First Macedonian War
Part of the Macedonian Wars/Second Punic War
Mediterranean at 218 BC
Date 214 BC – 205 BC Location Macedon and Illyria Result Stalemate; Peace of Phoenice
Belligerents
Roman Republic, Aetolian League, Pergamon, Sparta, Elis, Messenia	Macedon, Achaean League
Commanders and leaders
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, Attalus I, Machanidas †	Philip V of Macedon, Philopoemen

The First Macedonian War (214 BC – 205 BC) was fought by Rome, allied (after 211 BC) with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC) against Carthage. There were no decisive engagements, and the war ended in a stalemate.

During the war, Macedon attempted to gain control over parts of Illyria and Greece, but without success. It is commonly thought that these skirmishes in the east prevented Macedon from aiding the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the war with Rome. The "Peace of Phoenice", a treaty drawn up at Phoenice, in 205 BC, formally ended the war.

Demetrius urges war against Rome[link]

Rome's preoccupation with its war against Carthage provided an opportunity for Philip V of Macedon to attempt to extend his power westward. According to the ancient Greek historian Polybius, an important factor in Philip's decision to take advantage of this opportunity was the influence of Demetrius of Pharos.

Demetrius had been, after the First Illyrian War in 229 BC, ruler of most of coastal Illyria.^[1] However, in 219 BC, during the Second Illyrian War he was defeated by the Romans and fled to the court of Philip.^[2]

Involved in a war with the Aetolians, Philip learned by messenger of the victory of Hannibal over the Romans, at Lake Trasimene in June 217 BC. Philip at first showed the letter only to Demetrius. Perhaps seeing a chance to recover his kingdom, Demetrius immediately advised the young king to make peace with the Aetolians, and turn his attentions toward Illyria and Italy. Polybius quotes Demetrius as saying:

For Greece is already entirely obedient to you, and will remain so: the Achaeans from genuine affection; the Aetolians from the terror which their disasters in the present war have inspired them. Italy, and your crossing into it, is the first step in the acquirement of universal empire, to which no one has a better claim than yourself. And now is the moment to act when the Romans have suffered a reverse.^[3]

Philip was easily persuaded.^[4]

Philip makes peace with Aetolia[link]

Philip, at once began negotiations with the Aetolians. At a conference on the coast near Naupactus, Philip met the Aetolian leaders, and a peace treaty was concluded.^[5] Polybius quotes the Aetolian Agelaus of Naupactus as having given the following speech^[6] in favor of peace:

The ancient Region of Aetolia, Greece

The best thing of all is that the Greeks should not go to war with each other at all, but give the gods hearty thanks if by all speaking with one voice, and joining hands like people crossing a stream, they may be able to repel the attacks of barbarians and save themselves and their cities. But if this is altogether impossible, in the present juncture at least we ought to be unanimous and on our guard, when we see the bloated armaments and the vast proportions assumed by the war in the west. For even now it is evident to any one who pays even a moderate attention to public affairs, that whether the Carthaginians conquer the Romans, or the Romans the Carthaginians, it is in every way improbable that the victors will remain contented with the empire of Sicily and Italy. They will move forward: and will extend their forces and their designs farther than we could wish. Wherefore, I beseech you all to be on your guard against the danger of the crisis, and above all you, O King. You will do this, if you abandon the policy of weakening the Greeks, and thus rendering them an easy prey to the invader; and consult on the contrary for their good as you would for your own person, and have a care for all parts of Greece alike, as part and parcel of your own domains. If you act in this spirit, the Greeks will be your warm friends and faithful coadjutors in all your undertakings; while foreigners will be less ready to form designs against you, seeing with dismay the firm loyalty of the Greeks. If you are eager for action, turn your eyes to the west, and let your thoughts dwell upon the wars in Italy. Wait with coolness the turn of events there, and seize the opportunity to strike for universal dominion. Nor is the present crisis unfavourable for such a hope. But I intreat of you to postpone your controversies and wars with the Greeks to a time of greater tranquillity; and make it your supreme aim to retain the power of making peace or war with them at your own will. For if once you allow the clouds now gathering in the west to settle upon Greece, I fear exceedingly that the power of making peace or war, and in a word all these games which we are now playing against each other, will be so completely knocked out of the hands of us all, that we shall be praying heaven to grant us only this power of making war or peace with each other at our own will and pleasure, and of settling our own disputes.^[7]

Philip builds a fleet[link]

Philip spent the winter of 217–216 BC building a fleet of 100 warships and training men to row them, and according to Polybius, it was a practice that "hardly any Macedonian king had ever done before".^[8] Macedon probably lacked the resources to build and maintain the kind of fleet necessary to match the Romans.^[9] Polybius says that Philip had no "hope of fighting the Romans at sea",^[8] perhaps referring to a lack of experience and training.

At any rate, Philip chose to build lembi. These were the small fast galleys used by the Illyrians. They had a single bank of oars and were able to carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowers.^[10] With these, Philip could hope to avoid or evade the Roman fleet, preoccupied as he hoped it would be with Hannibal, and based, as it was, at Lilybaeum in western Sicily.^[8]

Philip had in the meantime expanded his territories west along the Apsus and Genusus river valleys, right up to the borders of Illyria.^[11] Philip's plan was it seems, to first take the Illyrian coasts, conquer the area between the coasts and Macedon, and use the new land link to provide a rapid route for reinforcements across the narrow straits to Italy.^[12]

At the beginning of summer, Philip and his fleet left Macedon, sailed through the Euripus Strait, between the island of Euboea and Boeotia on the Greek mainland, and then rounded Cape Malea, before dropping anchor off the Islands of Cephalenia and Leucas, to await word of the location of the Roman fleet. Informed that it was still at Lilybaeum, he sailed north to Apollonia in Illyria.

However, as the Macedonian fleet neared the island of Sazan, Philip heard a report that some Roman quinqueremes had been seen headed for Apollonia. Convinced that the entire Roman fleet was sailing to apprehend him, Philip ordered an immediate return to Cephalenia. Polybius speaks of "panic" and "disorder" to describe the fleet's hasty retreat, and says that in fact the Romans had sent only a squadron of ten ships, and that because of "inconsiderate alarm", Philip had missed his best chance to achieve his aims in Illyria, returning to Macedon, "without loss indeed, but with considerable dishonour".^[13]

Philip allies with Carthage[link]

After hearing of Rome's disastrous defeat at the hands of Hannibal at Cannae in 216 BC, Philip sent ambassadors to Hannibal's camp in Italy to negotiate an alliance. There they concluded in the summer of 215 BC a treaty, the text of which is given by Polybius. In it they pledge in general terms, mutual support and defense and to be enemies to each other's enemies (excepting current allies). Specifically they promise support against Rome, and that Hannibal shall have the right to make peace with Rome, but that any peace would include Philip and that Rome would be forced to give up control of Corcyra, Apollonia, Epidamnus, Pharos^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Dimale, Parthini, and Atintania and "to restore to Demetrius of Pharos all those of his friends now in the dominion of Rome."^[14]

The treaty as set down by Polybius, makes no mention of an invasion of Italy by Philip, the debacle at Sazan perhaps having soured Philip on such a venture^[15] — something which in any case Hannibal may not have desired.^[16]

On their way back to Macedon, Philip's emissaries along with emissaries from Hannibal were captured, by Publius Valerius Flaccus, commander of the Roman fleet patrolling the southern Apulian coast. A letter from Hannibal to Philip, and the terms of their agreement were discovered.^[17]

Philip's alliance with Carthage caused immediate dismay in Rome, hard-pressed as they already were. An additional twenty-five warships were at once outfitted and sent to join Flaccus' fleet of twenty-five warships already at Tarentum, with orders to guard the Italian Adriatic coast, and to try to determine Philip's intent and if necessary cross over to Macedonia, keeping Philip confined there.^[18]

War breaks out in Illyria[link]

In the late summer of 214 BC, Philip again attempted an Illyrian invasion by sea, with a fleet of 120 lembi. He captured Oricum which was lightly defended, and sailing up the Aous (modern Vjosë) river he besieged Apollonia.^[19]

Meanwhile the Romans had moved the fleet from Tarentum to Brundisium to continue the watch on the movements of Philip and a legion had been sent in support, all under the command of the Roman propraetor Marcus Valerius Laevinus.^[20] Upon receiving word from Oricum of events in Illyria, Laevinus crossed over with his fleet and army. Landing at Oricum, Laevinus was able to retake the town with little fighting.

