Despite being one of the greatest conquerors in world history, the tale of Alexander the Great has remained one of ‘what could have been’. All of us have read a fair bit about him in the history books in schools, how he led his indomitable army across the world and invaded one nation after another. Alexander has been a popular subject for historians over the centuries, with the experts trying to understand the military genius of the man and also his administrative acumen. At one point of time in history, Alexander became a benchmark of sorts when it came to greatness as a conqueror. In this article, we will try to delve into his life and trace his journey till his tragic and untimely death.
Alexander: The young king of Macedonia who conquered the world
The boy who tamed a horse
Alexander was born in 356 BCE at Pella, the capital of Macedonia or the kingdom of Macedon. He was the son of Philip II and Olympias (daughter of King Neoptolemus of Epirus). There is an interesting tale about how Alexander once tamed a horse in his childhood and impressed his father. When he was just ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, hoping to sell it. The horse refused to be tamed and Philip ordered to take it away. However, Alexander sensed that the horse was afraid of its own shadow, and managed to tame it. According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, a proud Philip kissed his son tearfully and said that Macedon is too small for his ambitions. He bought the horse for Alexander, who named it Bucephalas, and it carried him as far as India.
Alexander: The student of Artistotle
When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor and finally chose the legendary Aristotle. He was taught in the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza, along with Ptolemy, Hephaistion, and Cassander. Many of the children of Macedonian nobles would later become his friends and future generals, and are often known as the “Companions”. Aristotle taught Alexander about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Alexander loved the works of Homer and in particular the Iliad. Aristotle gave him an annotated copy of that epic, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.
The rise and fall of young Alexander
In 340 BCE, when Alexander was just 16 years old, Philip attacked Byzantium and left him in charge of Macedonia. Soon, he defeated the revolt of the Thracian tribe of Maedi. A couple of years later, he commanded the left wing at the Battle of Chaeronea, in which Philip defeated the allied Greek states, and displayed personal courage in breaking the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite military corps. As per historical documents, during the campaign against the Greek city of Perinthus, Alexander reportedly saved his father’s life. His fortune when it came to military excellence was on the rise, but in his personal life, the stars refused to shed any light.
In 338 BC, Philip married Cleopatra Eurydice, the niece of his general Attalus. Alexander’s position as the heir became less secure since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. A bitter quarrel took place at a feast held to celebrate his father’s new marriage, and it led Alexander and his mother to escape to Epirus, where his maternal uncle was a king. Later. Alexander went to Illyria. But the father-son duo were soon reconciled and Alexander returned, but his position as heir was jeopardized.
Alexander: The king of Macedonia
In 336 BC, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards, Pausanias, who was in turn killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander’s companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. The nobles and army declared Alexander the king, and he was just 20 years old. After becoming the king of Macedonia, he executed the princes of Lyncestis, alleged to be behind his father’s murder, along with all possible rivals and the whole of the faction who were against him. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive, an act that made infuriate Alexander. He ordered the murder of Attalus, who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra’s uncle.
The rise of one of the greatest conquerors
After becoming the king of Macedonia, Alexander marched south, recovered a wavering Thessaly, and at an assembly of the Greek League of Corinth was appointed generalissimo for the forthcoming invasion of Asia, already planned and initiated by Philip. He crushed the Triballi, defeated the Getae, crushed a coalition of Illyrians, razed the revolting Thebes down to the ground, killed 6,000 people and sold the survivors into slavery. The brutality stunned and frightened other Greek states.
Alexander had hoped to conquer Persia for a long, mainly because of its wealth. In 334, he crossed the Dardanelles, leaving Antipater, who had already faithfully served his father, as his deputy in Europe with over 13,000 men; he commanded about 30,000 foot and over 5,000 cavalries, of whom nearly 14,000 were Macedonians and about 7,000 allies sent by the Greek League. His second in command was Parmenio, who had already secured a foothold in Asia Minor. Surveyors, engineers, architects, scientists, court officials, and historians also went with the army.
He conquered Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant, and captured Tyre. Later, he would go on to annex Egypt, which was only one of a large number of territories taken by him from the Persians. During his stay in Egypt, he founded the famous city of Alexandria. Then he invaded Assyria and Babylon, and then finally captured Persia. He stormed the pass of the Persian Gates which had been blocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury. On entering Persepolis, Alexander’s troops looted the city for several days.
Alexander in India
When Alexander set out for Asia, he left his general Antipater in charge of Macedonia. Greece largely enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during his campaign in Asia as Alexander used to send back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire.
As Alexandar marched towards India, Omphis (Indian name Ambhi), the ruler of Taxila, hastened to accept him as the overlord. He helped Alexander’s troops to construct a bridge over the Indus, supplied them with provisions, and received Alexander himself, and his whole army, in Taxila, with every demonstration of friendship and the most liberal hospitality. The highlight of Alexander’s India conquest was the Battle of the Hydaspes, in which he fought against King Porus, the rival of Omphis, in 326 BC. Even though Porus was defeated, Alexander was so impressed by his bravery and courage that he not reinstated his territory but also expanded it with Alexander’s forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus’ kingdom. Further, Omphis was reconciled with Porus and sent back to Taxila. Alexander founded two cities on opposite sides of the Hydaspes river, naming one Bucephala, in honour of his horse, who died around this time, and the other was Nicaea (Victory).
Death of Alexander
At the age of 32, Alexander died either on June 10 or 11, 323 BC, in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon. There are two detailed versions of his death. According to Plutarch, around 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus. He spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa. Then he developed a fever, which worsened to render him speechless. In another account, Diodorus says that Alexander was struck with pain after drinking a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Heracles. After that, he was weak for 11 days. He did not develop a fever but died from some agony.
Accounts of some historians have claimed that Alexander was poisoned, though it was countered with the logic that 12 days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available. In a 2003 BBC documentary probing Alexander’s death, Leo Schep from the New Zealand National Poisons Centre proposed that the plant white hellebore (Veratrum album) could have been used to poison Alexander. He suggested Alexander’s wine was spiked with the Veratrum album.
According to other theories, Alexander died of natural causes like malaria and typhoid fever. As per an article in the New England Journal of Medicine published in 1998, he died because of typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis. Other illnesses fit the symptoms, including acute pancreatitis, West Nile virus, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
