Alexander the Great. Absolutely Unbeaten Leader of The Largest Empire in The World
Alexander the Great is one of the most prominent personalities in the ancient world, who achieved his own immortality within his life and even after his death. Actually, his death caused great confusion, as till today, the doctors cannot identify which caused in death this young man.
Alexander was born in the city of Pella around the year 356 BC, and he was a student at the hands of the famous philosopher and scientist “Aristotle” until he reached his sixteenth year.
And by his thirtieth year, he had established one of the largest and greatest empires in the ancient world, which stretched from the coasts of the Ionian Sea to the west up to The Himalayan mountain range in the east. He is considered one of the most successful military leaders, as he has never been defeated in any battle fought.
How Did Alexander make his dream come true!
Alexander the Great was fond of the era of heroics and legendary heroes, and he dreamed of sitting a great empire. When he was still a teenager, he became a soldier and embarked on the first military expedition against the Thracian tribes.
In 338 BC, Alexander became in charge of the cavalry and assisted his father in defeating the Athenian and Thurian armies in Geronia.
But then Philip, the father of Alexander, married Cleopatra and expelled Olympia, the mother of Alexander, so Alexander and Olympia were forced to flee Macedonia and stay with the Olympia family in Epirus.
Alexander comes to power
In 336 BC, King Philip II was murdered by the Macedonian nobleman Possanius. Upon the death of his father, Alexander, who was 19 years old at that time, decided to seize power in any way.
He quickly obtained the support of the Macedonian army, including its leaders and divisions that fought with him in Gheronia, so the army announced Alexander as a feudal king, and he killed any potential heirs to the throne, even Olympia secured her son’s power by killing the daughter of King Philip II and Cleopatra.
At this time, Alexander began to build his great empire. Alexander proclaimed himself king of Persia after Darius was captured and considered a fugitive. After that, he surrounded Gaza on his way to Egypt and was able to take it easily, and Egypt fell without any resistance.
Establishment of the city of Alexandria
In 331 BC, he established the city of Alexandria to be a center for Greek culture and trade. Then, in the same year, Alexander triumphed over the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela, and with the collapse of the Persian army, Alexander became “king of Babylon, king of Asia, and the king of the four sides of the world.”
Alexander’s next target was eastern Iran, where he established Macedonian colonies. In 327 BC, he captured a fortress in Ariames, and after capturing Prince Auxiarts, Alexander married his daughter Roxana.
Injured in Battles
In 328 BC, Alexander triumphed over the armies of King Porus in northern India, and when Alexander found himself admiring Poros, he re-appointed him as king and gained his allegiance and pardon, to then head east to the Ganges River, but he returned after his army refused to advance further. On the way back to the Indus River, Malian fighters wounded Alexander.
In 325 BC, after Alexander had healed, he and his army went to the north along the harsh Persian Gulf, where many fell prey to disease, injury, and death. In February 324, Alexander finally arrived in Shushan.
He tried to preserve his leadership spirit and hire more soldiers; So he tried to establish ties between the Persian nobles and the Macedonians with the aim of creating a ruling class; and to achieve that, he ordered Shushan to marry a large number of Macedonians to Persian princesses.
After his success in using tens of thousands of Persian soldiers in his army; many of his Macedonian soldiers were demobilized, which increased the number of soldiers who were critical of Alexander’s new soldiers and objecting to his adoption of Persian customs and traditions.
Therefore, in order to calm the Macedonian soldiers, Alexander killed 13 Persian military leaders.
The Most Important Artifact Alexander left For History (Alexandria City)
You can feel the soul of Alexander the Great by visiting Alexandria; the city he decided to set and called it Alexandria to carry his name, since, on his way on the Mediterranean coast; A place of land located on the Mediterranean caught the king’s attention, and he thought carefully about that spot.
It has wonderful properties that made Alexandria suitable for creating a great city on the latest designs at that time and from these properties that are the presence of the fresh drinking water from the Nile through the Canopic branch; and the presence of a small island facing that spot which could easily connect together.
This island is considered a front defensive front for the city, and the presence of Lake Mariout south of this land constitutes a defensive fortification from the south side.
These specifications convinced the Greek hero to establish a city on this site bearing his name and commemorating his memory and be a port serving international trade in this region.
He asked his Greek engineer (Dino Cartes) to plan this new city, and he designed it in the hypo-dhami style; which consisted of two main streets intersecting at a right angle; and then planning other secondary streets parallel to each of the two streets; which is a layout that is commonly used in many cities Since the fifth century BC.
The engineer Dino Qratis began to extend a bridge linking the island; which they named later the island of Pharos, and the length of this bridge was 1300 m. As a result of the construction of this bridge, there were two ports.
The Mystery Of Alexander’s Death
The young man died in Babylon, Iraq, in 323 BC; and the cause of his death is still a mystery that baffles the doctors, and archaeologists are still searching for his grave.
Scientists at the Greek University of Aristotle concluded that the cause of death of The Greek king was “pancreatic necrosis” and not malaria or pneumonia, as was common before.
The researchers analyzed the symptoms of illness; and the last days of the Macedonian Caesar’s life that the Ancient Greek historians described. The beginning of the symptoms was in the form of severe abdominal pain after consuming food and alcohol; accompanied by fever and chills, which were getting worse day after day within 14 days.
According to the University of Maryland College of Medicine Report 1998; Alexander the Great died of typhoid fever alongside malaria, which was common in ancient Babylon. Suggested causes for Alexander the Great’s death include alcoholic liver disease, fever, and strychnine poisoning, but little data support these accounts.