In the account given by Livy,^[21] Laevinus, hearing that Apollonia was under siege, sent 2000 men under the command of Quintus Naevius Crista, to the mouth of the river. Avoiding Philip's army, Crista was able to enter the city by night unobserved. The following night, catching Philip's forces by surprise, he attacked and routed their camp. Philip, escaping to his ships in the river, made his way over the mountains and back to Macedonia, having burned his fleet and left many thousands of his men that had died or been taken prisoner, along with all of his armies' possessions, behind. Laevinus and his fleet wintered at Oricum.

Twice thwarted in attempts at invasion of Illyria by sea, and now constrained by Laevinus' fleet in the Adriatic, Philip spent the next two years 213–212 BC making advances in Illyria by land. Keeping clear of the coast, he took the inland towns of Atintania, and Dimale, and subdued the Greek^[22] tribe of the Dassaretae and the Illyrian Parthini^[23] and at least the southern Ardiaei.^[24]

He was finally able to gain access to the Adriatic by capturing Lissus and its seemingly impregnable citadel, after which the surrounding territories surrendered.^[25] Perhaps the capture of Lissus rekindled in Philip hopes of an Italian invasion.^[26] However the loss of his fleet meant that Philip would be dependent on Carthage for passage to and from Italy, making the prospect of invasion considerably less appealing.

Rome seeks allies in Greece[link]

Desiring to prevent Philip from aiding Carthage in Italy and elsewhere, Rome sought out land allies in Greece.

Laevinus had begun exploring the possibility of an alliance with the Aetolian League, as early as 212 BC.^[27] The Aetolians, war weary, had made peace with Philip at Naupactus in 217 BC. However five years later the pendulum had swung in the other direction, the war faction was on the ascendency, and the Aetolians were once again ready to consider taking up arms against their traditional enemy of Macedon.

In 211 BC an Aetolian assembly was convened for discussions with Rome. Laevinus pointed out the recent capture of Syracuse and Capua in the war against Carthage as evidence of Rome's rising fortunes, and offered to ally with them against the Macedonians. A treaty was signed. The Aetolians would conduct operations on land, the Romans at sea. Rome would keep any slaves and other booty taken and Aetolia would receive control of any territory acquired. Another provision of the treaty allowed for the inclusion of certain allies of the League: Elis, Sparta, Messenia and Attalus I of Pergamon, as well as two Roman clients, the Illyrians Pleuratus and Scerdilaidas.^[28]

Campaign in Greece[link]

Later that summer Laevinus seized the main town of Zacynthus, except for its citadel, and the Acarnanian town of Oeniadae and the island of Nasos which he handed over to the Aetolians. He then withdrew his fleet to Corcyra for the winter.^[29]

Upon hearing of the Roman alliance with Aetolia, Philip's first action was to secure his northern borders. He conducted raids in Illyria at Oricum and Apollonia and seized the frontier town of Sintia in Dardania or perhaps Paionia. He marched rapidly south through Pelagonia, Lyncestis and Bottiaea and on to Tempe which he garrisoned with 4000 men. He turned north again into Thrace, attacking the Maedi and their chief city Iamphorynna before returning to Macedon.

No sooner had Philip arrived there, when he received an urgent plea for help from his ally the Acarnanians. Scopas the Aetolian strategos (general), had mobilized the Aetolian army and was preparing to invade Acarnania. Desperate and overmatched, but determined to resist, the Acarnanians sent their women, children and old men to seek refuge in Epirus, and the rest marched to the frontier, having sworn an oath to fight to the death, "invoking a terrible curse" upon any who were forsworn. Hearing of the Acarnanians' grim determination, the Aetolians hesitated. Then learning of Philip's approach they finally abandoned their invasion. After which Philip retired to Pella for the winter.^[30]

In the spring of 210 BC, Laevinus again sailed from Corcyra with his fleet, and with the Aetolians, captured Phocian Anticyra. Rome enslaved the inhabitants and Aetolia took possession of the town.^[31]

Although there was some fear of Rome and concern with her methods,^[32] the coalition arrayed against Philip continued to grow. As allowed for by the treaty, Pergamon, Elis and Messenia, followed by Sparta, all agreed to join the alliance against Macedon.^[33] The Roman fleet together with the Pergamon fleet controlled the sea, and Macedon and her allies were threatened on land by the rest of the coalition. The Roman strategy of encumbering Philip with a war among Greeks in Greece was succeeding, so much so that when Laevinus went to Rome to take up his consulship, he was able to report that the legion deployed against Philip could be safely withdrawn.^[34]

However the Eleans, Messenians and Spartans remained passive throughout 210 BC, and Philip continued to make advances. He invested and took Echinus, using extensive siegeworks, having beaten back an attempt to relieve the town by the Aetolian strategos Dorimachus and the Roman fleet, now commanded by the proconsul Publius Sulpicius Galba.^[35] Moving west Philip probably also took Phalara the port city of Lamia, in the Maliac Gulf. Sulpicius and Dorimachus took Aegina, an island in the Saronic Gulf, which the Aetolians sold to Attalus, the Pergamene king, for thirty talents, and which he was to use as his base of operations against Macedon in the Aegean Sea.

In the spring of 209 BC, Philip received requests for help from his ally the Achaean League in the Peloponnesus who were being attacked by Sparta and the Aetolians. He also heard that Attalus had been elected one of the two supreme commanders of the Aetolian League, and rumors that he intended to crossover the Aegean from Asia Minor.^[36] Philip marched south into Greece. At Lamia he was met by an Aetolian force, supported by Roman and Pergamene auxiliaries, under the command of Attalus' colleague as strategos, the Aetolian Phyrrhias. Philip won two battles at Lamia, inflicting heavy casualties on Phyrrhias' troops. The Aetolians and their allies were forced to retreat inside the city walls, where they remained, unwilling to give battle.

Attempt at peace fails[link]

From Lamia, Philip went to Phalara. There he met representatives from the neutral states of Egypt, Rhodes, Athens and Chios who were trying to end the war—they were trading states and the war was probably hurting trade.^[37] Livy says that they were concerned "not so much for the Aetolians, who were more warlike than the rest of the Greeks, as for the liberty of Greece, which would be seriously endangered if Philip and his kingdom took an active part in Greek politics." With them was Amynandor of Athamania, representing the Aetolians. A truce of thirty days and a peace conference at Achaea were arranged.

Philip marched to Chalcis in Euboea, which he garrisoned to block Attalus' landing there, then continued on to Aegium for the conference. The conference was interrupted by a report that Attalus had arrived at Aegina, and the Roman fleet was at Naupactus. The Aetolian representatives, emboldened by these events, at once demanded that Philip return Pylos to the Messenians, Atintania to Rome and the Ardiaei to Scerdilaidas and Pleuratus. "Indignant", Philip quit the negotiations telling the assembly that they "might bear him witness that whilst he was seeking a basis for peace, the other side were determined to find a pretext for war".^[38]

Hostilities resume[link]

From Naupactus, Sulpicius sailed east to Corinth and Sicyon, conducting raids there. Philip, with his cavalry caught the Romans ashore and was able to drive them back to their ships, with the Romans returning to Naupactus.

