Alexander the Great King Philip

Alexander the Great

King Philip II did not leave his son Alexander's destiny to chance. He had the boy learn how to play the lyre, recite and debate and placed him under the tutorship of no less than Aristotle (Smitha 1998), so that visitors from Athens later praised the boy as "thoroughly Greek" for his remarkable memory and speaking ability. At only 16, Alexander was placed in charge of Macedonia during his father's siege of Thrace and later headed a force that crushed a rebellion by the Maedi people there in the famous Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC (Marx 2000). He eventually became king of Macedonia, the conqueror of the Persian Empire and one of the greatest military geniuses of all time (Microsoft 2004).

Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, to King Philip II and Olympias, a princess of Epirus (Microsoft 2004). He received thorough training in rhetoric and literature from Aristotle and developed strong interest in science, medicine and philosophy. After his father was assassinated in 336 BC, Alexander became king of Macedonia at the age of 20 at a time of seething internal and external unrest.

As a first and immediate step, he ordered the execution of his domestic enemies and all their conspirators. He went with an army of 35,000 to Thessaly to regain Macedonian supremacy from independence forces that had won it, re-established position in Greece in 336 BC and was elected by a congress of states in Corinth (Microsoft 2004). The following year, as the general of the Greeks, he trampled upon defecting Thracians and won the campaign against the Persians his father was unable to do. From there, he wiped out threatening Illyrians in a single week and proceeded to Thebes, which had revolted, and nearly decimated it by leaving only the temples of the gods and the house of Greek poet Pindar. He sold approximately 8,000 defeated inhabitants to slavery and put Thebes and other Greek states into quick and humiliating subjection to him (Microsoft) and hastening to offer him ships and warriors for Alexander's next attack on the Persians in Asia Minor. In the spring of 334 BC, he overcame a strong Persian force of 40,000 at the Granicus River and proceeded south along its coast and set the Greek cities of Aeolis and Ionia. After this, all the states of Asia minor bowed to him in submission (Microsoft). The following year, Alexander went east with his forces across ancient Phrygia and cut the legendary knot of Gordius, founder of Phrygia. He reached northern Syria where he encountered and toppled a large Persian force led by King Darius III in the Battle of Issue in 333 BC (Marx 2000). King Darius fled and abandoned his mother, wife and children to Alexander's forces. But Alexander showed them respect and compassion because they were royalties (Microsoft).

He was met by strong resistance in Tyre, a fortified seaport, but he conquered it after seven months in 332. Capturing Gaza afterwards, he gained control of the whole eastern Mediterranean coastline and founded the City of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile River in 332 (Microsoft 2004). The City became the center of literary, scientific and commercial activity in the Greek world. Alexander's power extended to Carthage when Cyrene, the capital of the ancient North African kingdom of Cyrenaice, afterwards yielded to him. In the meantime, Darius asked for terms of peace with Alexander, offering all his territories to Alexander, 10,000 talents and his daughter in marriage. But Alexander proceeded through Syria and the Euphrates and the Tigris into Assyria where he confronted with Darius' forces again and defeated these one more time (Marx 2000). And one more time, Darius fled through the mountains to Media as Alexander took Babylonia with little effort and resistance and Persia, where he seized, plundered and burned its capital, Persepolis, down in 330 BC. This completed the destruction of the Persian Empire, the aspiration of his father. At this time, Alexander's dominion went beyond the Caspian Sea and included modern Afghanistan and Baluchistan and north into Bactria and Sogdiana, which comprised modern Western Turkistan, also known as Central Asia (Microsoft 2004). It took him only three years to conquer this vast area from the spring of 330 BC to the spring of 327 BC.

In Ecbatane, he confronted Darius a third time and there, Alexander's officers killed the fleeing Persian leader on his way to the Persian province of Bacteria, north of the Hindu Kush mountains (Microsoft 2004).

Alexander's claim to divinity related to a pilgrimage he made in the spring of 331 at the great temple and oracle of Amon-Ra, the Egyptian sun god identified with Zeus of the Greeks. Earlier Egyptian pharaohs were considered sons of Amon-Ra, and since Alexander had then become the new ruler of Egypt, he sought to be recognized as one of the sons of Amon-Ra and the negotiations appeared to have been successful (Microsoft 2004). This laid down the grounds for that claim to divine origin.

