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Alexander the Great is the great commander of antiquity, who managed to subjugate most of Asia in a short time, reaching India and Pakistan. He went down in history as a conqueror who did not lose a single battle. Such success was facilitated by the tactical talent of the ruler and the choice of strategy: the Macedonian army always acted quickly and suddenly, while doing so with small casualties. Alexander's most famous principle to this day is the motto: "Divide and rule."

Childhood and youth

Alexander was born in the Macedonian capital of Pella. He came from the valiant Argead dynasty, which, according to legend, traces its origins to the famous hero. Alexander's father was the Macedonian king Philip II. Mother - Olympias, daughter of the king of Epirus. Her pedigree is no less noble - according to legend, he himself was the founder of the Pyrrhid family. The realization of belonging to two great dynasties influenced the formation of certain personal qualities of a young man.

Wikipedia

Due to the polygamy of his father, Alexander had several half-sisters and brothers, but only the elder Philip, who was recognized as demented, was considered native. The boy grew up in an ambiguous environment: he admired the valor of his father, who waged endless wars with the Greek policies, but at the same time felt personal dislike for him, as he was under the influence of his mother, who turned her son against her husband.

Alexander studied at an early age not at home, but according to the established tradition - with relatives. He studied at Miez, and the teachers were Leonid, who insisted on a Spartan lifestyle, and the actor Lysimachus, who taught the young heir to the throne in rhetoric and ethics.

From the age of 13 he began to be brought up by a great thinker, who was well acquainted with his father. The philosopher, realizing that he was the mentor of the future ruler, focused on the study of politics, ethics and philosophy. In addition, trying to give the ward a classical education, the teacher taught the prince medicine, literature and poetics.

Ancient Pages

Alexander from an early age showed such qualities as ambition, stubbornness and determination. On the other hand, he was indifferent to physical pleasures, limited himself to food and showed no interest in the opposite sex for a long time.

Already in childhood, the future strategist had an outstanding intellect and ingenuity. Having met a delegation of Persian ambassadors in the absence of his father, he did not ask them a single frivolous question. The boy was interested in such things as the quality of roads, the features of urban life and the culture of a foreign state. At the age of 10, the teenager managed to saddle the rebellious horse Bucephalus, who later became his faithful friend in all campaigns. Alexander noticed that the stallion was frightened by his own shadow, so he avoided turning on his horse against the sun.

Alexander the Great and Diogenes. Artist Jean-Baptiste Regnault / Beaux-Arts de Paris

For the first time, the father entrusted the administration of Macedonia to his son when he was 16 years old. Philip himself went to conquer Byzantium, and at that time an uprising arose in his homeland, the instigator of which was the Thracian tribes. The young prince, with the help of the regiments remaining in the capital, suppressed the rebellion, and on the site of the Thracian settlement he founded the city of Alexandropol in his honor. After 2 years, he again acted as a successful commander, commanding the left wing of the Macedonian army in the battle of Chaeronea. In 336 BC. e. King Philip is killed and Alexander is proclaimed king of Macedonia.

Rule and great campaigns

Having come to power, Alexander destroys the enemies of his father, who were guilty of his death, and cancels taxes. Then, within 2 years, he suppresses the barbarian Thracian tribes in the north of the country and restores Macedonian power in Greece.

Alexander the Great enters Babylon. Artist Charles Lebrun / Louvre

After that, Alexander unites all Hellas and makes a great campaign against Persia, which Philip had dreamed about all his life. The battles with the Persians fully demonstrated the amazing military talent of Alexander the Great. After the Battle of the Granik River in 334 BC. e. Almost all of Asia Minor is under the rule of the Macedonians. And Alexander himself found the glory of the greatest commander and conqueror.

Having subjugated Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Caria and other countries of the Middle East almost without a fight, Alexander went to Egypt, where he was greeted like a new deity. In Egypt, the king founds another city in his honor - Alexandria.

The family of Darius before Alexander the Great. Artist Francois Fontebasco / Wikipedia

Returning to Persia, Alexander conquered Susa, Persepolis, and Babylon. The latter city became the capital of the united power. In 329, the crown king of Persia, Darius, was killed by his own close associates, and Alexander again shows himself as a smart tactician and strategist. He declares that the killers of the king, and not the conquerors, are to blame for the fall of the Persian Empire, and calls himself an avenger for the honor of Darius.

Alexander becomes the king of Asia and within 2 years captures Sogdean and Bactria, that is, modern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Occupying new territories, Alexander founded cities in his honor. For example, Alexandria Eskhata and Alexandria in Arachosia, which have survived to our times under the names of Khujand and Kandahar.