Philip then joined Cycliadas the Achaean general, near Dyme for a joint attack on the city of Elis, the main Aetolian base of operations against Achaea.^[39] However, Sulpicius had sailed into Cyllene and reinforced Elis with 4000 Romans. Leading a charge, Philip was thrown from his horse. Fighting on foot Philip became the object of a fierce battle, finally escaping on another horse. The next day Philip captured the stronghold of Phyricus, taking 4000 prisoners and 20,000 animals. Hearing news of Illyrian incursions in the north Philip abandoned Aetolia and returned to Demetrias in Thessaly.^[40]

Meanwhile Sulpicius sailed round into the Aegean and joined Attalus on Aegina for the winter.^[41] In 208 BC the combined fleet of thirty-five Pergamene and twenty-five Roman ships failed to take Lemnos, but occupied and plundered the countryside of the island of Peparethos (Skopelos), both Macedonian possessions.^[42]

Attalus and Sulpicius then attended a meeting in Heraclea Trachinia of the Council of the Aetolians which included representatives from Egypt and Rhodes, who were continuing to try to arrange a peace. Learning of the conference and the presence of Attalus, Philip marched rapidly south in an attempt to break up the conference and catch the enemy leaders, but arrived too late.^[43]

Surrounded by foes, Philip was forced to adopt a defensive policy.^[44] He distributed his commanders and forces and set up a system of beacon fires at various high places to communicate instantly any enemy movements.

After leaving Heraclea, Attalus and Sulpicius sacked both Oreus, on the northern coast of Euboea and Opus, the chief city of eastern Locris.^[45] The spoils from Oreus had been reserved for Sulpicius, who returned there, while Attalus stayed to collect the spoils from Opus. However, with their forces divided, Philip, alerted by signal fire, attacked and took Opus. Attalus caught by surprise was barely able to escape to his ships.

The war ends[link]

Although Philip considered Attalus' escape a bitter defeat,^[46] it proved to be the turning-point of the war. Attalus was forced to return to Pergamon, when he learned at Opus that, perhaps at the urging of Philip, Prusias I, king of Bithynia and related to Philip by marriage, was moving against Pergamon. Sulpicius returned to Aegina. Free from the pressure of the combined Roman and Pergamon fleets, Philip was able to resume the offensive against the Aetolians. He captured Thronium, followed by the towns Tithronium and Drymaea north of the Cephisus, controlling all of Epicnemidian Locris,^[47] and took back control of Oreus.^[48]

The neutral trading powers were still trying to arrange a peace. At Elateia, Philip had met with the same would be peacemakers from Egypt and Rhodes, who had been at the meeting in Heraclea, and again in the spring of 207 BC, but to no avail.^[49] Representatives of Egypt, Rhodes, Byzantium, Chios, Mytilene and perhaps Athens also met again with the Aetolians that spring.^[50] The war was going Philip's way, but the Aetolians, although now abandoned by both Pergamon and Rome, were not yet ready to make peace on Philip's terms. However, after another season's fighting, they finally relented. In 206 BC, the Aetolians, without Rome's consent, sued for a separate peace on conditions imposed by Philip.

The following spring^[51] the Romans sent the censor Publius Sempronius Tuditanus with 35 ships and 11,000 men to Dyrrachium in Illiria, where he incited the Parthini to revolt and laid siege to Dimale. However when Philip arrived Sempronius broke off the siege and withdrew inside the walls of Apollonia. Sempronius tried unsuccessfully to entice the Aetolians to break their peace with Philip. With no more allies in Greece, but having achieved their objective of preventing Philip from aiding Hannibal, the Romans were ready to make peace. A treaty was drawn up at Phoenice in 205 BC, the so-called "Peace of Phoenice" formally ended the First Macedonian War.^[52]

See also[link]

• Military history of Greece

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Hansen, Esther V., The Attalids of Pergamon, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; London: Cornell University Press Ltd (1971). ISBN 0-8014-0615-3.
• Livy, History of Rome, Rev. Canon Roberts (translator), Ernest Rhys (Ed.); (1905) London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.
• Polybius, Histories, Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (translator); London, New York. Macmillan (1889); Reprint Bloomington (1962).
• Walbank, F. W. (1940) Philip V of Macedon.
• Wilkes, John, The Illyrians, Blackwell Publishers (December 1, 1995). ISBN 0-631-19807-5.

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

The Macedonian wars were a series of conflicts fought by Rome in the eastern Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and the Aegean. They resulted in Roman control or influence over the eastern Mediterranean basin, in addition to their hegemony in the western Mediterranean after the Punic wars.

First Macedonian war (214 to 205 BC)[link]

During the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon allied himself with Hannibal. Fearing possible reinforcement of Hannibal by Macedon, Rome dispatched forces across the Adriatic. Roman legions (aided by allies from the Aetolian League and Pergamon after 211 BC) did little more than skirmish with Macedonian forces and seize minor territory along the Adriatic coastline in order to "combat piracy". Rome's interest was not in conquest, but in keeping Macedon, the Greek city-states, and political leagues carefully divided and non-threatening. The war ended indecisively in 205 BC with the Treaty of Phoenice. While a minor conflict, it opened the way for Roman military intervention in Greece.

Second Macedonian war (200 to 196 BC)[link]

In 201 BC, ambassadors from Pergamon and Rhodes brought evidence before the Roman Senate that Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire had signed a non-aggression pact. Although some scholars view this "secret treaty" as a fabrication by Pergamon and Rhodes, it resulted in Rome launching the second Macedonian war, with aid from its Greek allies. It was an indecisive conflict until the Roman victory at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC. After Rome imposed the Treaty of Tempea, Philip V was forbidden to interfere with affairs outside his borders, a condition he adhered to for the rest of his life. In 196 BC Rome declared Greece "free", and withdrew completely from the Balkans. It seemed that Rome had no further interest in the region.

Seleucid War (192 to 188 BC)[link]

Following the second Macedonian war, the Aetolian League was unhappy with the amount of territory ceded to them by Rome as "reward" for their aid. In response, they "invited" Antiochus III of Seleucid Syria to assist them in freeing Greece from "Roman oppression". As his military advisor, Hannibal had urged Antiochus not to enter Greece with so few troops, however Antiochus sent a small force into Greece in 192 BC, to which Rome responded by sending its legions back into Greece, driving out the Seleucids.

Possibly in part because he had given Hannibal shelter, Rome sent a force of 30,000 troops under Scipio Africanus into Asia Minor to intercept Antiochus. Upon receipt of the knowledge that the Romans were afoot, Antiochus was now faced with a daunting choice. Either he must surrender in a very humiliating manner and flee back into Asia or face the Romans in a geographical position that would serve as disadvantagous for a numerically superior force. Opting for the latter, Antiochus chose Thermopylae. He was quickly outflanked by the Roman advance just as the Spartans had been by the Persians 300 years earlier. This resulted in the Roman victories at Thermopylae (191 BC) and the Battle of Magnesia (190 BC). These victories on the part of Rome in Asia Minor resulted in the forced signing by Antiochus of the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC), ceding Seleucid territory to Rome and Pergamon, and imposing a war indemnity of 15,000 talents of silver.

