Alexander The Great Mr. Giesler Global Studies

Empire of Alexander the Great

Who was Alexander the Great and why so great? Alexander III (356-323 BC), or Alexander the Great was Macedonian king and son of Philip II of Macedon Born in Pella, Macedonia Tutored by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle His father, Philip, was king of Macedonia, and had conquered the Greek city states during his 27 year reign In ten years, Alexander of Macedonia created the largest empire in the world up to that time Alexander spread Greek culture, ensuring cultural diffusion and the survival of the qualities of classical Greece

Alexander was only 20 when he became king of Macedonia Philip was murdered in 336 B.C. by an assassin…maybe hired by his wife, Olympia… Alexander was only 20 when he became king of Macedonia Ruled Macedonia from 359-336 B.C. and transformed it into a powerful military machine Philip's Death Olympia, wife of Philip II and mother of AlexanderPhilip returned to Pella in 336 to attend his daughter's wedding. As the bridal party passed through the streets in procession, three men leaped from the crowd and stabbed Philip to death. The three men were killed on the spot. There have long been dark rumors that Philip's death was engineered by his own wife, Olympia, who was eager for her son to be king. There is no real evidence for this.

Eyes on Persia Philip intended to use Greece as a launching pad to invade Persia, but he was assassinated before he could begin his plan Instead the invasion of Persia would be left for Philip’s son Alexander who was just 20 when Philip was assassinated History suggests that Alexander inherited from his father the most perfectly organized, trained, and equipped army of ancient times.

Phalanx: ancient Greek expression to signify an organized, dense line of battle; the heavily armed infantry soldiers were known as hoplites.

The army crossed the Dardanelles in spring 334 Like Father, Like Son…Expanding the Empire Alexander’s army of over 50,000 crossed at the Dardanelles into Asia, where he would declare that the whole of Asia would be won by the spear The army crossed the Dardanelles in spring 334

Warfare in the Age of Alexander Companions Alexander’s elite cavalry, the offensive arm of his army, and his elite guard. They would be used in conjunction with the phalanx. The phalanx would fix the enemy in place and then the companion cavalry would attack on the flank. Alexander would lead the charge with his cavalry, normally in a wedge formation. These troops would also protect the flanks of the Macedonian line during battle.

Alexander used an extremely effective strategy against the separated armies of Persia. He called it the “hammer and anvil” tactic. He would arrange all of his infantry in such a way that they would be grouped together in a collection of 256 men; a square 16 across by 16 deep. This method of arranging the infantry was called the “phalanx” and it is believed to be one of the most potent weapons of war in the ancient world. Alexander then had all of the phalanx march directly into the enemy line while all of the cavalry would circle around the back of the opposing army. The phalanx would keep the enemy in place with the use of there longer spears and the cavalry would drive them towards the phalanx, causing the enemy to be trapped. This is why the military technique is known as the “hammer and anvil”, because the infantry would act as the anvil and the cavalry as the hammer. In the past, this maneuver had worked perfectly for the Macedonian army, but because at Gaugamela the Persian army was stretched nearly two and a half miles wide with 200,000 men, Alexander and his army of 47,000 knew that the regular hammer and anvil...

Sieges involved the surrounding and blockading of a town or fortress by an army trying to capture it. A variety of weapons were built to hurl projectiles over city walls, scale or batter the walls, and transport soldiers over them.

The Battle of Gaugamela

Defeating Darius III of Persia, 331BCE Darius made sure that this battleground favored his army and its tactics particularly the use of his feared scythe-wheeled chariots. Persian army of possibly 200,000 faced off against Alexander's 35,000. Alexander immediately sized up the Persian's tactical advantage and countered by ordering his cavalry to shift to the right hoping to move his enemy away from its flat field. Darius took the bait ordering his troops to follow. Soon the Persians found themselves on rough, rock-strewn terrain. Seeing the thinning Persian line, Alexander led the charge that crashed through to the Persian rear. As at the battle of Issus, Darius fled, leaving the field and victory to Alexander Darius was forced to flee, abandoning is mother, wife and children to Alexander Interesting sidebar: Darius flees, Alex chases, Darius’s men murder him, Alex executes the men, Darius is given a royal funeral….Honor amongst men!

Defeating Darius III of Persia, 331BCE Soon the Persians found themselves on rough, rock-strewn terrain. Seeing the thinning Persian line, Alexander led the charge that crashed through to the Persian rear. As at the battle of Issus, Darius fled, leaving the field and victory to Alexander Darius was forced to flee, abandoning is mother, wife and children to Alexander Interesting sidebar: Darius flees, Alex chases, Darius’s men murder him, Alex executes the men, Darius is given a royal funeral….Honor amongst men!

And Down Goes Tyre Old city on the mainland was abandoned Alexander offered peace treaty Tyrians killed Alexander’s ambassadors…sent Alexander into a tizzy New city built on an island two miles long and separated from the coast by a half mile channel Walls were 150 feet high Had two harbors (Sidonian and Egyptian) Alexander originally had no ships so he built a land bridge across the channel

Tyrians no match 7000 Dead Tyrians 400 Macedonians Took 7 months Battering Ram Tyrians no match 7000 Dead Tyrians 400 Macedonians Took 7 months 2000 crucified 30K sold into slavery Light Catapult Stone Thrower

After Alexander died, his generals jockeyed for power and by 275 they had divided up his kingdom into three large states Antigonus took Greece and Macedon Ptolemy took Egypt Seleuces took the former Achaemenid empire The period of Alexander and his successors is called the Hellenistic period to reflect the broad influence of Greek culture beyond Greece’s borders Life after Alexander