Alexander cuts the Gordian knot. Artist Jean-Simon Berthelemy / Beaux-Arts de Paris

In 326 BC. Alexander the Great undertook a campaign against India. He managed to capture several tribes and conquer the territory of present-day Pakistan. But, having crossed the Indus River, the exhausted army went on strike and refused to move on. Alexander was forced to deploy troops back after a triumphant 10-year advance deep into the Asian part of the Eurasian continent.

The peculiarity of Alexander the Great as a ruler was that he accepted the traditions and beliefs of the occupied territories, did not try to spread his own culture, and even sometimes left the former kings and rulers as governors. Such a policy prevented a surge of uprisings in the conquered territories, but every year more and more caused discontent among compatriots. The same tactics would later be used by the ancient Roman emperors.

Personal life

In his personal life, Alexander the Great showed the same love of freedom and independence from other people's judgments as in military affairs. The harem of Alexander the Great numbered 360 concubines, of which Campaspe is distinguished, she was his mistress for 2 years, starting from 336, and 7 years older than Alexander Barsin, who became the mother of his illegitimate son Hercules. In addition, his relationship with the Amazon queen Thalestris and the Indian princess Cleophis are known.

Alexander had three wives. The first was the Bactrian princess Roxana, whom the king took as his wife when the bride was only 14 years old. According to legend, the girl was a prisoner, the king could not resist her beauty and fell in love at first sight. They got married in 327 BC. e .. She gave birth to the only officially recognized child of the great commander - the son of Alexander, who was born a month after the death of his father.

Alexander the Great and Roxana. Artist Pietro Antonio Rotari / Hermitage

After 3 years, the king married two Persian princesses at the same time - the daughter of King Darius Stateira and the daughter of King Artaxerxes III Parisatis. Both additional marriages are considered to be committed solely for political reasons. True, this did not prevent the first wife, Roxana, from inflaming with jealousy and killing Stateira on this basis immediately after the death of her husband.

Alexander the Great had advanced views for his time on relationships with women, whom he respected and considered almost equal to men, although even his teacher Aristotle insisted on the secondary role of women.

Death

In the winter of 323 B.C. e. Alexander begins to plan new campaigns against the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula and the conquest of Carthage. The plans of the king - the subjugation of the entire Mediterranean. After a short rest, he begins the construction of a new port in the Persian Gulf and the renewal of the flotilla.

Less than a week before the start of the enterprise, the great commander falls seriously ill, presumably with malaria. The doubt of researchers is that the infectious disease does not manifest itself in any way among the closest circle of contacts of the ruler. Hypotheses were put forward about blood cancer, which took on a transient character, pneumonia, typhoid fever and liver failure. In addition, there are versions about the poisoning of Alexander.

Monument to Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki, Greece / Nikolai Karaneschev, Wikipedia

For several months the ruler could not get up from the bed of his house in Babylon. From the beginning of June, speech is denied and he is overtaken by a severe fever that lasted 10 days. June 10, 323 BC the great king and commander Alexander the Great died. At the time of his death, he was 32 years old, he did not live a month before his 33rd birthday.

Soon after the death of Alexander the Great, the disintegration of the state began. The conquered territory was divided among the commanders of the ruler's troops. None of the king's heirs - Alexander and Hercules - entered the struggle for the throne, since both were killed as children, which meant the end of the Argead dynasty. Nevertheless, the spread of Greek culture in most of the states of Asia Minor and Central Asia gave impetus to the emergence of Hellenism in these territories.

Memory

The influence of Alexander the Great on the development of culture, politics and economy of the ancient world can hardly be overestimated. Already in antiquity, he was recognized as the greatest conqueror of all times and peoples. In the Middle Ages, his biography served as the source of the plot "The Romance of Alexander", which was supplemented by many fictional facts. In the future, the image of the commander inspired playwrights to create portraits, sculptures and works of art. In the city of Thessaloniki, a statue of the great conqueror on horseback was erected.

In world cinema, the personality of Alexander the Great has repeatedly become a source of inspiration for screenwriters and directors. Famous Hollywood films "Alexander the Great" in 1956 and "Alexander" in 2004 starring.

Films

• 1956 - "Alexander the Great"
• 2004 - "Alexander"

The content of the article

ALEXANDER THE GREAT (MAcedonian)(356–323 BC), king of Macedonia, founder of the Hellenistic world power; the most famous general of antiquity. Born at the end of July 356 BC in Pella, the capital of Macedonia. The son of the Macedonian king Philip II (359–336 BC) and Olympias, daughter of the Molossian king Neoptolem. He received an aristocratic upbringing at the Macedonian court; studied writing, mathematics, music and playing the lyre; acquired a broad knowledge of Greek literature; especially loved Homer and the tragedians. In 343–340 BC in Miez (a Macedonian city on the Strymon river) he listened to lectures by the philosopher Aristotle specially invited to him on ethics, politics, and natural science. From a young age, he showed a strong-willed character and prudence; possessed great physical strength; tamed the skittish horse Bukefala, which no one managed to curb - this horse became his constant companion in all military campaigns.