Third Macedonian War (172 to 168 BC)[link]

Upon Philip's death in Macedon (179 BC), his son, Perseus of Macedon, attempted to restore Macedon's international influence, and moved aggressively against his neighbors. When Perseus was implicated in an assassination plot against an ally of Rome, the Senate declared the third Macedonian War. Initially, Rome did not fare well against the Macedonian forces, but in 168 BC, Roman legions smashed the Macedonian phalanx at the Battle of Pydna. Perseus was later captured and the kingdom of Macedon divided into four puppet republics that Rome controlled.

Fourth Macedonian War (150 to 148 BC)[link]

For several years, Greece was peaceful until a popular uprising in Macedon rose up under Andriscus, who claimed to be a son of Perseus. Rome once again dispatched its legions into Greece, and thoroughly put down the Macedonian rebellion. This time, Rome did not withdraw from the region, forming the Roman province of Macedonia, establishing a permanent Roman foothold on the Greek peninsula.

In response, the remaining free Greek cities of the Achaean League, rose up against Roman presence in Greece. This is sometimes referred to as the Achaean War, 146 BC, noted for its short duration and its timing right after the fall of Macedonia. Resentment at Roman high-handedness caused the cities of the Achaean League to declare war on Rome. Until this time, Rome had only campaigned in Greece in order to fight Macedonian forts, allies or clients. Rome's military supremacy was well established, having defeated Macedonia and its vaunted Phalanx already on 3 occasions, and defeating superior numbers against the Seleucids in Asia. The Achaean leaders almost certainly knew that this declaration of war against Rome was hopeless, as Rome had triumphed against far stronger and larger opponents, the Roman legion having proved its supremacy over the Macedonian phalanx. Polybius blames the demagogues of the cities of the league for inspiring the population into a suicidal war. Nationalist stirrings and the idea of triumphing against superior odds motivated the league into this rash decision. The Achaea League was swiftly defeated, and, as an object lesson, Rome utterly destroyed the city of Corinth in 146 BC, the same year that Carthage was destroyed. The Macedonian Wars had come to an end, along with Greek independence. Greece became the provinces of Achaea and Epirus. The early years of conquest were marked by enslavement and looting. Rome, while still a republic, now possessed an empire throughout the western and central Mediterranean that was larger than the Roman homelands in Italy.

See also[link]

• Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 30

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

[[See: Rome and her Empire, David Shotter [Pearson Education Ltd: 2003]]]

Alexander the Great
Basileus of Macedon
Alexander fighting the Persian king Darius III. From Alexander Mosaic, Naples National Archaeological Museum
Reign	336–323 BC
Full name	Alexander III of Macedon
Greek	Μέγας Ἀλέξανδροςiii[›] (Mégas Aléxandros, Great Alexander) Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας (Aléxandros ho Mégas, Alexander the Great)
Titles	King of Macedon Hegemon of the Hellenic League Shahanshah of Persia Pharaoh of Egypt Lord of Asia
Born	20 or 21 July 356 BC
Birthplace	Pella, Macedon
Died	10 or 11 June 323 BC (aged 32)
Place of death	Babylon
Predecessor	Philip II of Macedon
Successor	Alexander IV of Macedon Philip III of Macedon
Wives	Roxana of Bactria Stateira II of Persia Parysatis II of Persia
Offspring	Alexander IV of Macedon
Dynasty	Argead dynasty
Father	Philip II of Macedon
Mother	Olympias of Epirus
Religious beliefs	Greek polytheism

Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas^iii[›] from the Greek αλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ανήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas.^[1] He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.^[2]

Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire.^i[›] At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander's surviving generals and heirs.

Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.^[3]ii[›]

Early life[link]

Lineage and childhood[link]

Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era, British Museum.

Aristotle tutoring Alexander, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Alexander was born on the 6th day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is not known,^[4] in Pella, the capital of the Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon.^[5] He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus.^[6][7][8] Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely a result of giving birth to Alexander.^[9]

Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood.^[10] According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying away. Some time after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lion's image.^[11] Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.^[11]

On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Alexander.^[7][12] Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception.^[10]

In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus the Black. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Philip's general Lysimachus.^[13] Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt.^[14]

When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents. The horse refused to be mounted and Philip ordered it away. Alexander however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed.^[10] Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him.^[15] Alexander named it Bucephalas, meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Alexander as far as India. When the animal died (due to old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty), Alexander named a city after him, Bucephala.^[8][16][17]

Adolescence and education[link]

When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor, and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus, the latter offering to resign to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as a classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile.^[18][19][20]

Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy, Hephaistion, and Cassander. Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as the 'Companions'. Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer, and in particular the Iliad; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.^[21][22][23]

Philip's heir[link]

Regency and ascent of Macedon[link]

Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father.

At age 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. Philip waged war against Byzantion, leaving Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent.^[10] During Philip's absence, the Thracian Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly, driving them from their territory. He colonized it with Greeks, and founded a city named Alexandropolis.^[24][25][26]

Upon Philip's return, he dispatched Alexander with a small force to subdue revolts in southern Thrace. Campaigning against the Greek city of Perinthus, Alexander is reported to have saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi, a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. Still occupied in Thrace, he ordered Alexander to muster an army for a campaign in Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander.^[27]

Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae, taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes. The Athenians, led by Demosthenes, voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes' favor, but Athens won the contest.^[28][29][30] Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the request of the Amphictyonic League), capturing the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it.^[31][32][33]

Statue of Alexander in Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near Chaeronea, Boeotia. During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea, Philip commanded the right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Having damaged the enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated.^[34]

After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into the Peloponnese, welcomed by all cities; however, when they reached Sparta, they were refused, but did not resort to war.^[35] At Corinth, Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modeled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire.^[36][37]

Exile and return[link]

When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice, the niece of his general Attalus.^[38] 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.^[39] During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir.^[38]

At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander, that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor. At which Alexander reproachfully insulted over him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another."

—Plutarch, describing the feud at Philip's wedding.^[40]

Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona, capital of the Molossians.^[41] He continued to Illyria,^[41] where he sought refuge with the Illyrian King and was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son.^[41] Accordingly, Alexander returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus the Corinthian, who mediated between the two parties.^[42][43]

In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus.^[41] Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir.^[41] Alexander reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he stopped the negotiations and scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bride for him.^[41] Philip exiled four of Alexander's friends, Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erigyius, and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.^[39][44][45]

King of Macedon[link]

Accession[link]

The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC.

In 336 BC, while at Aegae attending the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, Alexander I of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards, Pausanias.^vi[›] As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. Alexander was proclaimed king by the nobles and army at the age of 20.^[46][47][48]

Consolidation of power[link]

Alexander began his reign by eliminating potential rivals to the throne. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV, executed.^[49] He also had two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed, but spared a third, Alexander Lyncestes. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus,^[49] who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra's uncle.^[50]

Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to leave alive.^[50] Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.^[46][48][51]

News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, and ordered his men to ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese.^{[52][53][54][55]}

Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. 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.^[56] This reply apparently delighted Alexander, who is reported to have said "But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."^[57] At Corinth Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader"), and like Philip, was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising.^[53][58]

Balkan campaign[link]

Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders. In the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from Amphipolis, he traveled east into the country of the "Independent Thracians"; and at Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated the Thracian forces manning the heights.^[59] The Macedonians marched into the country of the Triballi, and defeated their army near the Lyginus river^[60] (a tributary of the Danube). Alexander then marched for three days to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish.^[61][62]

News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulanti were in open revolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria, Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, he secured his northern frontier.^[63][64]

While Alexander campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediately headed south.^[65] While the other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective, and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace.^[65] Alexander then set out on his Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent.^[66]

Conquest of the Persian Empire[link]

Asia Minor[link]

Map of Alexander's empire and his route.

Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC with approximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry and a fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 38,000,^[65] drawn from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and feudally-raised soldiers from Thrace, Paionia, and Illyria.^[67] 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.^[65] This also showed Alexander's eagerness to fight, in contrast to his father's preference for diplomacy.^[65]

After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis and proceeded along the Ionian coast.^[68] At Halicarnassus, in Caria, Alexander successfully waged the first of many sieges, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea.^[69] Alexander left the government of Caria to Ada, who adopted Alexander.^[70]

From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. From Pamphylia onwards the coast held no major ports and Alexander moved inland. At Termessos, Alexander humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city.^[71] At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Alexander "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said to await the future "king of Asia".^[72] According to the story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone and hacked it apart with his sword.^[73]

The Levant and Syria[link]

Detail of Alexander Mosaic, showing Battle of Issus, from the House of the Faun, Pompeii.

After spending the winter campaigning in Asia Minor, Alexander's army crossed the Cilician Gates in 333 BC, and defeated the main Persian army under the command of Darius III at the Battle of Issus in November.^[74] Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis, and a fabulous treasure.^[75] He offered a peace treaty that included the lands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Alexander replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions.^[76]

Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant.^[70] In the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he captured after a long and difficult siege.^[77][78] Alexander massacred the men of military age and sold the women and children into slavery.^[79]

Egypt[link]

Name of Alexander the Great in Egyptian hieroglyphs (written from right to left), circa 330 BC, Egypt. Louvre Museum.

When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated, with the exception of Gaza. The stronghold at Gaza was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege.^[80] After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword and the women and children sold into slavery.^[81]

Jerusalem instead opened its gates in surrender, and according to Josephus, Alexander was shown the book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.^[82]

Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator.^[83] He was pronounced the new "master of the Universe" and son of the deity of Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert.^[84] Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and subsequent currency depicted him adorned with rams horn as a symbol of his divinity.^[85] During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death.^[86]

Assyria and Babylonia[link]

Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into Mesopotamia (now northern Iraq) and again defeated Darius, at the Battle of Gaugamela.^[87] Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela. Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana (modern Hamedan), while Alexander captured Babylon.^[88]

Persia[link]

From Babylon, Alexander went to Susa, one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its legendary treasury.^[88] He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Royal Road. Alexander himself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. He had to storm 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.^[89]

On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops to loot the city for several days.^[90] Alexander stayed in Persepolis for five months.^[91] During his stay a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War.^[92]

Fall of the Empire and the East[link]

Alexander then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia.^[93] The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman.^[94] As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius' successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Alexander.^[95] Alexander buried Darius' remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral.^[96] He claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the Achaemenid throne.^[97] The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius.^[98]

Silver coin of Alexander wearing the lion scalp of Herakles, British Museum.

Alexander viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan. The campaign took Alexander through Media, Parthia, Aria (West Afghanistan), Drangiana, Arachosia (South and Central Afghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan), and Scythia.^[99]

Spitamenes, who held an undefined position in the satrapy of Sogdiana, in 329 BC betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy, one of Alexander's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed.^[100] However, when, at some point later, Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.^[101]

Problems and plots[link]

During this time, Alexander took the Persian title "King of Kings" (Shahanshah) and adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis, either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social superiors.^[102] The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of deities and believed that Alexander meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it.^[103]

A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers, Philotas, was executed for failing to alert Alexander. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus Parmenion, who had been charged with guarding the treasury at Ecbatana, was assassinated at Alexander's command, to prevent attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Alexander personally killed the man who had saved his life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, during a drunken argument at Maracanda.^[104]

Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against his life was revealed, this one instigated by his own royal pages. His official historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus, was implicated in the plot; however, historians have yet to reach consensus regarding this involvement. Callisthenes had fallen out of favor by leading the opposition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis.^[105]

Macedon in Alexander's absence[link]

When Alexander set out for Asia, he left his general Antipater, an experienced military and political leader and part of Philip II's "Old Guard", in charge of Macedon.^[66] Alexander's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence.^[66] The one exception was a call to arms by Spartan king Agis III in 331 BC, whom Antipater defeated and killed in battle at Megalopolis the following year.^[66] Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to Alexander, who chose to pardon them.^[106] There was also considerable friction between Antipater and Olympias, and each complained to Alexander about the other.^[107]

In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during Alexander's campaign in Asia.^[108] Alexander sent back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire.^[109] However, Alexander's constant demands for troops and the migration of Macedonians throughout his empire depleted Macedon's manpower, greatly weakening it in the years after Alexander, and ultimately led to its subjugation by Rome.^[14]

Indian campaign[link]

Invasion of the Indian subcontinent[link]

The phalanx attacking the centre in the battle of the Hydaspes by Andre Castaigne (1898–1899)

After the death of Spitamenes and his marriage to Roxana (Roshanak in Bactrian) to cement relations with his new satrapies, Alexander turned to the Indian subcontinent. He invited the chieftains of the former satrapy of Gandhara, in the north of what is now Pakistan, to come to him and submit to his authority. Omphis, ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Hydaspes, complied, but the chieftains of some hill clans, including the Aspasioi and Assakenoi sections of the Kambojas (known in Indian texts also as Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas), refused to submit.^[110]

In the winter of 327/326 BC, Alexander personally led a campaign against these clans; the Aspasioi of Kunar valleys, the Guraeans of the Guraeus valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner valleys.^[111] A fierce contest ensued with the Aspasioi in which Alexander was wounded in the shoulder by a dart, but eventually the Aspasioi lost. Alexander then faced the Assakenoi, who fought in the strongholds of Massaga, Ora and Aornos.^[110]

The fort of Massaga was reduced only after days of bloody fighting, in which Alexander was wounded seriously in the ankle. According to Curtius, "Not only did Alexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubble".^[112] A similar slaughter followed at Ora. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. Alexander followed close behind and captured the strategic hill-fort after four bloody days.^[110]

After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and fought and won an epic battle against King Porus, who ruled a region in the Punjab, in the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC.^[113] Alexander was impressed by Porus's bravery, and made him an ally. He appointed Porus as satrap, and added to Porus' territory land that he did not previously own. Choosing a local helped him control these lands so distant from Greece.^[114] Alexander founded two cities on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river, naming one Bucephala, in honor of his horse, who died around this time.^[115] The other was Nicaea (Victory) located at the site of modern day Mong, Punjab.^[116]

Revolt of the army[link]

Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent.

East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, were the Nanda Empire of Magadha and further east the Gangaridai Empire of Bengal. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to march further east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.^[117]

As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand war elephants.^[118]

Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march further but his general Coenus pleaded with him to change his opinion and return; the men, he said, "longed to again see their parents, their wives and children, their homeland". Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, marching along the Indus. Along the way his army conquered the Malli clans (in modern day Multan), and other Indian tribes.^[119]

Alexander sent much of his army to Carmania (modern southern Iran) with general Craterus, and commissioned a fleet to explore the Persian Gulf shore under his admiral Nearchus, while he led the rest back to Persia through the more difficult southern route along the Gedrosian Desert and Makran (now part of southern Iran and Pakistan).^[120] Alexander reached Susa in 324 BC, but not before losing many men to the harsh desert.^[121]

Last years in Persia[link]

Alexander, left, and Hephaestion, right

Discovering that many of his satraps and military governors had misbehaved in his absence, Alexander executed several of them as examples on his way to Susa.^[122][123] As a gesture of thanks, he paid off the debts of his soldiers, and announced that he would send over-aged and disabled veterans back to Macedon, led by Craterus. His troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at the town of Opis. They refused to be sent away and criticized his adoption of Persian customs and dress and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units.^[124]

