World History Encyclopedia, 14 Nov 2013. Alexander was born in 356 B.C.E. Though a eunuch, Batis was physically imposing and ruthless. Although he soon fell into a coma, he eventually recovered. Otherwise, he allowed the inhabitants of these towns to continue as they always had, and made no attempt to impose Greek customs on them. Alexander and Ada appear to have formed an emotional connection. In the summer of 330 BCE, Darius III was assassinated by his own general and cousin Bessus, an act which Alexander was said to deplore. Callisthenes became one of these when he was implicated in a plot. As he continued marching into Persia, he saw that his victory at Granicus had been lost on no one. Darius, about to fall off his chariot, instead jumped off. Alexander, seeing the unwillingness of his men agreed and diverted. Alexander, of course, died young at the height of his power. He ordered the ancient capital and tomb to be restored and took other measures to integrate his army with the people of the region and merge the cultures of Persia and Macedonia. Greeks of Alexander's day knew nothing of China, or any other lands east of India. Seleucus founded the Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE), comprising Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and parts of India, and would be the last remaining of the Diadochi after the incessant 40 years of war between them and their heirs. His replacement was a Persian who had spent time in Macedonia called Pharnabazus. This act was said to be instigated during a drunken party by Thais, the Athenian lover of the general Ptolemy, claiming it would be apt revenge for the city to be burnt "by women's hands", and she is said to have thrown her torch right after Alexander threw the first. This belief in his divinity was instilled in him by Olympias who also told him that his was a virgin birth as she had been miraculously impregnated by Zeus himself. They began to fear that Alexander, the king they had hero-worshiped, was turning into an eastern despot, although a young eunuch was eventually introduced to Alexander, and helped to keep his decadence in check. He had been at the Battle of the Granicus River, and had believed that Memnon's scorched Earth strategy would work here. Alexander, now the Persian "King of Kings", adopted Persian dress and mannerisms, which, in time, the Greeks began to view as decadent and autocratic. Alexander the Great is a legendary commander in the Rise of Kingdoms. Meanwhile, Darius took the Persian army to intercept Alexander. Cleitus' death was swift, through a javelin Alexander hurled at him, while Callisthenes was imprisoned and died in confinement. However, Alexander's diadochi quietly abandoned these grandiose plans after his death. I … Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He abstained from food and drink and declared a period of mourning throughout his empire and funeral rites usually reserved for a king. Once the Macedonian army had advanced sufficiently into the narrow pass, the Persians rained down boulders on them from the northern slopes. Alexander granted their wish, and allowed them to stop paying taxes to Persia, but only if they joined the League of Corinth. It is not clear if it had been a drunken accident, or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Greco-Persian War. The Macedonian line was arrayed with the heavy Phalanxes in the middle, Macedonian cavalry led by Alexander on the right, and allied Thessalian cavalry led by Parmenion on the left. 351.9k Followers, 749 Following, 1,113 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Alexander Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) As with most ancient battles, significant carnage occurred after the battle as pursuing Macedonians slaughtered their crowded, disorganized foe. Darius was found by one of Alexander's scouts, moaning in pain. The Macedonian troops became progressively uncomfortable with Alexander's apparent deification and adoption of Persian customs. A Study in Historiography and Topography" in: N. G. L. Hammond (1992). His reasoning behind this decision, both the delay in withdrawal after the mutiny and the form it finally took, is still unclear and debated by historians. ), commonly known as Alexander the Great. There was a family, though, that Alexander gave a very high position in his government, but the only contact he ever had with them was when he spent the night with the wife of the household. Those citizens that took shelter in the temple of Heracles were pardoned by Alexander. The goat's horn is replaced with four horns. [15], After the battle, Alexander buried the dead (Greeks and Persians), and sent the captured Greek mercenaries back to Greece to work in the mines, as an abject lesson for any Greek who decided to fight for the Persians. He asked for water, and then, clutching the Macedonian soldier's hand, said that he was thankful that he would not die utterly alone and abandoned. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Alexander marched his army east through Cappadocia, where, for a stretch of nearly 150 km (93 mi), there was no water. Also present in the Persian army, a sign that the Persians were still very powerful, were the feared war elephants. Fate would soon provide him with one. For the identification, see Henry Speck, "Alexander at the Persian Gates. In the winter of 330, Alexander marched toward Persepolis, meeting resistance at the Battle of the Persian Gates defended by the hero Ariobarzanes (l. 386-330 BCE) and his sister Youtab Aryobarzan (d. 330 BCE) at the head of the Persian troops. Many of his troops objected to this cultural merger and increasingly criticized his adoption of Persian dress and manners which he had affected since 329 BCE. They then lit it on fire, creating what we might call a primitive form of napalm, and ran it up onto the causeway. They further objected to the promotion of Persians over Macedonians in the army and to Alexander's order merging Persian and Macedonian units. The fire spread quickly, engulfing both towers and other siege equipment that had been brought up. Alexander the Great was born on July 20, 356 BC. Mark, Joshua J. Alexander's troops now thought the war was over. Web. Shortly after the battle, Memnon died. His desire to learn, and to have information recorded as scientifically as possible, probably stemmed from Aristotle's teachings and enthusiasm. Having heard of the exploits of the great Macedonian general, the Indian King Omphis of Taxila submitted to his authority without a fight, but the Aspasioi and Assakenoi tribes strongly resisted. [8] News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against Macedonian authority. Plutarch writes: Alexander was born the sixth of Hecatombaeon, which month the Macedonians call Lous, the same day that the temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt; which Hegesias of Magnesia makes the occasion of a conceit, frigid enough to have stopped the conflagration. After designing the plan for the city of Alexandria, he left Egypt for Syria and northern Mesopotamia to pursue further campaigns against Persia. When news of the revolt reached Alexander he responded quickly. Mark, J. J. When he died, Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. In 329 BCE, he founded the city of Alexandria-Eschate on the Iaxartes River, destroyed the city of Cyropolis, and defeated the Scythians. When he was asked who should succeed him, Alexander said, “the strongest”, which answer led to his empire being divided between four of his generals: Cassander, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Seleucus (known as the Diadochi or 'successors'). He called her "mother", finding her more amicable than his megalomaniacal snake-worshiping mother Olympias. In return for his support, Ada gave Alexander gifts, and even sent him some of the best cooks in Asia Minor, realizing that Alexander had a sweet tooth. [citation needed], The Siege of Halicarnassus was undertaken in 334 BC. (Plutarch, Life of Alexander, I). Darius escaped with a small core of his forces remaining intact, although the Bactrian cavalry and Bessus soon caught up with him. The Persian troops, realizing they had lost, either surrendered or fled with their hapless king. De Santis, Marc G. "At The Crossroads of Conquest". There appeared to be little change from the old system. When Alexander was young, he was taught to fight and ride by Leonidas of Epirus, a relative of his mother Olympias, as well as to endure hardships such as forced marches. Darius was also curtly informed that, if he wanted to dispute Alexander's claim to the Achaemenid throne, that he would have to stand and fight, and that if he instead fled, Alexander would pursue and kill him. With four horns the opposite shore and continued on with his conquest, marching the. A prime example of his power, set fire to it and withdrew with his,! 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