What would you do if you could rule the world? To most, this question seems absurd, but for one man it began to become a reality. It all started with the dreams of a single king, Alexander the Great. Alexander was born in 356 BC in Macedonia, in the region around present-day Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Although the Macedonians considered themselves part of the Greek cultural world, other Greeks considered them a half-barbarian hill tribe. Alexander was king of Macedon in 336 BC, pharaoh of Egypt from 332 BC, king of Persia in 330 BC, and king of Asia from 331 BC until the time of his unfortunate death in 323 BC. He was crowned king of Macedonia for the first time at the age of 19. Barely an adult, Alexander managed to transform his small Macedonian country into his own domain consisting of the three largest and most feared empires in just 13 years. Just after his father's death, Alexander had launched his plans to conquer and unite all the city-states of ancient Greece, as well as the empires of Persia, Asia, and India. Although he did not succeed in all his plans, he managed to conquer and unite all of ancient Greece, conquer Persia and Asia, as well as part of India. Thus, Alexander managed to transform the small, lesser-known mountain village of Macedonia into the largest and most powerful empire in all of ancient Europe. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Philip Freeman's biographical novel Alexander the Great single-handedly details all the battles and important events in Alexander's life from his childhood to his death, as well as the legacy of the Empire that he left behind and which lasted several hundred years after his death. With the help of none other than a few of his father's former generals, mainly his father's right-hand man, Parmenion; Alexander was able to revolutionize ancient methods of warfare and destroy any empire that stood in his way. As an absolute genius at psychological and unconventional warfare, as well as high-risk, high-reward decisions, Alexander has overcome some of the biggest obstacles in his path without breaking a sweat. I have always found Alexander to be an extremely interesting and inspiring man to discover in history. So I decided to learn more about his life and how he was able to conquer the Persian Empire, an empire with an army almost twice as large. Alexander had it under his control. In the following speech I will tell the story of Alexander the Great and his adventures, many victories and very few defeats, during his conquest of the entire region of Greece, Persia and Asia. Alexander's father, King Philip, was an impressive ruler who initiated the systematic policy of expanding control over Macedonia. Philip's main conquest was that of the Greek continent, after his victory at Chaeronea [Karineea] in 338 BC. The call to adventure was first presented to Alexander while he was still a teenager, his father wanted to put him in command of the Macedonian cavalry during this battle to prove Alexander's worth as an heir of the throne. The Battle of Chaeronea took place in 338 BCE, on an early August morning, outside the town of Chaeronea [Karineea] in Boeotia [Beotia], Greece. Although for centuries the cities of Athens and Sparta dominated Greece politically, militarily and economically, the Battle of Chaeronea, one of the most famous Greek battles, involved only one of these cities:Athens. But Athens was not alone. They joined forces with Thebes, including the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite group consisting of 150 pairs of male soldiers who were the most fearsome warriors of ancient Greece. The soldiers were all male lovers, which, although peculiar, was effective because they wanted to impress. and defend themselves at the risk of their lives because they did not want to see their lover perish in combat. The two armies came together with the idea of ​​destroying the pretentious army of the Macedonians and sending them back to their homelands in the mountains. However, we quickly learned that this was not the case. Philip revamped the old traditional strategy of the phalanx (which was a group of soldiers moving closely) and replaced the obsolete hoplite spear with the sarissa, an 18-20 foot pike, adding a smaller double-edged sword . Finally, he redesigned the outdated shield and helmet, making them much more robust and viable. The Macedonians under the reign of Philip II would soon prove their valor and skill in this battle by massacring the enemy army, including the sacred band of Thebes. The Macedonians lost fewer than 100 soldiers while the enemy forces' losses included 2,000 dead and 4,000 captured. Alexander decided to burn down and completely destroy the city as an example to the other Greek states to show them what would happen if they rebelled. The Macedonian victory at Chaeronea would plunge Greece into a deep decline, both politically and militarily. It will never again regain its supremacy in the Mediterranean. Macedonia had established troops in Corinth and all of ancient Greece recognized him as its leader and could not afford to revolt. Philip was determined to transform his weaker citizen army into one worthy of highly trained professional soldiers. Having done well, it did not take long for him to reveal to the rest of Greece the might of the Macedonian army, attacking and defeating the Thracians