What would you do if you could rule the world? To many it seems like an absurd question, but for one man it has started to become reality. It all started with the dreams of a king, Alexander the Great. Alexander was born in 356 BC in Macedonia, the area around present-day Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. Although the Macedonians may have considered themselves part of the Greek cultural world, other Greeks considered them a semi-barbaric mountain tribe. Alexander was king of Macedonia in 336 BC, pharaoh of Egypt from 332 BC, king of Persia in 330 BC and king of Asia from 331 BC until the time of his unfortunate death in 323 BC. He was crowned king of Macedonia for first time at the young age of 19. As soon as he became an adult, Alexander managed to transform his small Macedonian country into his own dominion composed of the three largest and most feared empires in just 13 years. Soon after his father's death, Alexander had begun his plans to conquer and unite all of the city-states of ancient Greece, along with the empires of Persia, Asia, and India. Although he did not succeed in all his plans, he managed to conquer and unite all of ancient Greece, conquer Persia and Asia, as well as part of India. Thus, Alexander managed to transform the small, lesser-known mountain village in Macedonia into the largest and most powerful empire in all of Ancient Europe. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The biographical novel Alexander The Great by Philip Freeman details all the important battles and events in Alexander's life from childhood until his death, as well as the legacy of the Empire he left behind that lasted several hundred years after his death. With the help of none but a select few of his father's old generals, chiefly his father's right-hand man, Parmenion; Alexander was able to revolutionize the way of fighting in ancient times and destroy any empire that stood in his way. Being an absolute genius in psychological and unconventional warfare, along with some high-risk, high-reward decisions, Alexander has overcome some of the biggest obstacles in his way without breaking a sweat. I have always found Alexander to be an extremely interesting and inspiring man to learn about in history, so I decided to learn more about his life and how he was able to conquer the Persian Empire, an empire with an army of almost double that Alexander had his control. In the following talk, I will tell the story of Alexander the Great and his adventures, many victories and very few defeats, during the conquest of the entire region of Greece, Persia and Asia. Alexander's father, King Philip, was an impressive ruler who had begun the systematic policy of expanding control of Macedonia. Philip's main conquest was that of mainland Greece, following his victory at Chaeronea [Karineea] in 338 BC. The call to adventure was first presented to Alexander while he was still a teenager, his father wanting to give him command of the Macedonian cavalry during this battle to demonstrate Alexander's worth as heir to the throne. The Battle of Chaeronea took place in 338 BC on an early August morning outside the city of Chaeronea [Karineea] in Boeotia [Beeotia], Greece. Although for centuries the cities of Athens and Sparta dominated Greece, politically, militarily, and economically, the Battle of Chaeronea, one of the most famous of all Greek battles, involved only one of these cities: Athens. Athens, however, was not alone. They joined forces with Thebes, including the sacred band of Thebes, an elite group of 150 pairs of male soldiers who were the most fearsome warriorsof ancient Greece. The soldiers were all male lovers, which, although peculiar, was effective because they wanted to impress and defended each other with their lives because they did not want to see their lover die in battle. Both armies united with the idea of ​​destroying the presumptuous army of the Macedonians and sending them back to their homelands in the mountains. However, we soon learn that this was not the case. Philip rearranged the old, traditional strategy of the phalanx (which was a group of soldiers in close movement) and replaced the old hoplite spear with the sarissa, an 18- to 20-foot pike, adding a smaller double-edged sword. Finally, he redesigned the antiquated shield and helmet, making them much more robust and vital. The Macedonians under the rule of Philip II would soon demonstrate their valor and skill in this battle by massacring the enemy army, including the sacred band of Thebes. The Macedonians lost fewer than 100 soldiers while enemy forces' casualties included 2,000 killed and 4,000 captured. Alexander decided to burn and completely destroy the city as an example to the other Greek states to show them what would happen if they rebelled. The Macedonian victory at Chaeronea would put Greece in a deep crisis, both politically and militarily. It would never regain its supremacy in the Mediterranean. Macedonia had established troops in Corinth and all of Ancient Greece recognized him as their leader and could not afford a revolt. Philip was determined to transform his weak army of citizens into a worthy army of highly trained professional soldiers. Having succeeded in this aim, it did not take him long to reveal the might of the Macedonian army to the rest of Greece, attacking and defeating the Thracians to the north, demonstrating to the people of Athens that Philip was a valid threat. Alexander's first trials occurred around the same time as his father's