In coming after the remnants of the Persian Empire, of which western India was part, Alexander crossed the Indus River in 326 BC and took Punjab up to the river Hyphasis. His land forces rebelled and refused to go farther than this point. Alexander formed a fleet to cross the Indus that September up to the Persian Gulf in 325 BC. His land forces crossed the desert to Media, but severe food and water shortage handicapped them (Microsoft 2004). He spent a whole year organizing the territories he had won and in surveying the Persian Gulf for further conquests. He was in Babylon in 323 BC when he had a fever and died within a few days (Microsoft). He was only 33 years old.

Alexander confronted a major problem with such a vast empire (Marx 2000). The inhabitants spoke different languages and observed different customs and cultures. He was absolute monarch to the ancient Persian Empire, a god in Egypt, only a commander-in-chief to the Greeks and none of these in Macedonia. He had wanted to consolidate and unify his empire by forming an absolutist government, similar to that of Persia, with a ruling class through intermarriages between Macedonian and Persian nobles. Alexander set the example by marrying Roxanne of Bacteria and the Persian princess, the eldest daughter of Darius.

The political entity Alexander fashioned passed away with him, but his conquests created a vast and uniform economic and cultural world spanning the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus River (Marx 2000) so that during the Hellenistic Age from 323-146 BC, the ancient world had a common Greek-Oriental culture. Merchants from the different regions shared a single trade area, which consisted of what are now known as the "silk routes. (Marx 2000)."

Alexander is considered one of the greatest generals of all time for his tactical brilliance and troop leadership. He was particularly remarkable in conquering a great expanse of territory with great speed (Microsoft 2004). He was courageous and generous on one extreme and cruel or even merciless on the other extreme, when politics demanded. He was believed to be alcoholic and his conquests were followed by revelry. There are also rumors that he killed his friend Clitus in our drunker fury, but something he later on regretted.

Many historians attested to his dream to unite the East and the West into a single world empire and a new one with a single enlightened brotherhood (Microsoft 2004). He trained thousands of young Persians in Macedonian tactics and enlisted them into his huge army. Although he went after the ancient Persian Empire and its remnants, he himself adopted Persian conduct and married Roxana of Bacteria and Barsine or Stateira of Persia, eldest daughter of Darius. He encouraged and even bribed his officers to do the same (Microsoft). Some of his governors took advantage of his absence by recruiting their own private armies and abusing the local people and, upon hearing the charges, Alexander had most of them executed. He imposed policy that integrated his forces with the inhabitants, so that around 10,000 of his soldiers were said to have married local women and received huge dowries from Alexander's government and were demobilized. Their wives and children remained in the East, where these children were educated and trained on Greek culture and values at government expense. They were turned over to their fathers upon reaching adulthood (Smitha 1998). Alexander integrated Persians in his Macedonian army and this dismayed the Macedonians, but Alexander was un-affected by the reaction. He placed Macedonians in the front rank to carry pikes and Persians in rows behind, carrying swords and javelins. This combination greater mobility than before and would become the pattern for the forthcoming Roman Republic.

Upon returning to Babylon in 323, Alexander was putting the pieces of a great new empire into places. It was to be the kind that Aristotle envisioned to be ruled by a benevolent philosopher-king, who would carve a new loyalty among the conquered lands and people so that they would have a sense of belonging in a world outside of their own. Alexander saw himself as that philosopher-king who would install a new kind of cooperation and brotherhood with one or unified Greek culture, Hellenism, and speaking a common language, Greek (Smitha 1998). He intended that his subjects in the East would be reared and trained to become like the Greeks and Macedonians.

In consolidating his huge territory, Alexander founded cities, mostly named Alexandria, in suitable and well-paved locations with sufficient supply of water. His army veterans, young men, merchants, traders and scholars settled there, infused Greek culture and, through them, the Greek language widely flourished. Through his mighty victories and territorial control, Alexander thus spread Greek civilization and paved the way for the incoming Hellenistic kingdoms and the conquest of the Roman Empire (Microsoft 2004).