to the north, thus proving to the Athenian people that Philip was a viable threat. Alexander's first trials took place around the same time as his father's death. Philip II was king from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. Alexander was the runner-up as king since he was Philip's own child. However, seizing the throne after the untimely death of a beloved king can be chaotic, which is why Alexander was not without opposition. He eliminated all potential threats to the throne and secured his position as King of Macedonia at just 19 years old. After obtaining the throne, he began to implement his plans to conquer ancient Europe. After amassing an impressive number of troops consisting of very determined and battle-hardened Macedonians, Greek mercenaries, Thracian troops and the entire Athenian fleet, Alexander began his war against the Persians in 334 BC. The Macedonian leader was then twenty-two years old. Darius was ready for battle after choosing this place to confront his enemy. After his defeat at Issus two years previously, Darius ensured that this battlefield favored his army and tactics; being mainly war tanks. The terrain here was flat, perfect for tanks. Darius made it even flatter by ordering the land to be plowed and leveled. Everything was ready and on October 1, 331 BC, the Persian army, consisting of approximately 200,000 men, faced Alexander's 35,000 men. The Macedonian leader immediately assessed the Persians' tactical advantage and responded by ordering his cavalry to move to the right with Alexander himself hoping to move. his enemy far from his flat ground. The Persians marched parallel to him, outflanking him from afar on theirLEFT. Next, the Persian cavalry moved along the line and came into contact with the leading men of Alexander's army; nevertheless he continued to march defensively to the right, and almost entirely passed the ground cleared and leveled by the Persians. Then Darius, fearing that his chariots would become useless if the Macedonians advanced over the rough terrain, ordered the front ranks of his left wing to go around the right wing of the Macedonians, where Alexander was commanding, to prevent him from advancing his wing. further away. As soon as Darius had his entire battle line in motion, Alexander ordered Aretes, his general controlling the left ground units and the javelins, to attack those on the sidelines around his right wing; and until then Alexander himself led his men in column. But when the Persians breached their army's front line by charging their cavalry to aid those executing the flanking movement, Alexander moved towards the breach, forming a wedge between the cavalry and part of the phalanx. He led them with a loud battle cry that every unit of his army followed, so loud that it frightened the Persians and caused the front line to retreat. Darius quickly saw what was happening and ordered them to stay and fight. Alexander headed straight for Darius, seeking the glory that would come if he himself killed the great king of Persia. Then came a short hand-to-hand melee; but while Alexander and his troops were vigorously advancing, throwing themselves against the Persians and striking their forces with their great sarissas, Darius, whose courage had already been shaken, had turned and fled. Likewise, the Persians who were trying to outflank, panicked by the vigorous attack of Aretes, fled; a The Macedonians pursued and massacred those they captured. Alexander's victory at the Battle of Gaugamela on the Persian plains was a decisive conquest that ensured the defeat of the Persian king Darius III. Alexander then settled in the city of Sardis, the capital of ancient Lydia. It was an important city due, firstly, to the number of Persian troops stationed there, secondly, to its control of an important route leading from the interior of Sardis outwards to the Aegean [Ajian] coast. , and thirdly, of its access to the broad and fertile plains. of Hermus where important direct foodstuffs for the city could be grown and developed throughout the year. He then traveled to Phoenicia, an ancient civilization composed of independent city-states located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Starting with Baalbek. Baalbek was a religiously devoted city that was not loyal to the Persians who currently ruled them with constant religious interference. For this reason, they surrendered to Alexander and his army without fighting. Then came the destruction of the Phoenician city of Sidon. Alexander attempted a peace offering to allow Sidon to surrender without a fight. They refused with disgust, calling Alexander a tyrant. Alexander was so insulted at being called a tyrant that he ordered his engineers to lay siege to the high city walls and invaded the city without mercy. Killing more than 2,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilians, Alexander captured and sold the rest into slavery, hoping to make an example of them. This seemed to work because after the fall of Sidon, the important and very wealthy trading city of Aleppo sent delegates to Alexander to offer him a golden crown as a symbol of their surrender. After the fall of Aleppo came the long siege of Tyre, very well protected. After Tire fell quite easily to Alexander's control once the walls fell, Alexander conquered Syria, which more than willingly surrendered without hesitation..