Section 5.4: Alexander the Great’s Empire Mr. Marijanovich World History A

Philip builds Macedonian Power Setting the Stage (It is around 360 BCE): King Philip II was king of Macedonia Macedonia borders Greece to the North Greece was weakened by the Peloponnesian War which caused a rapid decline in their military and economy. They were ripe for the picking and Philip II knew it. Philip dreamed of conquering Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth.

Philip’s Army In 359 BCE, at only 23 years old, Philip built a well trained, professional army. He used ground troops organized into phalanxes that were 16 men wide and 16 men long, all carrying 18 foot pikes. He also utilized a fast-moving cavalry to crush his disorganized opponents.

Conquest of Greece Meanwhile, back in Athens, a famous orator by the name of Demosthenes tried to warn the Greeks that Phillip was dangerous and could attack. Unfortunately, the Greek city-states would not listen and form an alliance. Only Athens and Thebes joined forces, but it was not enough. In 338 BCE, the Macedonians defeated the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea.

Philip builds Macedonian Power After defeating the Greek army, Philip turned his eyes towards Persia. He was preparing to attack, but at his daughters wedding in 336, he was stabbed to death by a former guardsman. This set the stage for his son, Alexander, to become king of Macedonia.

What a STUD!!!

Invasion of Persia The first order of business for young Alexander was to make his father’s dream come true. In 334 BCE, Alexander led 35,000 troops into Persia and met an army of 40,000 Persians at the Granicus River. Alexander attacked immediately with his cavalry surprising the Persians, and won a huge victory.

Invasion of Persia Darius, the Persian king, became alarmed and raised an army of 75,000 men. Knowing he was outnumbered close to 2 to 1, Alexander ordered his finest troops to attack a weak point in the Persian line and charged right at King Darius. Darius became frightened, panicked and retreated to avoid being caught. During his retreat, his army became confused and followed him. It was another great victory for Alexander.

Review Break!!! Stand up if true, throw up a ‘thumbs down’ if false. Philip was the king of Greece, which was unified after the Peloponnesian War. FALSE!!! … He was the king of Macedonia Demosthenes had predicted of Macedonia’s conquer of Greece, which most city-states didn’t believe would happen. TRUE!!!  Alexander decided to use his delta force infantry to scare Darius. FALSE!!! … He used an unorthodox method of using his cavalry 1st!!!

Alexander Defeats Persia He was now becoming famous, but he was only beginning. He now set his sights on the rest of the Persian empire. He marched his army into Egypt, controlled by the Persians. Egypt was enthralled that he had defeated Darius and welcomed him. They made him Pharaoh, their god-king.

Alexander Defeats Persia By this time, Darius was becoming desperate to hold onto his kingdom. He assembled an army of 250,000 men and went out to meet Alexander in Mesopotamia. The armies found each other in a small village of Guagamela.

Alexander Defeats Persia Alexander launched a massive phalanx attack followed by a cavalry charge. Once again his tactics surprised the Persians, Darius panicked again, and the Macedonian army crushed the Persians. From this time on he became known as Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world.

Alexander’s Other Conquests Over the next 11 years, Alexander continued his conquests. He won great battles in the Indus Valley, eastern Asia and wanted to continue east to China. By now his army was exhausted and they just wanted to go home. Alexander was bitterly disappointed but knew that he had to allow his men to return to Macedonia.

Alexander’s Other Conquests In the spring of 323 BCE, Alexander and his army reached Babylonia. He now planned to unite his entire empire by constructing new cities, roads and harbors. Then conquering Arabia to expand his empire to most of Asia. But as luck would have it, Alexander became seriously ill with a fever and died at 32 years old. (REALLY?!?)

Alexander’s Other Conquests His massive empire and legacy was now up for grabs. Eventually, three ambitious generals won out. Antigonus became king of Macedonia. Ptolemy became pharaoh of Egypt. Seleucus became emperor of the old Persian Empire in the east.

Let me see you guys conquer this!!!

Alexander’s Legacy Alexander the Great had an enormous impact on the lands that he conquered. A vibrant new culture emerged because of him. This culture was a combination of Greek and Eastern customs that exist to this day.