The Conquest and Legacy of Alexander the Great

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Alexander III was a young man at the time that he succeeded his father Phillip II, to the throne of Macedonia in the fourth century B.C.E. Alexander was only twenty years old at the time of his ascent to the throne. Young Alexander quickly showed the Macedonians that he was ready for the task of leadership by immediately securing the Macedonia frontiers and halting a rebellion in Greece. In the Spring of 334 B.C.E, Alexander showed great determination when he successfully invaded and conquered the Persian Empire. He followed this success with the conquest of the western half of Asia Minor and victory in the Battle of Issus by the Spring of 333 B.C.E. By Winter of 332 B.C.E, Alexander had conquered Syria, Palestine and Egypt. At this point he gave himself the traditional title of Pharaoh of Egypt. After these successes, Alexander took the bold step of founding a city and naming it Alexandria, after him. This was the first in a series of cities named Alexandria. Next, Alexander went to battle with the Persians in ancient Mesopotamia and was again victorious. He followed this with the conquest of Babylon and the acquisition of the Persian Treasures of gold and silver. Alexander began pursuing the Persian King, Darius III, who had been evading him since his conquest of Persia. When Darius was finally killed by one of his kinsmen, Alexander took the title and office of ‘Great King of the Persians’ (Duicker 2009). This completed Alexander’s acquisition of the Persian Empire and made him the king of Greece. By the summer of 327 B.C.E, Alexander had moved further east of the Persian Empire and had conquered Pakistan. Alexander refused to be satisfied with what he had achieved and continued his conquests. By 326 B.C.E he had taken parts of India. Eventually, Alexander’s men began to tire of his relentless pursuits and rebelled. They refused to continue the

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