ALEXANDER THE GREAT   

                It is said that he was born from Zeus himself, a demi-god in the flesh. He tamed an unbreakable wild stallion that full-grown men feared to approach at the age of 12, and that horse would carry him to military victory after military victory until his untimely death at the age of 32. He was tutored by one of the ancient world's greatest thinkers. His name says it all- Alexander The Great. But how much about Alexander is really true, and what's fiction? And ultimately, with a whopping zero Instagram followers, can we truly say he was all that great? Haters and historians alike will tell you that Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC to the Macedonian king Phillip II and his wife, Olympias. A true Greek however knows that Alexander was actually the love child of Zeus himself, who had a nasty habit of popping down to earth and taking various animal shapes to con women into sleeping with him. In many ways, Zeus was the original frat boy. Alexander's father was already an impressive figure - a brilliant military leader and politician both.

            Through force of arms and political maneuvering, he turned Macedonia into a military and cultural powerhouse- which was a pretty impressive feat because, in the ancient world, Macedonia was basically the backwoods of Greece. Phillip's ambitions though weren't limited to his strengthening of Macedonia, and he had a dream that would be handed down to his son, Alexander- to conquer the mighty empire of Persia. To date, Persia had been a world superpower, premier in many fields of science and philosophy, it was backed by a formidable military which tried again and again to destroy the stubborn, and defiant, Greeks. To dream of conquering this mighty nation was to put it lightly, a very optimistic dream. At the age of 13, Alexander was personally tutored by Aristotle, a man so famous that even if you know nothing about his teachings, you definitely recognize the name. One of the ancient world's greatest minds, Aristotle fostered a curiosity in the young prince and sharpened an already formidable intellect. Alexander learned philosophy, medicine, politics, and art from Aristotle- and also that he should treat non-Greeks as if they were slaves.

          Thankfully, when Alexander would begin his military conquests later in life, he would discard this belief, and this would help establish his mighty if short-lived empire. In 340 BC, Philip went off to attack Byzantium and left the young Alexander in charge of things at home. Alexander used the opportunity to prove that even though he was just a teenager, he was destined to be a great leader, and gathered the army for a successful attack against the Maedi - a people who lived in what is now the southeastern Baltics. Two years later Philip returned home, determined to unite Greece under one banner, and went to war against a coalition of Greek city-states led by Thebes and Athens. In that battle, Alexander led the cavalry toa triumphant defeat of the legendary Sacred Band of Thebes, a fighting force made up of150 pairs of lovers. This victory catapulted an already popularAlexander to new heights of popularity with the Macedonian military. Alexander would need that popularity too, as a year later Philip divorced Alexander's mother, and then in a feast to celebrate his new marriage, Philip got into a fight with Alexander over his new wife. 

            Alexander and his mother fled for fear of their lives, though Philip and Alexander were soon reconciled and he was allowed to return home. When Philip was assassinated shortly afterthought, Alexander was not the clear heir to the throne, and he rallied the support ofthe military to help him kill his potential rivals. Solidifying his grip over Greece, Alexander then attended an assembly of Greek city-states that had already been called for by his father. The Greeks were finally going to make goodon the ancient dream of conquering Persia, and the assembly unanimously voted to make Alexandre supreme commander of Greek forces. Before crushing Greece's ancient rival though, he needed to secure the Greek peninsula. Alexander spent some time bringing wayward city-states into the fold- often by military force- as well as waging campaigns against the Thracians to the north. While in battle though, rumors of his death circulated back in Greece, and the city-state of Thebes used the opportunity to revolt. As many other Greek city-states favored Thebesover Alexander, support for the fledgling rebellion flowed in-, especially from Athens. Upon hearing of the brewing revolt, Alexander forced a hard march on his troops, traveling an astounding 240 miles (386 km) in just two weeks to the gates of Thebes. 

           The Thebans however refused to rejoin Alexander and he was forced to lay siege to the city, ultimately burning it to the ground and selling off any survivors into slavery. With the rest of the city-states terrified at the treatment of Thebes, they quickly fell in line, and in an act of generosity which would earn him some favor with the Greeks, he forgave Athens' betrayal. Leaving behind three garrisons, Alexander was now free to take on Persia. By comparison, Greece was tiny versus mighty Persia, but Alexander was confident that his men were better trained and equipped. His superior troops would outweigh Persia'ssuperior numbers. That theory would be put to the test in 333BC when Alexander's forces met with a massive Persian army led by the new king, Darius III. Alexander's belief that his superior troops could win out over superior numbers was well-founded. The Persians had largely become complacent in the last century, and their military forces suffered from a noticeable lack of discipline as well as a lack of cavalry. Alexander by comparison fielded an army comprised of archers, javelin throwers, infantry, and heavy cavalry. 