He also felt that trade would unite his empire more strongly and so he forced new commercial possibilities and made Babylon the center of brisk world commerce (Smitha 1998). His first decisions created a new demand for iron. By conquering the Persian treasury, Alexander removed trade barriers and out more money into circulation. Building new ports, new cities and 70 military colonies in his conquered territories further stimulated economic vigor among them. Alexander had also wanted to build dock along the Euphrates at Babylon, dredge the Euphrates River up to the Persian Gulf, colonize the eastern shore of the Gulf and circumnavigate and explore Arabia. His grand plan of extending his conquest to Sicily and Italy to put more of the world under his rule ad control was at the drawing board when freak tragedy struck. He caught a fever, many suspected it was malaria, and he died at only 32 in 323 BC.

Alexander was a myth-maker who changed the world. His court historian Callisthenes described how the sea itself appeared to have retreated from Alexander's path. Some historians ascribed godly powers to him, but Zoroaster priests believed that Alexander had demons (Smitha 1998). These priests were outraged by the assimilation of foreign religions with theirs under the rule of Alexander and spread fiction to describe and establish him as one of the greatest degenerates and one of the worst sinners in history for executing many Persian teachers and lawyers and for quenching sacred fires (Smitha). Some in Persia considered him a member of the Achaemenids, the Persian royal family; Egyptians assumed that he was the son of the last pharaoh, Nectanebus; Arabs eventually came to know him as Iskander they would build fanciful tales about; while Christians in Ethiopia recognized his father King Philip II as a Christian martyr and Alexander an ascetic saint (Smitha).

The battle tactics of Alexander's large army were designed for rapid decision and implementation. It operated through an oblique battle formation of an advanced right flank and a refused left wing (van Dorst 2000). A sudden but ferocious attack of a heavy horse on a small part of the opponents' force was conducted to break their morale and create panic among soldiers still preparing for combat. Alexander's overwhelming success drew largely from his army's breaking the enemies' morale. His surprise maneuvers at Granicus, Issus and Hydaspes dealt fatal blows on enemy morale and took advantage of fatigue and lack of sleep because of long marches. Alexander's army was more prepared for these eventualities.

Credit for Alexander's gargantuan military accomplishments must be shared with his army. It was made up of the Macedonian cavalry, heavy infantry and Macedonian allies.

The Macedonian cavalry consisted mainly of soldiers recruited from among the natives of the kingdom itself, the rest were taken from conquered foreign territories (van Dorst 2000). The most prestigious among the mounted troops were the hetairoi or companions, who initially consisted of members of the Macedonian nobility, then mixed with soldiers from Thessaly and some other parts of the Greek world. Alexander's father, King Philip II, increased this cavalry from 600 horsemen to 3,000 troopers. These companions or hetairoi were grouped into ilai or wings of 200 men, except for the royal squadron, called basilike ile or agema and composed of 300 to 400 cavalrymen. They were arranged in a wedge formation in battle.

The cavalry put on metal helmets and different types of armor, linen or corselets with metal scale reinforcements and with bronze or iron breastplates (van Dorst 2000). Some of these cavalrymen were uncomfortable with the armor and shields were only for dismounting actions or strategies. They usually carried different types of thrusting spears or javelins but a sword was always a secondary weapon. Heavy cavalry like Alexander's was quite effective if the opponents' morale was low, but not with determined or prepared opponents. Horses had to be trained to charge straight at opponents but this could be done only with much time and effort, because horses instinctively flee from danger. Otherwise, cavalrymen made use of suitable mounting substitutes small number of light cavalrymen were part of the native Macedonian cavalry. They were called scouts or prodromoi and they usually carried javelins to reconnaissance missions. They also served as heavy cavalry as sarissophoroi and carried the sarissa in battle (van Dorst 2000). The Macedonian cavalry operated closely with the light Paeoniona, Illyrian and Thacian cavalry.

