Alexander The Great Research Paper

From the time spent in his youth learning under Aristotle, to his work towards gaining leadership of the Corinthian League, to his conquests in the Eastern world, Alexander The Great was able to build one of the most immense empires the world has ever seen. The beginning of this vast empire occurred when Alexander took control of the throne of a small Greek city-state known as Macedonia. At it’s peak, the Macedonian empire stretched from Greece to Pakistan. An empire at this time was unheard of. Alexander’s youth was accountable for much the success of the Macedonian conquests. On July 20th, 356 BC, Alexander was born in the Pella, Macedonia to parents King Phillip and Queen Olympia. The earliest education Alexander would receive was under …show more content…
The surrounding Greek city-states which King Phillip had unified under the Corinthian league were seeking to take leadership of the league for themselves. In response, Alexander sent an army to the region of Thessaly to force the the city-states into acknowledging him as leader of the Corinthian league. This leadership was officialized at a meeting in Thermopylae in 336, where treaties with Greek states were reissued, and Alexander was given full control of the Persian conquests.(Alexander The Great, n. d.) Before the newly established king would begin his invasion of Asia Minor, he conquered the Thracian Triballians to secure the Northern Macedonian border. However, at the end of his Thracian campaign, Alexander received word that the city-state Thebes had forced out stationed Macedonian troops, Alexander was quick to respond, and brought a vast army consisting of 3,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry to Thebes. Three days after Alexander’s army had reached Thebes, the Macedonians led the Massacre of Thebes.(Walbank, n. d.) The genocide in Thebes eliminated a fear of revolt from the Greek city-states and also solidified Alexander’s leadership in the Corinthian league. With Greece completely under Alexander’s control, Alexander was able to devote all of his focus to foreign conquests, and begin building an …show more content…
In the winter of 334, he began the invasion of Asia Minor(Wilbank 2015). The first battle of the Persian conquest was along the Granicus river. Although the Persians greatly outnumbered the Macedonian army, Alexander’s military expertise learned in the earlier Greek conflicts would be very useful in this battle, and the Macedonian army won handily, forcing King Darius to flee. The two armies would later clash again at Issus, where once again, Alexander’s military formations would prove too much for the Persians..(Alexander The Great, n. d.) Due to the Persian’s great success and wealth, Alexander would be able to use his newly acquired lands to fuel more foreign conquest. In November of 332, Alexander took his army South to Egypt. However, the Egyptians showed no resistance to Alexander’s army, and surrendered. Alexander was crowned Pharaoh, and with Egypt under his control, Alexander had conquered most of the eastern Mediterranean coast. The Macedonian army now advanced into Mesopotamia, with a focus on Babylon. Alexander’s army was met with an opposition from Mazaeus, the Persian governor of Babylon. Once again, the Macedonians decisively won, and the city of Babylon was conquered. After taking Babylon, Alexander and the Macedonian’s continued taking small parts of Persia. In one of these battles, King Darius was stabbed and wounded.(Walbank, n. d.) With the Persian king deceased, there