In 340 BC, when Philip II, having gone to fight with Perinth, a Greek city on the European coast of the Propontis (modern Sea of ​​Marmara), entrusted the fourteen-year-old Alexander with the management of the state, he discovered a military gift, decisively suppressing the uprising of the tribe of the Medes in Northern Paeonia . At the age of sixteen, he played a key role in the victory of the Macedonians over the Greeks near Chaeronea (Boeotia) on August 2, 338 BC, which led to the establishment of Macedonian hegemony in Hellas (). Successfully carried out a diplomatic mission to Athens, one of the main centers of anti-Macedonian resistance, offering the Athenians honorable terms of peace; was awarded Athenian citizenship.

Came into conflict with Philip II after his divorce from Olympias and fled to Illyria. Through the mediation of the Corinthian Demaratus, he reconciled with his father and returned to Pella. However, their relationship worsened again when Philip II opposed Alexander's marriage to Ada, the daughter of the influential and wealthy Carian king Pixodar, and expelled his closest friends from Macedonia.

first years of government.

After the murder of his father in the spring of 336 BC. (in which, according to one version, he was involved) became the Macedonian king with the support of the army; destroyed potential contenders for the throne - his half-brother Karan and cousin Aminta. Having learned that many Greek policies refused to recognize him as the hegemon of Hellas, in the early summer of 336 BC. moved to Greece, achieved his election as the head of the Thessalian Union and the Delphic Amphictyony (the religious association of the states of Central Greece) and obedience from Athens and Thebes. He convened in Corinth a congress of the Panhellenic (pan-Greek) league created by Philip II, at which, on his initiative, it was decided to start a war against the Achaemenid state (); for its conduct, he was appointed strategist-autocrator (supreme commander) of Hellas. His famous meeting with the Cynic philosopher Diogenes also took place there: in response to Alexander’s question if he had any request, Diogenes asked the king not to block the sun for him. Upon returning to his homeland, he committed in the spring of 335 BC. victorious campaign against the mountainous Thracians, Triballians and Illyrians, securing the northern borders of Macedonia.

A false rumor about the death of Alexander in Illyria caused a widespread anti-Macedonian uprising in Greece, led by the Thebans. Having interrupted the northern campaign, he swiftly invaded Central Greece and took Thebes by storm; some of the inhabitants were killed, the survivors (more than 30 thousand) were sold into slavery, and the city was razed to the ground. The rest of the policies, frightened by the fate of Thebes, submitted to Alexander.

Persian campaign.

conquest of Asia Minor.

Having distributed all the property to his entourage and warriors and entrusted the administration of Macedonia to the strategist Antipater, in the spring of 334 BC. at the head of a small Greek-Macedonian army (about 30 thousand infantry and 5 thousand horsemen), Alexander crossed the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) to Asia Minor and entered the Achaemenid state. In early June, he defeated the sixty-thousandth army of Persian satraps in Asia Minor in the battle on the river Granik (modern Bigachai), showing great personal courage in it, and captured the Hellespontian Phrygia and Lydia. His power was voluntarily recognized by almost all Greek cities on the western coast of Asia Minor, in which he overthrew the pro-Persian oligarchic and tyrannical regimes and established a democratic system; by force he had to take only Miletus and Halicarnassus. After the subjugation of Caria, where Alexander took advantage of the struggle for power of local aristocratic groups, the entire western part of Asia Minor was in his hands.

In the winter of 334/333 BC moved along the southern coast of the peninsula and conquered Lycia and Pamphylia, and then turned north and invaded the interior of Asia Minor. Having defeated the Pisids, he occupied Phrygia; according to legend, in Gordia, the ancient Phrygian capital, he cut the tangled knot that fastened the chariot of the mythical king Midas with a sword blow - there was a belief that the one who untied it would become the ruler of the world.

Despite the attempt of the Persians to prevent the further advance of the Macedonians by transferring hostilities to the Aegean basin (the capture of the islands of Chios and Lesvos), Alexander continued his campaign deep into the Persian state. He crossed Paphlagonia and Cappadocia without hindrance, crossed the Taurus Range through the pass of the Cilician Gates and subjugated Cilicia. In the summer of 333 BC the conquest of Asia Minor was completed.

Conquest of Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine and Egypt.

