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The Death of a Great

One of the greatest mysteries of Alexander the Great’s life is his early death after moving to Babylon and settling down in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II. On June 7, 323 B.C., Macedonia’s citizens were given one last chance to view their historic leader that was able to turn Macedonia into the biggest empire of its time. Then, a few days later on June 10, Alexander passed away from a fever that had eaten up his body. Sadly, Alexander’s plans to move into Arabia and expand his empire even further came to a halt. On the other hand, Alexander never chose a successor to ascend to the throne after him, which led to many conflicts within the Macedonian empire until it was divided into three territories: Egypt, Persia and Macedonia. Sadly, this ended the unification of the Macedonian empire and slowly led to the destruction of the vastest empire at that time until it ceased to exist. Despite this sad reality, Alexander had a great influence wherever he went and due to his numerous conquests and travels, Alexander was able to help the Hellenistic culture that was a mixture of Greek, Egyptian and Easter customs come to form and replace the outdated culture of the Greeks that had been in use for too long, causing people from all around the world to adopt new ways and lifestyles. Truly, Alexander was great in many ways.

The Battle of Gaugamela

In 331 B.C., Alexander confronted the Persians again at Gaugamela, Mesopotamia in a battle that would be called the battle of Gaugamela. King Darius of the Persians was able to put together a huge army that included cavalry men and chariots with armed wheels. This army outnumbered that of the Greeks and after the Persians captured Alexander’s camp, it looked as if the Persians were going to win the battle. However, Alexander and the Greeks’ constant attacks on the Persian army led to its slow collapse with Darius fleeing again in panic and the remaining Persian army leaving to the east. This ended Persian power once and for all and Alexander was able to add Persia to his empire. Even better, Alexander marched into Babylon, a Persian province, unopposed and was able to easily capture other Persian cities, such as Susa and Persepolis, which gave him an enormous amount of treasures, gold and silver. Even better, after conquering Persia, Alexander was able to finally strip Darius of his title as the King of Kings and become the most powerful ruler in the Mediterranean.

Alexander The Great's Driving Force

While Alexander was in Egypt in the spring of 331 B.C., he went on a pilgrimage to the great temple of the Egyptian god of the sun, Amon-Ra. All the Egyptian pharaohs before Alexander were said to have been sons of this god and in going to Amon-Ra’s temple, Alexander hoped that the god would claim him as his son. Before this could happen, Alexander made a precarious journey across the desert where he was blessed with a lot of rains and guided by ravens. Then, after arriving at the temple, Alexander was welcomed by the priests there and was given the chance to speak to Amon-Ra. Much to Alexander’s pleasure, the priests at Amon-Ra’s temple told him that he was indeed one of Amon-Ra’s sons and that he was meant to rule the world. As a result of this, Alexander was given the motivation and determination to keep on making conquests so he could rule the world and more importantly, it taught him to never give up until he got what he desired, which was the whole world under his control.

Alexander the Great Transforms Egypt

In 331 B.C., an ambitious Alexander arrived in Egypt and was greeted cheerfully by the Egyptians that were desperate to free themselves from their Persian rulers. After arriving, Alexander was crowned pharaoh by the Egyptians and he later on denied a peace treaty that the king of Persia, Darius III, offered him, stating that he wanted to conquer the entire Persian Empire, rather than simply having a part of it. On the other hand, though, while in Egypt, Alexander ordered a city to be found and named after him. This city would come to be known as Alexandria. Leaving aside its name, Alexandria grew to become one of the most renowned cultural centers in the world that witnessed the magnificent life of the Hellenistic culture, a culture formed by the blending of Egyptian, Greek and Eastern influences. This attractive new culture was adopted by many new people and allowed its followers to modernize to some extent and learn of new customs. More importantly, Alexandria, the residence of the Hellenistic culture, was the home of many advances. To begin with, the world’s first museum was opened in Alexandria that also served as an observatory for astronomers. Additionally, one Hellenistic astronomer was able to closely calculate the circumference of the Earth. Furthermore, Alexandria’s marketplaces served as sites for cultural blending where people from all around the world would meet to buy Egyptian goods and learn about other cultures. Hence, by demanding a city to be found and named after him, Alexander was able to help pave the way to many worldly advances being made.

Sieges, Victories and the Eastern Mediterranean Coast

After having captured Syria and Phoenicia and more importantly, the inland Phoenician city of Tyre that had put up a fight with its walls that eventually fell due to determination of Alexander and his forces in 332 B.C., Alexander and his forces headed south toward Egypt. Unfortunately, when Alexander came near the city of Gaza, he was opposed and its city walls would not let him and his forces in. Again, just like in Tyre, the city of Gaza endured a siege where many of it’s and Alexander’s people were killed. Then, after two moths of siege, Gaza finally fell to Alexander. More importantly, with the fall of Gaza, Alexander now found the whole Eastern Mediterranean coast in the palm of his hands and was the sole ruler over this region with no one standing in his way. Even better, not only was Alexander the unchallenged ruler of this region, but he could now set his eyes on other places to conquer in order to expand his empire even further.

The Battle of Issus

During this time, the Persians were considered a great military machine, but Alexander was not pleased with this and thus, he successfully tried to strip the Persians of this title that they held. While Alexander and his Greek forces were in southern Turkey in the autumn of 333 B.C., King Darius of the Persians met up with them. Alexander and the Greeks were already in a critical position because they were still in the mountains and needed to find a safe way out to the sea with Darius and the Persians making this even more complicated when they got in their way. However, Alexander and his shrewd fighters were able to get past Darius and the Persians by fighting their way through them fiercely. After this, approximately 30,000 Greeks fought against 100,000 Persians in a battle that took place across a tiny river called the Pinarus, which was near the town of Issus. The location of the battle served as a setback for the Greeks due to them having to get across the river and then approach their Persian opponents so they could fight them. Despite this, Alexander was still able to cut his way through the Persians and when he did this, he made his way to Darius, causing the Persian king to panic and run away. After Darius left the battlefield in a hurry, the Persian army fell apart quickly. Alexander’s victory at the Battle of Issus led to the fast decline of the enormous power that the Persians held in the Mediterranean, making way for Alexander and the Macedonians to slowly occupy this position. More importantly, as a result of his victory at the Battle of Issus, Alexander knew he could defeat Darius and slowly began to be the King of Kings, a title held previously only by Darius. Last, but not least, Alexander and his outnumbered fighters were able to demonstrate their capability on the battlefield and pose a threat to other territories.