Conquest of Alexander the Great Essay Example

a foothold in Asia Minor during Philip’s reign.

The army was accompanied by surveyors, engineers, architects and other experts to ensure alimitless operation (Duiker, &Spielvogel, 2012). He also conquered Aleppo and sacked Sidon, the city of Phoenician. The land of Phoenicia was easy to conquer apart from Tyre, the island city which he placed under siege. He built a causeway from the mainland to the island and proceeded to mount siege engines to take the city. It took seven months, after whichthe residents were slaughtered and survivors sold into slavery due to their stubbornness.

Darius tried offering peace twice but Alexander turned him down.Alexander returned to Persia in 331 BC where a decisive battle of the war was fought on the plain of Gaugamela between Nineveh and Arbela.He captured the city and province, Babylon and confirmed Mazaeus together with a Macedonian troop commander as satrap after he surrendered the city. The capital city, Susa also surrendered and released huge treasures which amounted to 50,000 gold talents (Briant, &Kuhrt, 2010). Darius was later captured and assassinated by his own general and cousin leading to Alexander claiming to be the Great King. The Rhodian inscription of the year, 330 BC called him lord of Asia and later the Asian coins carried the title of king.

After defeating Asia, he started dressing like them.

The Egypt and Mediterranean overthrow

He conquered Syria in 332 BCE and Egypt in 331 BCE and founded Alexandria city between the sea and Lake Mareotis(Spielvogel, 2013). He had it laid out by architects from Rhodia and protected it by the island of Pharos. In Egypt, he was not interested in imposing his religion or behaviors but

keeping the supply lines open to feed and equip his troops.

The people from Egypt welcomed him, viewing him as their deliverer. Alexander sacrificed to Apis, the sacred Egyptian bull and was crowned with a traditional double crown of the pharaohs (Plutarch, Waterfield, Robin, & Erskine, 2015). He pacified the native priests and even encouraged their religion. He employed Egyptian governors and kept the army under a separate Macedonian command. The Phoenician cities gave in quietly while Parmenio secured Damascus. Alexander visited the celebrated oracle of the god of Amon and consulted it about his expedition in its oasis.

He was perceived to be the son of Zeus and hence, the exaltation. In 330 BCE, he destroyed the main palace and most of the city in Persepolis through a fire. It was said to be an act of revenge for burning Acropolis in Xerxes in 480 BCE during the Persian invasion of Greece. He then conquered Bactria and Sogdianna easily and founded the city of Alexandria-Eschate on Laxartes River (Spielvogel, 2013). He founded many cities and named more than seventy of them after himself to portray his public image as a god. Most of these cities were built around previous military forts, the most popular being at the mouth of the Nile in 331 BCE and is the second largest city in Egypt today.

Other Alexandria cities are found in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and present-day Turkey. He even adopted the title king of kings.

The Indian invasion

The Indian King Omphis submitted to Alexander without a fight in 327 BC since he knew of the exploits of the Macedonian general although two tribes resisted. Alexander later subdued

these tribes after meeting at the Hydaspes River battle where King Poras charged Alexander’s force with elephants and fought bravery with his troop. Alexander fixedPorusa larger region to rule after defeatinghim. He also founded a city in India and named it after his favorite horse, Bucephala who was killed in the battle.

Alexander then consolidated his empire by replacing senior officials and executing the governors who defaulted as well assuperseding his satraps and killingsome. Alexander later died in 323 BC at agethe of 32 with causes of his death ranging from poisoning to malaria to high fever to meningitis to bacterial infection from drinking.Alexander’s generals who were the successors of the empire divided it into many kingdoms for themselves (Duiker, &Spielvogel, 2012). The death resulted in a beginning of the Hellenistic period. The cultures of the indigenous residents became entwined leading to the Hellenistic period where cultural unity was realized and the spread of Christianity.

His legacy was observed through the Hellenistic kingdoms and the spread of the Greek culture throughout Asia. Hellenistic dynasties emerged, or instance, in Asia there was Seleucids, Ptolemies in Egypt and Antigonids in Macedonia. Some cities asserted independence through alliances, for instance,Aitolian League in western central Greece. Greek became the language of communication and trade was enhanced. The development, however, increased slave trade whereby slaves were used to working in the plantations leading to immigration and overcrowding in the cities in search of work due to lack of labor in the plantations.

Conclusion

Alexander spent fifteen years of his reign expanding his empire through battles which he never lost.

He founded cities and named most of them after himself and later died through

mysterious circumstances. He left a legacy through Hellenistic kingdoms which spread all over Asia.

References

• Briant, P., &Kuhrt, A. (2010).Alexander the Great and his empire: A short introduction. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Chaniotis, A., & Wiley InterScience (Online service). (2005). War in the Hellenistic world: A social and cultural history. Malden, MA: Oxford (Eng..
• Duiker, W. J., &Spielvogel, J. J. (2012).World history.

  Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth.

• Plutarch.,Waterfield, Robin, & Erskine, Andrew. (2015). Hellenistic Lives: Including Alexander the Great. Oxford Univ Pr.
• Spielvogel, J. J. (2013).

  Western civilization: A brief history.