In the autumn of 333 BC a huge army (more than 200 thousand) of the Persian king Darius III Kodoman (336-330 BC) advanced to Cilicia and occupied the city of Iss. Not far from him on the river. Pinar On November 12, a battle took place in which Alexander, with only 60 thousand infantry and 5-7 thousand horsemen, won a brilliant victory over the Persians; the richest booty was captured, the mother, wife, young son and two daughters of Darius III were captured. Alexander gave the royal family an honorable position and generously endowed his army. The victory at Issus made him the ruler of the entire Western Asian Mediterranean.

Abandoning the pursuit of Darius III, who managed to escape across the Euphrates, Alexander headed south in order to cut off the Persians from the Mediterranean Sea, prevent their contacts with anti-Macedonian circles in Greece and gain a foothold in the conquered territories. Most of the cities of Phoenicia (Arvad, Byblos, Sidon, etc.) submitted to him, which deprived the Persians of the Phoenician fleet and the hope of conducting active naval operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Only Tire refused to allow the Macedonians into its walls. In July-August 332 BC after a heavy seven-month siege, the city fell; its defenders were exterminated, and those who had taken refuge in the temples were sold into slavery. At the same time, Alexander's military leaders finally broke the resistance of the Persians in the Aegean: they defeated enemy detachments in the west of Asia Minor, destroyed the Persian fleet near the Hellespont, and captured the entire island of Greece. Military successes allowed Alexander to reject, against the advice of the aged commander Parmenion, the peace proposals of Darius III, who promised to give him part of the Persian state and the hand of one of his daughters.

Having taken Tire, the Greco-Macedonian army entered the borders of Palestine. The power of Alexander was recognized by the Samaritans, but Judea and the South Palestinian city of Gaza remained loyal to the Persians. The capture and defeat of Gaza by the Macedonians, however, forced the Jewish elite to submit; at the same time, Judea managed to maintain political autonomy and even receive tax breaks.

In December 332 BC. Alexander freely took possession of Egypt (). In Memphis, the ancient Egyptian capital, he was proclaimed pharaoh. He pursued a flexible policy towards the local population: he showed respect for Egyptian temples in every possible way, tried to observe native customs. He left the civil administration of the country to the Egyptians, but transferred the army, finances and border areas under the control of the Macedonians and Greeks. In the Nile Delta he founded Alexandria, which became the stronghold of the Greek-Macedonian influence in Egypt (he was personally involved in the planning of the new city). He made an expedition to the Siwa oasis in the desert west of the Nile, where the sanctuary of the supreme Egyptian god Ammon, whom the Greeks identified with Zeus, was located; the temple oracle declared him the son of Ammon. However, he had to give up his intention to make the idea of ​​divine origin the basis of his political propaganda, since it was received with hostility by his environment; in the Macedonian army, opposition began to form, led by Parmenion.

Conquest of Mesopotamia and Iran.

In the spring of 331 BC. Alexander moved to Phenicia, where he crushed the Samaritan uprising. Planning to create New Macedonia, which would defend Palestine from nomads and guard the trade route along the eastern bank of the Jordan to South Arabia, he founded several cities in the north of Transjordan (Dion, Gerasa, Pella), populating them with his veterans and Greek-Macedonian colonists. In order to acquire rights to the Persian throne, he married Barsina, a relative of Darius III. In September 331 BC, with 40,000 infantry and 7,000 horsemen, he crossed the Euphrates at Thapsak, then across the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and on October 1, he utterly defeated the Persian army near the village of Gavgamela, numbering, according to data ancient historians, up to 1 million people. The military power of the Persian state was broken; Darius III fled to Media. The satrap of Babylonia Mazeus opened the gates of Babylon to the Macedonians; Alexander made generous sacrifices to the Babylonian gods and rebuilt the temples destroyed by Xerxes (486–465 BC). In December 331 BC Susiana's satrap Abulit handed over to him Susa (the official capital of the Achaemenid state) and the state treasury. After defeating the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes, Alexander captured Persepolis, the dynastic seat of the Achaemenids, and the personal treasury of Darius III; as punishment for the Hellenic shrines desecrated by Xerxes during the Greco-Persian wars, he gave the city to the soldiers for plunder. At the end of May 330 BC. set fire to the luxurious royal palace in Persepolis. On the other hand, he actively pursued a policy of rapprochement with the local Persian aristocracy, giving them high positions in the administration; retained control of Babylonia and Susiana for Mazey and Abulit, and appointed the noble Persian Frasaorta as the satrap of Persia.

In June 330 BC moved to the central regions of Iran. Darius III fled to the east, and the Macedonians, without meeting resistance, occupied Media and its main city, Ecbatana. Here Alexander released the Greek warriors to their homeland, emphasizing by this act that the all-Greek war against the Achaemenid state was over and that from that moment he began the campaign as the “king of Asia”.

conquest of Central Asia.

