Alexander because he was the taller and more handsome of the two.[203]. [b] After the fall of Persia, the Macedonian Empire held a vast swath of territory between the Adriatic Sea and the Indus River. [313] In medieval Europe, Alexander the Great was revered as a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes whose lives were believed to encapsulate all the ideal qualities of chivalry. The correct answer is "He is alive and well and rules the world!" The song 'Alexander the Great' by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden is indicative. These only occasionally quote the letters and it is an open question how reliable such quotations are. His chroniclers recorded valuable information about the areas through which he marched, while the Greeks themselves got a sense of belonging to a world beyond the Mediterranean. [198], The Alexander Mosaic and contemporary coins portray Alexander with "a straight nose, a slightly protruding jaw, full lips and eyes deep set beneath a strongly pronounced forehead". The Alexander Romance, in particular, has had a significant impact on portrayals of Alexander in later cultures, from Persian to medieval European to modern Greek. [42] Philip exiled four of Alexander's friends, Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erigyius, and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains. [169] Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative. [149][181], Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggesting that Roxane's baby would be king, if male; with himself, Craterus, Leonnatus, and Antipater as guardians. [7], Alexander III was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon,[8] on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC (although the exact date is uncertain). [187] Craterus started to carry out Alexander's commands, but the successors chose not to further implement them, on the grounds they were impractical and extravagant. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by means of an intricate knot with its end hidden. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes's favour, but Athens won the contest. The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location remains an enduring mystery. [75], When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. On June 10, 323 BC, Alexander the Great died of fever in Babylon after battling illness for several days. [39] The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. Persian coins continued to circulate in all the satrapies of the empire.[119]. [144] Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly after Hephaestion. Left to fight alone, they were defeated. [128] The other was Nicaea (Victory), thought to be located at the site of modern-day Mong, Punjab. [139], Meanwhile, upon his return to Persia, Alexander learned that guards of the tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae had desecrated it, and swiftly executed them. [293], Caracalla's mania for Alexander went so far that Caracalla visited Alexandria while preparing for his Persian invasion and persecuted philosophers of the Aristotelian school based on a legend that Aristotle had poisoned Alexander. [83] Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible this encouraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt". Alexander endeavored to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea" and invaded India in 326 BC, achieving an important victory over Porus, an ancient Indian king of present-day Punjab, at the Battle of the Hydaspes. [62] Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred to Alexander, who chose to pardon them. [62] Alexander's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence. [270] Alexander sought to insert Greek elements into Persian culture and to hybridize Greek and Persian culture, homogenizing the populations of Asia and Europe. [2] He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula 19. He reportedly read this passage to his patron King Lysimachus, who had been one of Alexander's generals and who quipped, "I wonder where I was at the time. Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III or Alexander of Macedonia, (born 356 bce, Pella, Macedonia [northwest of Thessalonki, Greece]died June 13, 323 bce, Babylon [near Al-illah, Iraq]), king of Macedonia (336-323 bce ), who overthrew the Persian empire, carried Macedonian arms to India, and laid the foundations for the Hellenistic [35] At Corinth, Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modelled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. He then stormed the pass of the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains) which had been blocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury.[87]. Whereas he was of a fair colour, as they say, and his fairness passed into ruddiness on his breast particularly, and in his face. The head priest of the cult was the chief priest in the Ptolemaic . [250], Green argues that there is little evidence in ancient sources that Alexander had much carnal interest in women; he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life. He was probably intrigued by other species as magnificent creatures of the gods, as possible teachers, and whatever else he could read from their behaviors and appearances. [102], A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers, Philotas, was executed for failing to alert Alexander. The elephant had gold rings around its tusks and an inscription was on them written in Greek: "Alexander the son of Zeus dedicates Ajax to the Helios" ( ). [147], Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,[150] foul play featured in multiple accounts of his death. [116] However, the lion was also the symbolic animal of the Anatolian god Sandas, worshipped at Tarsus. [43] However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son. [69] According to the story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone and hacked it apart with his sword. Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III of Macedon, was born in 356 BC and became the King of Macedon in 336 BC. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. The first refers merely to the Roman battle line and does not specifically mean that the men were armed with pikes, and the second bears similarity to the 'Marian Mules' of the late Roman Republic who carried their equipment suspended from a long pole, which were in use until at least the 2nd century AD. )", East-West Orientation of Historical Empires, "The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Pella (Khirbet Fahil) Jordan", "The Narratives of "the Companions of the Cave," Moses and His Servant, and Dh 'l-Qarnayn in Srat al-Kahf", "The Mughal Sikander: Influence of the Romance of Alexander on Mughal Manuscript Painting", "Quintus Curtius Rufus, History of Alexander the Great", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander_the_Great&oldid=1152458164, Construction of 1,000 ships larger than triremes, along with harbours and a road running along the African coast all the way to the, Amalgamation of small settlements into larger cities (", Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 10:27. Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. [91][92][93] Plutarch claims that he ordered his men to put out the fires,[91] but that the flames had already spread to most of the city. Alexander left no clear successor, though he had a son, Heracles, and another child on the way by his Bactrian wife . Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy's final successors, replaced Alexander's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage. Heracles and Zeus were important deities for the Macedonians, with Heracles considered to be the ancestor of the Temenid dynasty and Zeus the patron of the main Macedonian sanctuary, Dium. [109] It remains unclear if Callisthenes was actually involved in the plot, for prior to his accusation he had fallen out of favour by leading the opposition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis. . [18] Alexander named it Bucephalas, meaning "ox-head". The gold series had the head of Athena on the obverse and a winged Nike (Victory) on the reverse. [216], Alexander's legacy extended beyond his military conquests, and his reign marked a turning point in European and Asian history. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight. [167][168] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". When Alexander took the throne he ordered for all of his rivals to the throne to be killed to ensure no-one would . . This included commissioning sculptures by Lysippos, paintings by Apelles and gem engravings by Pyrgoteles. [70], In spring 333 BC, Alexander crossed the Taurus into Cilicia. He had conquered the Persian Empire, traveled farther east than the god Dionysus, and survived a multitude of war wounds. ", "Alexander the Great poisoned by the River Styx", "Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis", "Why Alexander the Great May Have Been Declared Dead Prematurely (It's Pretty Gruesome)", "The Location of the Tomb: Facts and Speculation", "The Aftermath: The Burial of Alexander the Great", "Greeks captivated by Alexander-era tomb at Amphipolis", "Archaeologist claims opulent grave in Greece honored Alexander the Great's best friend", "Hephaestion's Monogram Found at Amphipolis Tomb", "Plutarch, Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata, ", "Plutarch, De Alexandri magni fortuna aut virtute, chapter 2, section 4", "CNG: eAuction 430. [269] Aspects of Hellenistic culture were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century.[274]. [271], The core of the Hellenistic culture promulgated by the conquests was essentially Athenian. Alexander, however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. [51] Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias. The surface is in good condition with only minor abrasions.
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