AC1201242
World Civilizations I
Assignment 2_02
At the age of only 20 years old Alexander the Great would become king of Macedonia. Within the next 13 years he would expand his kingdom more than anyone would have imagined with his many conquests through Greece, Egypt, Asia Lower Minor, and India. Along with his victory over the mighty Persian Empire, Alexander’s legacy would live on through history as being one of the greatest Military leaders the world has ever seen.
His first of many conquests was when he attacked Thessaly to restore Macedonian rule in 335 B.C. It was there that he defeated the Thracians, and went on to defeat and crush the IIIyarains. However, he had to rush back to Thebes which was in revolt at the time. Alexander ravaged Thebes at which point many more Greek states turned to Alexander’s control. This has all occurred due to the fact that Alexander had inherited the crown from his father, King Phillip II, after his assassination, and Alexander needed to prove he could rule as his father before him over the Greek states.
Alexander declared war on Persia in 334 B.C. His first battle with the Persian Army took place near the city of Troy. This victorious battle by Alexander leads to the submission of all the states in the Asian Minor. In 333 B.C Alexander then traveled south where he defeated King Darius III, leader of the Persian Army, at Issus in Northeastern Syria, however King Darius III escaped. Alexander then turned his sights toward Egypt where he first captured Gaza, which now gave him control over the eastern Mediterranean coastline. This allowed Alexander to establish the famous city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile River.
After all of his many battles and conquests, Alexander then moved toward capturing Babylon and the rest of the Persian Empire. In 331 B.C Alexander would again face King Darius III who yet again would escape but once Babylon was captured, King Darius would be killed by one of his own men. After Babylon, Alexander would go on to capture and conquer the Capital of the Persian Empire, the city of Persepolis. Now only years after becoming King of Macedonia, Alexander would take control of the Persian Empire from the shores of the Caspian Sea into much of Central Asia. This would not be enough for Alexander and he yet again pushed his Army into India where in 326 B.C he invaded the Punjab. At this point the Macedonian’s refused to go any further because of great losses suffered in battle in India and the amount of time and travel they incurred. Alexander finally