Pursuing Darius III, Alexander passed the Caspian Gates and entered Central Asia. In this situation, the local satraps Bess and Barsaent plotted against Darius III; they took him into custody, and when the Macedonians overtook the retreating Persians, they stabbed him (late June - early July 330 BC); Bess fled to his satrapy (Bactria and Sogdiana) and, referring to his kinship with the Achaemenids, proclaimed himself the new Persian king Artaxerxes IV. Alexander ordered the solemn burial of Darius III in Persepolis and declared himself an avenger for his death. Having passed through Parthia, Hyrcania, Aria and defeated the satrap of Aria Satibarzan, he captured Drangiana and, having overcome the Paropamis mountain range (modern Hindu Kush), invaded Bactria; Bess retreated beyond the river. Oks (modern Amu Darya) to Sogdiana.

In the spring of 329 BC. Alexander crossed the Oxus; Sogdian aristocrats gave him Bessus, whom he sent to be killed by the relatives of Darius III. The Macedonians occupied Marakanda, the main city of Sogdiana, and reached the river. Yaksart (modern Syr Darya). However, soon the Sogdians, led by Spitamen, revolted against the conquerors; they were supported by the Bactrians and the Saka nomads. For two years, Alexander tried with the most severe measures to suppress the anti-Macedonian movement. He managed to win the Sakas over to his side. In 328 BC Spitamenes fled to the Massagetae, who, fearing reprisals from the Macedonians, killed him. In 327 BC Alexander captured the Sogdian Rock - the last center of the uprising. As a sign of reconciliation with the local nobility, he married Roxana, the daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oksiart. To strengthen his power in this region, he founded the city of Alexandria Eskhata (Extreme; modern Khodzhent) on Jaxart and conquered the mountainous country of Paretaken southwest of Sogdiana. ( Cm. AFGHANISTAN).

After the capture of Mesopotamia, Alexander, in an effort to ensure the loyalty of the conquered regions, increasingly entered into the image of an eastern sovereign: he tried to assert the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis divine origin, established a magnificent court ritual, started a harem of three hundred concubines, observed Persian customs and wore Persian clothes. The distance of the king from the Macedonians caused great irritation among the soldiers, who were already dissatisfied with the continuation of the difficult campaign, as well as part of his entourage, mostly from Lower Macedonia. Autumn 330 BC the conspiracy of Philotas to kill the king was revealed; by decision of the Macedonian army, the conspirators were stoned to death; Alexander also ordered the death of Parmenion, the father of Philotas. In order to remove the most potentially rebellious part of the army from it, he sent home veterans and soldiers who were not fit for further service.

During the uprising in Sogdia, his relations with the Greek-Macedonian environment became even more aggravated. In the summer of 328 BC at a feast in Maracanda, Alexander killed one of his closest friends, Cleitus, who publicly accused him of neglecting his compatriots. There was an increase in autocratic tendencies, the ideological justification of which was the concept of the permissiveness of the monarch, formulated by the court philosopher Anaxarchus. Alexander's attempt to introduce the Persian rite of proskinesis (earthly bow to the monarch) became the reason for a new conspiracy drawn up by young Macedonian aristocrats from the king's personal guard ("conspiracy of pages"); their ideological inspiration was the philosopher and historian Callisthenes, a student of Aristotle. Only chance saved Alexander from death; the conspirators were stoned to death; Callisthenes, according to one version, was executed, according to another, he committed suicide in prison.

Hike to India.

Fascinated by the idea to reach the “edge of Asia” and become the ruler of the world, Alexander decided to undertake a campaign in India. In the late spring of 327 BC, having set out from Baktra, he crossed Paropamis and the river. Coffen (modern Kabul). Most of the kingdoms on the right bank of the Indus, including the strong state of Taxila, voluntarily submitted to him; their rulers retained their power and political autonomy, but were forced to accept the presence of Macedonian garrisons in their cities. Having defeated the Aspasians and Assakens (Ind. Asawaks), Alexander crossed the Indus and invaded the Punjab, where he faced fierce resistance from King Pora (Ind. Paurava), who owned a vast territory between the rivers Gidasp (modern Jelam) and Akesina (modern Chenab) . As a result of a bloody battle on the Hydaspes (late April - early May 326 BC), Porus's army was defeated, and he himself was captured. Alexander became the master of the Punjab. In an effort to make Time an ally, he not only left him his possessions, but also significantly expanded them. Having founded the cities of Nicaea and Bukefalia (in honor of his deceased horse) on the Hydaspes, he moved east: crossing the river. Hydraot (modern Ravi), conquered the Cathays and approached the river. Hyphasis (modern Sutlej), intending to invade the Ganges valley. However, the soldiers rebelled - they were tired of the endless campaign, hard to endure the natural and climatic conditions of India, and they were frightened by the prospect of war with the powerful state of the Nandas. Alexander had to turn back and give up his dream of world domination. He actually gave up control of the lands east of the Indus, handing it over to local rulers.