After three days, unable to persuade his men to back down, Alexander gave Persians command posts in the army and conferred Macedonian military titles upon Persian units. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness, which Alexander accepted, and held a great banquet for several thousand of his men at which he and they ate together.^[125] In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between his Macedonian and Persian subjects, Alexander held a mass marriage of his senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year.^[123] Meanwhile, upon his return, Alexander learned that guards of the tomb of Cyrus the Great had desecrated it, and swiftly executed them.^[126]

After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning.^[127][128] Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander, and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning.^[127] 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 thereafter.^[129]

Death and succession[link]

A Babylonian astronomical diary (c. 323–322 BC) recording the death of Alexander (British Museum, London)

Nineteenth century depiction of Alexander's funeral procession based on the description of Diodorus

On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32.^[130] Details of the death differ slightly – 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.^[131]

He developed a fever, which worsened until he was unable to speak. The common soldiers, anxious about his health, were granted the right to file past him as he silently waved at them.^[132] Diodorus recounts that Alexander was struck with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Hercules, and died after some agony.^[133] Arrian also mentioned this as an alternative, but Plutarch specifically denied this claim.^[131]

Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,^[134] foul play featured in multiple accounts of his death. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned. Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication,^[135] while both Diodorus and Arrian noted that they mentioned it only for the sake of completeness.^[133][136]

The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence,^[137] and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,^[138] Antipater purportedly arranged for Alexander to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexander's wine-pourer.^[136][138] There was even a suggestion that Aristotle may have participated.^[136]

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.^[139] In 2010, however, a new theory proposed that the circumstances of his death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx (Mavroneri) that contained calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.^[140]

Several natural causes (diseases) have been suggested, including malaria and typhoid fever. A 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed his death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis.^[141] Another recent analysis suggested pyrogenic spondylitis or meningitis.^[142] Other illnesses fit the symptoms, including acute pancreatitis and West Nile virus.^[143][144]

Natural-cause theories also tend to emphasise that Alexander's health may have been in general decline after years of heavy drinking and severe wounds. The anguish that Alexander felt after Hephaestion's death may also have contributed to his declining health.^[141] The most likely possible cause is an overdose of medication containing hellebore, which is deadly in large doses.^[145][146]

After death[link]

Detail of Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus.

Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus, which was in turn placed in a gold casket.^[147] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever".^[148] 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]

While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy stole it and took it to Memphis.^[147][148] His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. 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.^[150]

Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria. The latter allegedly accidentally knocked the nose off the body. Caligula was said to have taken Alexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. In c. AD 200, Emperor Septimius Severus closed Alexander's tomb to the public. His son and successor, Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are hazy.^[150]

The so-called "Alexander Sarcophagus", discovered near Sidon and now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, is so named not because it was thought to have contained Alexander's remains, but because its bas-reliefs depict Alexander and his companions fighting the Persians and hunting. It was originally thought to have been the sarcophagus of Abdalonymus (died 311 BC), the king of Sidon appointed by Alexander immediately following the battle of Issus in 331.^[151][152] However, more recently, it has been suggested that it may date from earlier than Abdalonymus' death.

Division of the empire[link]

Kingdoms of the Diadochi, 281 BC

Alexander's death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed.^[66] Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death.^[153] According to Diodorus, Alexander's companions asked him on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest".^[133]

Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speechless by this point, implying that this was an apocryphal story.^[154] Diodorus, Curtius and Justin offered the more plausible story that Alexander passed his signet ring to Perdiccas, a bodyguard and leader of the companion cavalry, in front of witnesses, thereby nominating him.^[133][153]

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. However, the infantry, under the command of Meleager, rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Alexander's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only.^[155]

Dissension and rivalry soon afflicted the Macedonians, however. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the Partition of Babylon became power bases each general used to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between "The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stable power blocks: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in the east, the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, and Macedon. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.^[156]

Testament[link]

Diodorus stated that Alexander had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before his death.^[157] 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.^[157] Nevertheless, Perdiccas read Alexander's will to his troops.^[66]

The testament called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. It included:

• Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the pyramids of Egypt"^[66]
• Erection of great temples in Delos, Delphi, Dodona, Dium, Amphipolis, and a monumental temple to Athena at Troy^[66]
• Conquest of Arabia and the entire Mediterranean Basin^[66]
• Circumnavigation of Africa^[66]
• Development of cities and the "transplant of populations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties."^[158]

Character[link]

Generalship[link]

The Battle of the Granicus, 334 BC

The Battle of Issus, 333 BC

Alexander earned the epithet "the Great" due to his unparalleled success as a military commander.^[65] He never lost a battle, despite typically being outnumbered.^[65] This was due to use of terrain, phalanx and cavalry tactics, bold strategy, and the fierce loyalty of his troops.^[159][160] The Macedonian phalanx, armed with the sarissa, a spear 6 metres (20 ft) long, had been developed and perfected by Philip II through rigorous training,^[160] and Alexander used its speed and maneuverability to great effect against larger but more disparate Persian forces.^[160] Alexander also recognized the potential for disunity among his diverse army, which employed various languages and weapons. He overcame this by being personally involved in battle,^[91] in the manner of a Macedonian king.^[159][160]

In his first battle in Asia, at Granicus, Alexander used only a small part of his forces, perhaps 13,000 infantry with 5,000 cavalry, against a much larger Persian force of 40,000. 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 3 km (1.86 mi). By contrast, the Persian infantry was stationed behind its cavalry. This ensured that Alexander would not be outflanked, while his phalanx, armed with long pikes, had a considerable advantage over the Persian's scimitars and javelins. Macedonian losses were negligible compared to those of the Persians.^[161]

At Issus in 333 BC, his first confrontation with Darius, he used the same deployment, and again the central phalanx pushed through.^[161] Alexander personally led the charge in the center, routing the opposing army.^[159] At the decisive encounter with Darius at Gaugamela, Darius equipped his chariots with scythes on the wheels to break up the phalanx and equipped his cavalry with pikes. Alexander arranged a double phalanx, with the center advancing at an angle, parting when the chariots bore down and then reforming. The advance was successful and broke Darius' center, causing the latter to flee once again.^[161]

When faced with opponents who used unfamiliar fighting techniques, such as in Central Asia and India, Alexander adapted his forces to his opponents' style. Thus, in Bactria and Sogdiana, Alexander successfully used his javelin throwers and archers to prevent outflanking movements, while massing his cavalry at the center.^[159] In India, confronted by Porus' elephant corps, the Macedonians opened their ranks to envelop the elephants and used their sarissas to strike upwards and dislodge the elephants' handlers.^[125]

Physical appearance[link]

Roman copy of a statue by Lysippos, Louvre Museum. Plutarch felt sculptures by Lysippos were the most faithful.

Greek biographer Plutarch (ca. 45–120 AD) describes Alexander's appearance as:

¹ The outward appearance of Alexander is best represented by the statues of him which Lysippus made, and it was by this artist alone that Alexander himself thought it fit that he should be modelled. ² For those peculiarities which many of his successors and friends afterwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise of the neck, which was bent slightly to the left, and the melting glance of his eyes, this artist has accurately observed. ³ Apelles, however, in painting him as wielder of the thunder-bolt, did not reproduce his complexion, but made it too dark and swarthy. Whereas he was of a fair colour, as they say, and his fairness passed into ruddiness on his breast particularly, and in his face. ⁴ Moreover, that a very pleasant odour exhaled from his skin and that there was a fragrance about his mouth and all his flesh, so that his garments were filled with it, this we have read in the Memoirs of Aristoxenus.^[162]

Greek historian Arrian (Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon' ca. 86 – 160) described Alexander as:

[T]he strong, handsome commander with one eye dark as the night and one blue as the sky.^[163][164]

The semi-legendary Alexander Romance suggests that Alexander suffered from heterochromia iridum: that one was dark and the other light.^[165]

British historian Peter Green provided a description of Alexander's appearance, based on his review of statues and some ancient documents:

Physically, Alexander was not prepossessing. Even by Macedonian standards he was very short, though stocky and tough. His beard was scanty, and he stood out against his hirsute Macedonian barons by going clean-shaven. His neck was in some way twisted, so that he appeared to be gazing upward at an angle. His eyes (one blue, one brown) revealed a dewy, feminine quality. He had a high complexion and a harsh voice.^[166]

Ancient authors recorded that Alexander was so pleased with portraits of himself created by Lysippos that he forbade other sculptors from crafting his image.^[167] Lysippos had often used the Contrapposto sculptural scheme to portray Alexander and other characters such as Apoxyomenos, Hermes and Eros.^[168] Lysippos' sculpture, famous for its naturalism, as opposed to a stiffer, more static pose, is thought to be the most faithful depiction.^[169]

Personality[link]

Alexander (left) fighting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus (detail). 3rd century BC mosaic, Pella Museum.