Macedonian infantry units were also formed, most importantly the foot companions called pezhetairoi, who were recruited according to a territorial system from Macedonian provinces (van Dorst 2000). These units were aimed at containing and reducing domestic rebellion in seditious northern districts in Asia Minor. Nobles from the same area as the foot companion regiments were in command, usually 1,500 strong, but their number varied because of losses and replacements. Six or seven pezhetairoi regiments were usually part of the expeditionary at the start of battle. They underwent more flexible training and their equipment and tactics were adjusted to different situations. Carrying only a hoplite shield and a spear, they could be deployed in the classical Greek hoplite phalanx formation. In addition to a shield and a spear, they sometimes also used a long pike, the famous sarissa and a rimless shield hanging from the shoulder. At other times, they used light javelins instead of spears or pikes (van Dorst). These equipment were adapted or used according to tactical requirements of specific battles. A helmet and another metal protection or body armor appeared to have also been used. Armor eventually came to be made of linen, felt or leather of the same cut as that of Alexander's sarcophagus as the standard. Forces on the frontline could have been equipped with metal cuirasses, but the body armor was difficult and uncomfortable, especially in hot weather and so it was discarded or models with only frontal protection were experimented on.

There too were the hypaspistai or shield-bearers, identified with the "silver shields " or argyraspides in the latter part of Alexander's reign (van Dorst 2000). These shield-bearers or "silver shields" were individually selected, based on merit, among the taxies or pezhetairoi. They were 3,000 men under three sub-units of 1,000 men each. One of these three, the agema, was more prestigious than the others. Some of the soomatophylakes recruited from Macedonian nobles were enlisted with the hypaspistai. Unlike the taxies of foot companions, the hypaspistai did not depend on replacements from particular districts but maintained their ranks by constantly recruiting selectively from the other regiments of the Macedonian heavy infantry. Their tactics and equipment were similar to those of the pezhetairoi but they were sent out only on special assignments involving honor. They occupied the right flank of the heavy infantry and wore lighter equipment than those of foot companions (van Dorst).

There was also a native Macedonian light infantry under the command of Alexander and this was made up of javelineers, archers and slingers (van Dorst 2000). Most of the javelin throwers came from the neighboring kingdom of Lagarus. The agrianoi also belonged to the elite and were usually sent only on dangerous missions, such as to serve as hamippoi to strengthen the Macedonian cavalry. Still another wave consisted of 7,000 men who served as peltastai or shield-bearing fighters, but who were chosen not for their military prowess but only to suppress uprisings in their regions. Mercenary bowmen from Crete complemented Macedonian archers.

Alexander's army also had allies that reinforced its might. One was the Thessalian cavalry who served Alexander, their military leader and who took the left flank of his Army. This cavalry consisted of those who did not return home and got integrated into the Macedonian hetairoi. They favored a rhomboid formation (van Dorst 2000) and were believed to have served as hoplites. City states also contributed small groups of horsemen to the Macedonian army. After the battle, the majority returned to their cities but the rest remained and served as mercenaries in Alexander's Army. These were both hoplites and peltastai. The Army also hired indigenous mercenary troops from the territories of the Persian Empire and India, some of these mounted javelin-throwers and archers on horseback, while others were light infantry fighters. Alexander's military strength and complement were so vast that, at the end of his reign, Asiatic troops were equipped and trained according to his Macedonian Army as model (van Dorst).

The Army also had a clear and sturdy command structure. On top of the chain of command was Alexander the Great (van Dorst 2000). The next highest rank consisted of senior officers brought up with the king and those belonging to the high command under Philip II. Most prominent among them was Parmenio, reportedly Philip's only general. It was assumed that Alexander and Parmenio had constant differences of opinion yet records would suggest that Alexander took Parmenio's advice in setting out for Gaugamela and Granicus.

A general staff meeting was held to plan and prepare for battles because of the limited means of transmitting orders to the ranks. Paid scouts and spies furnished Alexander with much needed information for good reconnaissance and reliable intelligence needed for planning and preparation (van Dorst 2000). Alexander himself paid personal attention to the intelligence required, such as when he personally went on a reconnaissance foray before the battle of Gaugamela.

The officers were grouped according to territory (van Dorst 2000). Officers of the hetairoi and pezhetairoi were often chosen from the nobles of the same district. Junior officers often specialized in command of horse or foot, but senior officers could handle both infantry and cavalry commands. These commands were reinforced during important and prestigious campaigns. Many officers were appointed because of personal acquaintanceship with the commander-in-chief, prior service in the paides basilikoi, the royal pages, or the soomatophylakes basilikoi, the royal bodyguards, or through personal favors, blood ties and political considerations, as in the case of senior commanders.