On the Hydaspes, the land army met the Macedonian fleet under the command of Nearchus and moved with it to the Indian Ocean. During the campaign, Alexander made a successful military expedition against the Malli and Oxidraks (Ind. Shudraka), who lived east of Hydraot, and subjugated the regions of Musikana, Oksikana and Samba. At the end of July 325 BC. reached Patala (modern Bahmanabad) and the Indus delta.

Return to Babylonia.

In September 325 BC. led an army to Persis along the ocean coast; the fleet was given the task of exploring the coastal sea route from the mouth of the Indus to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates. During the passage through Hydrosia (modern Balochistan), the Macedonians suffered greatly from a lack of water and food and from heavy rains. Only in November did they reach Pura, the administrative center of Hydrosia. When the army crossed Karmaniya (modern Kerman and Hormozgan), it turned into a disorderly and demoralized crowd. At the beginning of 324 BC. Alexander arrived at Pasargadae and then went to Susa, where he celebrated the end of the campaign (February 324 BC).

Having completed the campaign, he began to streamline his huge power, which included Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Iran, Central Asia and Northwestern India. He tried harsh measures to deal with the abuses of the Macedonian and Persian officials. He continued the policy of merging multilingual tribes into one whole; sought to create a single elite from the Greek-Macedonian and Persian elite. Ordered ten thousand Macedonian soldiers to marry women of local origin; married about eighty of his associates to Persian aristocrats. He himself married Stateira, daughter of Darius III, and Parisatis, daughter of Artaxerxes III Och (358–338 BC), legitimizing himself as the heir of the Achaemenids. Wanting to dilute the purely Macedonian composition of the guard, he actively enrolled noble Iranians in it; organized a special native corps, which included thirty thousand young men from the eastern regions of his empire. This increased the dissatisfaction of the Macedonian soldiers, which could not be extinguished by generous cash payments. In 324 BC in Opis (on the Tigris), where Alexander arrived with part of the army, the soldiers, having learned about his decision to dismiss veterans and unfit for service, raised a rebellion, which he managed to pacify with great difficulty.

To consolidate his power in Greece (especially after the unsuccessful campaign of the Macedonian commander Zopyrion in the Northern Black Sea region and the anti-Macedonian uprising in Thrace) in the summer of 324 BC. issued a decree on the return to the Greek policies of all political emigrants (except for the enemies of Macedonia) and on the restoration of their property rights. Seriously limited the powers of the Achaean, Arcadian and Boeotian unions (and maybe even completely dissolved). He achieved from the Greek states the recognition of himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon; in Hellas began to build the sanctuary of Alexander.

In the winter of 324/323 BC conducted his last campaign - against the Cossians (Kassites), who carried out robbery raids on Mesopotamia. After its successful completion, he led the army to Babylon, where he began to prepare for a campaign to the west: he intended to defeat Carthage, capture Sicily, North Africa and Spain and reach the Pillars of Hercules (modern Strait of Gibraltar). He also developed plans for military expeditions around the Hyrcanian (modern Caspian) Sea and to the south of the Arabian Peninsula; already announced the collection of the fleet and army. However, at the beginning of June 323 BC, having been at the feast of his friend Media, he fell ill: perhaps he caught a cold and got pneumonia, complicated by tropical malaria; there is a version that he was poisoned by Iola, the son of Antipater, whom he was going to deprive of the post of governor of Macedonia. He managed to say goodbye to the army and on June 13, 323 BC. died in his Babylonian palace; he was only thirty-three years old. The king's body was transported by one of his associates, Ptolemy Lagos, the ruler of Egypt, to Memphis and then to Alexandria.

The personality of Alexander is woven from contradictions. On the one hand, he is a brilliant commander, a courageous soldier, a well-educated person, an admirer of literature and art; on the other hand, an immense ambitious man, a strangler of Greek freedom, a cruel conqueror, an autocratic despot who considered himself a god. The historical significance of Alexander's activities: although the power he created fell apart shortly after his death, his conquests marked the beginning of the Hellenistic era; they created the conditions for the Greek-Macedonian colonization of the Middle East and Central Asia and for the intensive cultural interaction of the Hellenic and Eastern civilizations.