Some of Alexander's strongest personality traits formed in response to his parents.^[166] His mother had huge ambitions, and encouraged him to believe it was his destiny to conquer the Persian Empire.^[166] Olympias' influence instilled a sense of destiny in him,^[170] and Plutarch tells us that his ambition "kept his spirit serious and lofty in advance of his years".^[171] However, his father Philip was Alexander's most immediate and influential role model, as the young Alexander watched him campaign practically every year, winning victory after victory while ignoring severe wounds.^[49] Alexander's relationship with his father forged the competitive side of his personality; he had a need to out-do his father, illustrated by his reckless behavior in battle.^[166] While Alexander worried that his father would leave him "no great or brilliant achievement to be displayed to the world",^[172] he also downplayed his father's achievements to his companions.^[166]

According to Plutarch, among Alexander's traits were a violent temper and rash, impulsive nature,^[173] which undoubtedly contributed to some of his decisions.^[166] Although Alexander was stubborn and did not respond well to orders from his father, he was open to reasoned debate.^[174] He had a calmer side—perceptive, logical, and calculating. He had a great desire for knowledge, a love for philosophy, and was an avid reader.^[175] This was no doubt in part due to Aristotle's tutelage; Alexander was intelligent and quick to learn.^[166] His intelligent and rational side was amply demonstrated by his ability and success as a general.^[173] He had great self-restraint in "pleasures of the body", in contrast with his lack of self control with alcohol.^[176]

Alexander was erudite and patronized both arts and sciences.^[171][175] However, he had little interest in sports or the Olympic games (unlike his father), seeking only the Homeric ideals of honor (timê) and glory (kudos).^[49][170] He had great charisma and force of personality, characteristics which made him a great leader.^[153][173] His unique abilities were further demonstrated by the inability of any of his generals to unite Macedonia and retain the Empire after his death – only Alexander had the ability to do so.^[153]

During his final years, and especially after the death of Hephaestion, Alexander began to exhibit signs of megalomania and paranoia.^[137] His extraordinary achievements, coupled with his own ineffable sense of destiny and the flattery of his companions, may have combined to produce this effect.^[177] His delusions of grandeur are readily visible in his testament and in his desire to conquer the world.^[137]

He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself.^[137] Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,^[178] a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa.^[179] He began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon.^[179] Alexander adopted elements of Persian dress and customs at court, notably proskynesis, a practice that Macedonians disapproved, and were loath to perform.^[102] This behavior cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen.^[180] However, Alexander also was a pragmatic ruler who understood the difficulties of ruling culturally disparate peoples, many of whom lived in kingdoms where the king was divine.^[103][181] Thus, rather than megalomania, his behavior may simply have been a practical attempt at strengthening his rule and keeping his empire together.^[91][181]

Personal relationships[link]

A mural in Pompeii, depicting the marriage of Alexander to Barsine (Stateira) in 324 BC. The couple are apparently dressed as Ares and Aphrodite.

The central personal relationship of Alexander's life was with his friend, general, and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble.^{[127][166][182]} Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander.^[127][183] This event may have contributed to Alexander's failing health and detached mental state during his final months.^[137][141]

Alexander married twice: Roxana, daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes, out of love;^[184] and Stateira II, a Persian princess and daughter of Darius III of Persia, for political reasons.^[185] He apparently had two sons, Alexander IV of Macedon of Roxana and, possibly, Heracles of Macedon from his mistress Barsine. He lost another child when Roxana miscarried at Babylon.^[186][187]

Alexander's sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy.^[188] No ancient sources stated that Alexander had homosexual relationships, or that Alexander's relationship with Hephaestion was sexual. Aelian, however, writes of Alexander's visit to Troy where "Alexander garlanded the tomb of Achilles and Hephaestion that of Patroclus, the latter riddling that he was a beloved of Alexander, in just the same way as Patroclus was of Achilles".^[189] Noting that the word eromenos (ancient Greek for beloved) does not necessarily bear sexual meaning, Alexander may have been bisexual, which in his time was not controversial.^[190]

Green argues that there is little evidence in ancient sources that Alexander had much interest in women; he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life.^[166] However, he was relatively young when he died, and Ogden suggests that Alexander's matrimonial record is more impressive than his father's at the same age.^[191] Apart from wives, Alexander had many more female companions. Alexander accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly;^[192] showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body".^[176] Nevertheless, Plutarch described how Alexander was infatuated by Roxana while complimenting him on not forcing himself on her.^[193] Green suggested that, in the context of the period, Alexander formed quite strong friendships with women, including Ada of Caria, who adopted him, and even Darius's mother Sisygambis, who supposedly died from grief upon hearing of Alexander's death.^[166]

Legacy[link]

The Hellenistic world view after Alexander: ancient world map of Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), incorporating information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors.^[194]

Alexander's legacy extended beyond his military conquests. His campaigns greatly increased contacts and trade between East and West, and vast areas to the east were significantly exposed to Greek civilization and influence.^[14] Some of the cities he founded became major cultural centers, many surviving into the twenty-first century. 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.^[14]

Hellenistic kingdoms[link]

Alexander's most immediate legacy was the introduction of Macedonian rule to huge new swathes of Asia. At the time of his death, Alexander's empire covered some 5,200,000 km² (2,000,000 sq mi),^[195] and was the largest state of its time. Many of these areas remained in Macedonian hands or under Greek influence for the next 200–300 years. The successor states that emerged were, at least initially, dominant forces, and these 300 years are often referred to as the Hellenistic period.^[196]

Plan of Alexandria in antiquity

The eastern borders of Alexander's empire began to collapse even during his lifetime.^[153] However, the power vacuum he left in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent directly gave rise to one of the most powerful Indian dynasties in history. Taking advantage of this, 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.^[197]

Founding of cities[link]

Over the course of his conquests, Alexander founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most of them east of the Tigris.^[103][198] The first, and greatest, was Alexandria in Egypt, which would become one of the leading Mediterranean cities.^[103] The cities locations' reflected trade routes as well as defensive positions. At first the cities must have been inhospitable, little more than defensive garrisons.^[103] Following Alexander's death, many Greeks who had settled there tried to return to Greece.^[103][198] However, a century or so after Alexander's death, many of the Alexandrias were thriving, with elaborate public buildings and substantial populations that included both Greek and local peoples.^[103]

Hellenization[link]

Alexander's empire was the largest state of its time, covering approximately 5.2 million square km.

