The Golden Age of Alexander

I cannot believe that I have not written about Alexander the Great for one of my posts! Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip II of Macedon. Alexander lived around 338 B.C.E . In this article we shall talk about how Alexander shaped history. We shall also mention his legacy and how it created one of the greatest dynasties in Egypt. We shall learn how Ptolemy I, Soter of Egypt, was the first many from his family to be Pharaoh

Alexander was taught by my favourite philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC). Aristotle was born in Macedonia he studied philosophy under Plato in Athens. Aristotle was one of the first to focus on forms on the real world. He was what we would call the very first naturalist of his time. He and his students studied more than 500 species of insects and animals he was the first scientist to catalogue them and to keep records of them.

One of his line of thoughts was to imagine the impossible and to have that idea circulating around one's mind, then it becomes possible. For a young man with Aspergers this does help me to cope with some tough changes in my routine. I do not like change in my weekly routine, especially in the mornings. Yet now I work in a leading world museum on a morning shift where, yes, I have to talk to people in the morning. A few months ago that would, in my mind, have been impossible, yet now it has come to pass.

Aristotle heavily influenced Alexander in his upbringing as a young Prince, and helped form who he was as a adult. As one can imagine Alexander did not have the easiest of childhoods; countless rumours plagued him including that his mother had been a snake when he was born. However in spite of this he grew up to be a strong and formidable leader and warrior.

The campaign of Persia materialised this, as Alexander followed through with his father's plans to take on the Persian Empire. Around 334 to 323 B.C Alexander easily conquered Persia. The port of Tyre was able to fight back party because of its great fortifications, yet that too eventually burnt to the ground. The siege of Tyre frustrated Alexander as by this point in the campaign he thought he was on the cusp of Victory. Tyre forces were very brave in defying these invading Greeks; they were heavily outnumbered and they kept Alexander besieging Tyre for months. This meant that the Persian God-King Darius was able to summon his own army.

In just seven years Alexander's army won three amazing battles beginning with the Granicus river in 334 BC. This was the first major victory against the Persians on their soil. This was a devastating defeat for the Persians as their Satrapy was killed in the battle. According to the battles scenes it was Alexander who slew the Persian commander.

Alexander was a great commander of his forces and like most Macedonian nobles he was in the front line of every battle and the last to leave the battlefield. I admire these Macedonian Nobles as the other Greeks thought that they were barbarians compared to the smart Athenian nobles. The Macedonians then had to work and conquer twice as much to prove to their southern neighbours that they were superior.

The next battle was the battle of Issus in 333 BC at which Darius II led his army, which I think was a mistake as he should have let his mercenary Memnon of Rhodes take overall control of the army. The battle of Issus in 333 BC was a defining point within the campaign for Alexander as he absolutely crushed the enemy forces on their own soil. The Persian Imperial forces relied too much on mercenaries, which was a mistake as they were Greek Mercenaries, and this caused a lot of arguments within the Persian forces as they did not like the imperial bodyguard.

The last battle in this lightening campaign for the Alexander was the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC after suffering from so many defeats from within their homeland, this last battle was what brought about the collapse of the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire was not as well trained as the hoplites. Maybe the "Immortals", the Persian Emperor's bodyguard, could have fought them off, although there was not enough. The Greeks were on a winning stroke after already winning two battles on foreign soil. This made them confident in victory and their tactics. They had great commanders, my favourite being the future pharaoh Ptolemy .

The golden age of Alexander was a quick and baffling age for most people who do not understand Alexander. Future Greeks would look up to him as a God-King. Alexander looked up to the Trojans for inspiration, especially Achilleas. The ramifications of Alexander's reign lasted longer than his actual life. He did not leave a heir to his vast Empire, and on his death bed in Baghdad he said to his Generals that the strongest one wins and brought about epic funeral games to decide the fate of his Empire.

I think that Alexander would have known that his Empire would collapse after his death. Alexander was very clever when he left no known successor after his death. The Funeral games meants civil war throughout the Empire until Ptolemy I, King of Egypt was left the strongest.

Overall, I think that Alexander the Great one of the greatest kings in history. He was like a blast of lightning. It was over in a dazzling flash; so quick, so violent, that we are still today learning basic facts about him that should have been obvious from the start. Reality is disappointing; he was probably fat or ugly instead of a blond God that's depicted on the coins that survive today. We do not even know where he is buried. That would indeed be a find and what a find it would be!