Both sons of Alexander - Hercules (from Barsina) and Alexander IV (from Roxana) - died during the wars of the Diadochi (Alexander's generals who divided his Empire): Hercules was killed in 310 BC. by order of the imperial regent Polysperchon, Alexander IV in 309 BC. by order of the ruler of Macedonia, Cassander.

Ivan Krivushin

The story of how one man with a small army conquered almost the entire then known world. His warriors saw him as a military genius, his enemies called him cursed. He himself considered himself a god.

noble lineage

Alexander the Great was born in July 356 BC from the marriage of the Macedonian king Philip and one of his many queens, Olympias. But he could boast of more famous ancestors. According to the dynastic legend, his father descended from Hercules, the son of Zeus, and his mother was a direct descendant of the famous Achilles, the hero of the Homeric Iliad. Olympias herself was also famous for being a constant participant in religious orgies in honor of Dionysus.

Plutarch wrote about her: “Olympias was more zealous than others committed to these sacraments and raged in a completely barbaric way.” Sources tell us that during the processions she carried two hand snakes in her hands. The queen's excessive love for reptiles and the cold relationship between her and her husband gave rise to rumors that Alexander's real father was not the Macedonian king at all, but Zeus himself, who took the form of a snake.

city ​​for science

In Alexander, a talented child was seen from childhood, he was prepared for the throne from an early age. Aristotle, who was close to the royal court, was appointed mentor of the future Macedonian king. To pay for the education of his son, Philip II restored the city of Stragira, which he himself had destroyed, where Aristotle was from, and returned the citizens who had fled and were in slavery there.

Invincible and vain

Since his first victory at 18, Alexander the Great has never lost a battle. His military successes took him to Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, to Cyrenaica and India, to the territories of the Massagetae and Albania. He was the pharaoh of Egypt, king of Persia, Syria and Lydia. Alexander led his warriors, each of whom he knew by sight, with impressive speed, overtaking enemies by surprise, even before they were ready for battle. The central place of the fighting force of Alexander was occupied by the 15,000-thousandth Macedonian phalanx, whose soldiers went to the Persians with 5-meter peaks - sarissa. During his entire military career, Alexander founded more than 70 cities, which he ordered to be named in his honor, and one in honor of his horse - Bucephalus, which exists to this day, however, under the name Jalalpur in Pakistan.

Become a god

Alexander's vanity was the other side of his greatness. He dreamed of divine status. Having founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt in the Nile Delta, he went on a long campaign to the Siwa oasis in the desert, to the priests of the Egyptian supreme god Amun-Ra, who was likened to the Greek Zeus. According to the idea, the priests were supposed to recognize in him a descendant of a god. History is silent about what the deity “said” to him through the lips of his servants, but supposedly it confirmed the divine origin of Alexander.

True, Plutarch subsequently gave the following curious interpretation of this episode: the Egyptian priest who received Alexander said to him in Greek "paidion", which means "child". But as a result of a bad pronunciation, it turned out "pay Dios", that is, "son of God."

One way or another, Alexander was satisfied with the answer. Having proclaimed himself a god in Egypt with the “blessing” of the priest, he decided to become a god for the Greeks as well. In one of his letters to Aristotle, he asked the latter to argue his divine essence to the Greeks and Macedonians: “Dear teacher, now I ask you, my wise friend and mentor, to philosophically substantiate and convincingly motivate the Greeks and Macedonians to proclaim me a god. In doing this, I am acting like a responsible politician and statesman.” However, in the homeland of Alexander, his cult did not take root.

Behind the manic desire of Alexander to become a god for his subjects, of course, there was a political calculation. Divine authority greatly simplified the management of his fragile empire, which was divided among the sartraps (rulers). But the personal factor also played an important role. In all the cities founded by Alexander, he was to be honored on a par with the gods. In addition, his superhuman desire to conquer the whole world and unite Europe and Asia, which literally took possession of him in the last months of his life, suggests that he himself believed in the legend he had created, considering himself more of a god than a man.

The mystery of Alexander's death

Death overtook Alexander in the midst of his grandiose plans. Despite his way of life, he did not die during the battle, but on his bed, preparing for the next campaign, this time to Carthage. At the beginning of June 323 BC. e., the king suddenly developed a severe fever. On June 7, he could no longer speak, and three days later he died in the prime of his life, at the age of 32. The reason for such a sudden death of Alexander is still one of the most important mysteries of the ancient world.