             His mastery of what was in that day combined-arms warfare saw him utterly crush the Persian forces laid out against him. With defeat inevitable, the Persian king fled the battlefield with the few forces that he could muster into a hasty withdrawal. Darius III was so hasty in his retreat that he even left behind his own wife and family, and his mother was so ashamed of him that she disowned him publicly and adopted Alexander as her own son. This gesture would be paramount to Alexander'scementing of his grip on what was formerly the Persian empire. Over the next few years, Alexander would continue his push east and south, striking deep into the Persian empire and taking Egypt. Time and again Darius sued for peace, and alexander rejected each overture. At last, he forced a confrontation with Persia'sking at Gaugamela in 331 BC and faced off against another large Persian force. The fighting was intense, each side knowing they were fighting for total victory and the fate of Persia. Ultimately though, Alexander's forces would be triumphant, and once more Darius fled the battle. This time though, his own men caught and killed him for his cowardice. 

                Alexander however proved to be honorable, and upon finding Darius' body, he gave the former Persian king a royal funeral. Some sources also state that he punished the murderers for daring to strike down their king. With Darius dead, Alexander was free to claim the throne of Persia for himself- except another Persian leader, Bessus, had already claimed the throne for himself. This would prove to be what historians call, a slight miscalculation. Alexander's forces pursued Bessus and hisarmy until finally Bessus' own troops captured him and handed him over to the Greeks. Bessus was tortured and then killed, and Alexander was finally king of Persia. The empire that had threatened Greece for centuries was now, at last, itself a Greek territory. To secure his hold on Persia, Alexandergranted large amounts of freedom to Persian territories, even allowing them to govern themselves in exchange for loyalty to him. He did not force conversions of Persian culture or religion, the way most rulers did back in his day, and instead actually adopted many Persian customs for himself.

              This made him very popular with the Persians, although it made him just as unpopular with his own Macedonian troops. One of his generals and close friends drunkenly insulted Alexander's adoption of Persian culture, and in a fit of rage, Alexander killed him. This proved to further drive a wedge between him and his native Macedonians. Feeling that further conquests would help stabilize his political situation, and further feeding his appetite for glory, Alexanderrallied his forces once more and marched on India. Many tribes surrendered to Alexander withouta fight, and in exchange, he once more granted them many freedoms that other conquerors wouldn’t have given them. In 326 BC though, Alexander faced King Porus of Paurava, whose army was less experienced but packed a superweapon- the war elephant. Initially, the war elephants sowed fear and devastation upon Alexander's army, but the big beasts were vulnerable to Alexander'slightning-fast cavalry.  

              The elephants were brought down and Alexandersecured defeat. His troops though, completely exhausted, refused to continue with Alexander's plan to push further into India and seize all of it. Instead, Alexander wisely chose to let his troops rest. Though the Greeks had been enriched greatly off Persia's vast wealth, they resented the Persians after centuries of warfare. Knowing he would never hold on to his new empire unless he could unite the two sides, he forced the mass marriage of his Greek officers to Persian princesses, hoping that their sons and daughters would be explicitly loyal to him. This move turned out to be even more unpopular, and many Greeks threatened to mutiny until Alexander replaced them with Persian officers and soldiers. Not wanting to be left out of future spoils, his troops backed off their threats to mutiny, and in an attempt at reconciliation, Alexander threw a fantastic banquet for all and returned all military titles and honors to the mutinous officers. Alexander’s conquest of Persia and forays into India helped spread Greek culture and influence across the ancient world, as well as bringing some of the best of Persian thinking to the Greek world. 

            The unity that his conquests had brought to two of the greatest people of the ancient world would spur the Hellenistic age, and alexander founded many of the ancient world's most important centers of cultural and scientific development. Among many of his accomplishments was the setting of a silver standard for currency, which facilitated trade all across his former empire. His liberating of huge amounts of wealth from the former Persian empire's treasury also greatly boosted trade and wealth across the Mediterranean, and a period of prosperity settled over the region. Alexander's empire proved to be short-lived though, following his mysterious death at the age of 32 made him one of history's shortest-lived rulers. Some believe that he was poisoned by a political rival- of which he had many both on the Greek and the Persian side. Others though believe that he died due to malaria which he contracted during his travels in India. 

                Whatever the cause of his death, Alexander proved to be the only thing holding the fragile empire he had created together, and following his passing, it immediately began to fall apart at the seams. His generals began to war amongst themselves in a bid to become the new supreme ruler. Ultimately it's unknown if Alexander could have really held his empire together even if he had lived. His conquests had brought together many disparate peoples under one banner, most of them who did not share a common culture. Even while alive his empire strained and groaned under the pressure of revolution, and it was only his political shrewdness along with savagery against his political enemies that kept it together while alive. How long this could have lasted remains in doubt, and ultimately it's likely even if he had not died from disease or poison, it would have eventually imploded anyway. For more crazy stories about history’s worldleaders go watch “Genghis Khan - Greatest Conqueror Ever” And as always don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more great content!