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.^[196] That this export took place is undoubted, and can be seen in the great Hellenistic cities of, for instance, Alexandria, Antioch^[199] and Seleucia (south of modern Baghdad).^[200] Alexander sought to insert Greek elements into Persian culture and attempted to hybridize Greek and Persian culture. This culminated in his aspiration to homogenize the populations of Asia and Europe. However, his successors explicitly rejected such policies. Nevertheless, Hellenization occurred throughout the region, accompanied by a distinct and opposite 'Orientalization' of the Successor states.^[199][201]

The core of Hellenistic culture was essentially Athenian.^[199][202] The close association of men from across Greece in Alexander's army directly led to the emergence of the largely Attic-based "koine", or "common" Greek dialect.^[203] Koine spread throughout the Hellenistic world, becoming the lingua franca of Hellenistic lands and eventually the ancestor of modern Greek.^[203] Furthermore, town planning, education, local government, and art current in the Hellenistic period were all based on Classical Greek ideals, evolving into distinct new forms commonly grouped as Hellenistic.^[199] Aspects of Hellenistic culture were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century.^[204][205]

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st–2nd century AD, Gandhara (Modern Pakistan). Tokyo National Museum.

Some of the most unusual effects of Hellenization can be seen in India, in the region of the relatively late-arising Indo-Greek kingdoms.^[206] There, isolated from Europe, Greek culture apparently hybridized with Indian, and especially Buddhist, influences. The first realistic portrayals of the Buddha appeared at this time; they were modeled on Greek statues of Apollo.^[206] Several Buddhist traditions may have been influenced by the ancient Greek religion: the concept of Boddhisatvas is reminiscent of Greek divine heroes,^[207] and some Mahayana ceremonial practices (burning incense, gifts of flowers, and food placed on altars) are similar to those practiced by the ancient Greeks. Zen Buddhism draws in part on the ideas of Greek stoics, such as Zeno.^[208] One Greek king, Menander I, probably became Buddhist, and was immortalized in Buddhist literature as 'Milinda'.^[206] The process of Hellenization extended to the sciences, where ideas from Greek astronomy filtered eastward and had profoundly influenced Indian astronomy by the early centuries AD.^[209] For example, Greek astronomical instruments dating to the 3rd century BC were found in the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai Khanoum in modern-day Afghanistan,^[210] while the Greek concept of a spherical earth surrounded by the spheres of planets was adopted in India and eventually supplanted the long-standing Indian cosmological belief into a flat and circular earth.^[209][211]

Influence on Rome[link]

Alexander and his exploits were admired by many Romans, especially generals, who wanted to associate themselves with his achievements.^[212] Polybius began his Histories by reminding Romans of Alexander's achievements, and thereafter Roman leaders saw him as a role model. Pompey the Great adopted the epithet "Magnus" and even Alexander's anatole-type haircut, and searched the conquered lands of the east for Alexander's 260-year-old cloak, which he then wore as a sign of greatness.^[212] Julius Caesar dedicated an Lysippean equestrian bronze statue but replaced Alexander's head with his own, while Octavian visited Alexander's tomb in Alexandria and temporarily changed his seal from a sphinx to Alexander's profile.^[212] The emperor Trajan also admired Alexander, as did Nero and Caracalla.^[212] The Macriani, a Roman family that in the person of Macrinus briefly ascended to the imperial throne, kept images of Alexander on their persons, either on jewelry, or embroidered into their clothes.^[213]

The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (reigned c. 200–180 BC), wearing an elephant scalp, took over Alexander's legacy in the east by again invading India, and establishing the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BC–10 AD).

On the other hand, some Roman writers, particularly Republican figures, used Alexander as a cautionary tale of how autocratic tendencies can be kept in check by republican values.^[214] Alexander was used by these writers as an example of ruler values such as amicita (friendship) and clementia (clemency), but also iracundia (anger) and cupiditas gloriae (over-desire for glory).^[214]

Legend[link]

Legendary accounts surround the life of Alexander the Great, many deriving from his own lifetime, probably encouraged by Alexander himself.^[215] His court historian Callisthenes portrayed the sea in Cilicia as drawing back from him in proskynesis. Writing shortly after Alexander's death, another participant, Onesicritus, invented a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris, queen of the mythical Amazons. When Onesicritus read this passage to his patron, Alexander's general and later King Lysimachus reportedly quipped, "I wonder where I was at the time."^[216]

In the first centuries after Alexander's death, probably in Alexandria, a quantity of the legendary material coalesced into a text known as the Alexander Romance, later falsely ascribed to Callisthenes and therefore known as Pseudo-Callisthenes. This text underwent numerous expansions and revisions throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages,^[217] containing many dubious stories,^[215] and was translated into numerous languages.^[218]

In ancient and modern culture[link]

Alexander the Great depicted in a 14th century Byzantine manuscript

Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been depicted in many cultures. Alexander has figured in both high and popular culture beginning in his own era to the present day. 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.^[218]

Alexander features prominently in modern Greek folklore, more so than any other ancient figure.^[219] The colloquial form of his name in modern Greek ("O Megalexandros") is a household name, and he is the only ancient hero to appear in the Karagiozis shadow play.^[219] One well-known fable among Greek seamen involves a solitary mermaid who would grasp a ship's prow during a storm and ask the captain "Is King Alexander alive?". The correct answer is "He is alive and well and rules the world!", causing the mermaid to vanish and the sea to calm. Any other answer would cause the mermaid to turn into a raging Gorgon who would drag the ship to the bottom of the sea, all hands aboard.^[219]

In pre-Islamic Persian (Zoroastrian) literature, Alexander is referred to by the epithet "gojastak", meaning "accursed", and is accused of destroying temples and burning the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism.^[220] In Islamic Iran, under the influence of the Alexander Romance, a more positive portrayal of Alexander emerges.^[221] Firdausi's Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") includes Alexander in a line of legitimate Iranian shahs, a mythical figure who explored the far reaches of the world in search of the fountain of youth.^[222] Later Persian writers associate him with philosophy, portraying him at a symposium with figures such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in search of immortality.^[221]

The Syriac version of the Alexander Romance portrays him as an ideal Christian world conqueror who prayed to "the one true God".^[221] In Egypt, Alexander was portrayed as the son of Nectanebo II, the last pharaoh before the Persian conquest.^[223] His defeat of Darius was depicted as Egypt's salvation, "proving" Egypt was still ruled by an Egyptian.^[223]

The figure of Dhul-Qarnayn (literally "the Two-Horned One") mentioned in the Quran is believed by some scholars to represent Alexander, due to parallels with the Alexander Romance.^[221] In this tradition, he was a heroic figure who built a wall to defend against the nations of Gog and Magog.^[223] He then traveled the known world in search for the Water of Life and Immortality, eventually becoming a prophet.^[223]

In India and Pakistan, more specifically the Punjab, the name "Sikandar", derived from Persian, denotes a rising young talent.^[224] In the medieval Europe he was created a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes who encapsulated all the ideal qualities of chivalry.

Historiography[link]

Apart from a few inscriptions and fragments, texts written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander were all lost.^[14] Contemporaries who wrote accounts of his life included Alexander's campaign historian Callisthenes; Alexander's generals Ptolemy and Nearchus; Aristobulus, a junior officer on the campaigns; and Onesicritus, Alexander's chief helmsman. Their works are lost, but later works based on these original sources have survived. The earliest of these is Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), followed by Quintus Curtius Rufus (mid to late 1st century AD), Arrian (1st to 2nd century AD), the biographer Plutarch (1st to 2nd century AD), and finally Justin, whose work dated as late as the 4th century AD.^[14] Of these, Arrian is generally considered the most reliable, given that he used Ptolemy and Aristobulus as his sources, closely followed by Diodorus.^[14]

Ancestry[link]

See also[link]

• Alexander the Great in the Qur'an
• Bucephalus
• Chronology of European exploration of Asia
• List of people known as The Great

Notes[link]

References[link]