death. Philip II was king from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC Alexander was the second ranked king as he was Philip's son. However, seizing the throne after the untimely death of a beloved king can be chaotic, so Alexander did not go unchallenged. He defeated his potential threats to the throne and secured his position as king of Macedonia at just 19 years old. After securing the throne, he began to implement his plans to conquer ancient Europe. After gathering an impressive number of troops consisting of highly determined and war-hardened Macedonians, Greek mercenaries, Thracian troops, and the entire Athenian fleet, Alexander began his war against the Persians in 334 BC. The Macedonian leader was twenty-two years old at the time . Darius was prepared for battle having chosen this location to meet his enemy. After the defeat of Issus two years earlier, Darius made sure that this battlefield favored his army and his tactics; mainly being war chariots. The terrain here was flat, perfect for wagons. Darius made it even flatter by ordering the land to be plowed and leveled. Everything was ready and on 1 October 331 BC the Persian army, perhaps made up of 200,000 men, faced Alexander's 35,000 men. The Macedonian leader immediately understood the Persians' tactical advantage and countered by ordering his cavalry to move to the right along with Alexander himself who hoped to move. his enemy away from their flat field. The Persians marched parallel to him, far outflanking him to their left. Then the Persian cavalry rode along the line and came into contact with the leading men of Alexander's army; however, he still continued to march defensively to the right, and almost entirely passed the ground which had been cleared and leveled by the Persians. Then Dario, fearing that ihis chariots becoming useless if the Macedonians advanced over rough terrain, he ordered the first ranks of his left wing to go around the right wing of the Macedonians, where Alexander commanded, to prevent him from marching with his wing. further. As soon as Darius set his entire battle line in motion, Alexander ordered Arete, his general who controlled the left ground units and javelinmen, to attack those who were retreating around his right wing; and until that moment Alexander himself led his men in column. But when the Persians managed to break through the front line of their army by charging their cavalry to help those making the flanking movement, Alexander turned towards the gap, forming a wedge between the cavalry and part of the phalanx. He led them with a loud battle cry followed by every unit of his army, so loud that it frightened the Persians and forced the front line to begin a retreat. Darius quickly saw what was happening and ordered them to stay and fight. Alexander rode straight towards Darius, seeking the glory that would come if he killed the Great King of Persia himself. Then came a brief melee; but while Alexander and his troops advanced vigorously, pushing against the Persians and striking the forces with their great sarissae, Darius, whose courage had already been shaken, had turned and fled. Likewise, the Persians who were trying to outflank, panicked by Arete's vigorous attack, fled; to the Macedonians they chased and slaughtered those they captured. Alexander's victory at the Battle of Gaugamela on the Persian plains was a decisive conquest that ensured the defeat of the Persian king Darius III. Alexander then moved to the city of Sardis, the capital of ancient Lydia. This was an important city firstly for the quantity of Persian troops stationed there, secondly for its control over an important road leading from the interior of Sardis towards the Aegean [Ajian] coast, and thirdly place due to its access to the wide and fertile plains of the Hermus where important foods destined for the city could be cultivated and developed throughout the year. It then moved on to Phoenicia, an ancient civilization composed of independent city-states that were located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. First starting from Baalbek. Baalbek was a religiously devout city that was not loyal to the Persians who currently ruled it with constant religious interference. For this reason they surrendered to Alexander and his army without fighting. Next came the destruction of the Phoenician city of Sidon. Alexander attempted a peace offer to allow Sidon to surrender without a fight. They refused in disgust, calling Alexander a tyrant. Alexander was so insulted by being called a Tyrant that he ordered his engineers to besiege the high city walls and invade the city without mercy. Killing over 2,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilians, Alexander captured and sold the rest into slavery, hoping to make an example of them. This seemed to work because after the fall of Sidon, the important and very wealthy trading city of Aleppo sent delegates to Alexander offering a golden crown as a symbol of their surrender. After the fall of Aleppo there followed the long siege of the well-protected Tyre. After Tire fell quite easily under Alexander's control once the walls collapsed, Alexander conquered Syria, which more than willingly surrendered without hesitation. Alexander then completed the conquest of the Levant, the name given to the eastern Mediterranean coastal lands of Asia Minor and Phoenicia. Alexander then moved to the mysterious lands of Egypt and was welcomed as a liberator and conquered Egypt without a fight. Alessandro and all.