The Persians, whom he mercilessly defeated, claimed that the commander was punished by heaven for desecrating the grave of King Cyrus. The Macedonians who returned home said that the great commander died of drunkenness and debauchery (sources brought us information about his 360 concubines). Roman historians believed that he was poisoned with some kind of Asian slow-acting poison. The main argument in favor of this version is the poor health of Alexander, who, returning from India, allegedly often fainted, lost his voice and suffered from muscle weakness and vomiting. In 2013, British scientists in the journal Clinical Toxicology put forward a version that Alexander was poisoned with a drug made on the basis of a poisonous plant - White hellebore, used by Greek doctors to induce vomiting. The most common version says that Alexander was mowed down by malaria.

Looking for Alexander

It is still unknown where Alexander is buried. Immediately after his death, the division of his empire between his closest associates began. In order not to waste time on a magnificent funeral, Alexander was temporarily buried in Babylon. It was dug up two years later to transport the remains to Macedonia. But on the way to the funeral cortege was attacked by Alexander's half-brother, Ptolemy, who by force and bribery took away the "trophy" and transported it to Memphis, where he buried it near one of the temples of Amon. But apparently Alexander was not destined to find peace.

Two years later, a new tomb was opened and transported with all the appropriate honors to Alexandria. There, the body was re-embalmed, placed in a new sarcophagus and installed in a mausoleum in the central square.

The next time, Alexander's dream was obviously disturbed by the first Christians, for whom he was the "king of the pagans." Some historians believe that the sarcophagus was stolen and buried somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Then the Arabs poured into Egypt and erected a mosque on the site of the mausoleum. On this, the traces of the burial are completely lost, the Muslims did not let anyone into Alexandria for many centuries.

Today there are many versions about the tomb of Alexander the Great. The Persian legend of the beginning of the century says that Alexander remained in the lands of Babylon; Macedonian claims that the body was taken to the ancient capital of Aegeus, where Alexander was born. In the 20th century, archaeologists countless times were “close” to unraveling the mystery of Alexander’s last refuge - they searched for him in the dungeons of Alexandria, in the Sivi oasis, in the ancient city of Amphipolis, but so far everything has been in vain. However, scientists do not give up. In the end, the game is worth the candle - according to one version, he was buried in a solid gold sarcophagus, along with numerous trophies from Asia and manuscripts from the legendary Library of Alexandria.

Alexander the Great ruled over 2,000 years ago, but his fame has not faded to this day. This brilliant commander managed to conquer half the world, and died quite young - at the age of less than 33 years. Death did not happen on the battlefield. The cause of death was an illness accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting and weakness. It happened on June 10 or 11 in 323 BC.

The sudden illness and death at a young age of the legendary commander, recognized as a genius during his lifetime, a ruler whose fame has not faded throughout history, gave rise to many versions and assumptions, from simple to the most intricate.

The exact cause of the death of Alexander the Great will probably never be established. His biography was overgrown with a huge number of myths and legends, since the popularity of the kings who made so many conquests was fueled by propaganda no worse than modern. However, history and archeology find new facts, even if the object of study belongs to ancient times.

Illness and sudden death

Alexander was less than 33 years old when he entered Babylon through the western Royal Gates in May 323 BC. e. The state of his health and nerves at this time was not ideal. It got worse a few months ago. The ruler suffered from a neck injury, from wounds, from depression, he drank a lot. However, the subjects did not expect such an imminent end of their master.

The date of death is called the 10th or 11th of June.

Symptoms of a severe fever appeared in the commander a week before his death:

• chills;
• sweating;
• weakness.

Describing Macedonian's disease, they also mention severe abdominal pain, convulsions, vomiting, a rare pulse and clouding of consciousness. Three days before his death, Alexander lost the ability to speak.

Versions of the causes of death

Of course, suspicions of intentional poisoning by someone from Alexander's inner circle could not bypass the death of such a great man. For various reasons, Antipater and even Aristotle, the viceroy of the king in Macedonia, were put forward for the role of the poisoner.

However, most historians still tend to believe that the cause of death of Alexander the Great was natural. Most likely:

• malaria;
• alcoholic pancreatitis.

Most likely, one of these diseases was superimposed on the general weakness of the body due to wounds, infections, depression and alcohol consumption. Alexander was not an alcoholic in the modern sense of the word, he was never drunk on the eve or during the battle. But during the feasts, which could last for several days in a row, he always got drunk, which was quite consistent with the then traditions.

Mental anguish developed in the ruler from the fact that a year ago, his close friend and lover Hephaestion suddenly died from an illness similar to his own.

There is a description of his last feast. Already at the very end, when Alexander went to bed, one of the feasters offered the last toast. Alexander was given a full jug of wine. Having drained it to the bottom, the king fell to the floor in terrible convulsions. Convulsions and vomiting continued for several days, the ruler was speechless and stopped recognizing those around him.

These symptoms fit the description of alcoholic pancreatitis. This inflammatory disease that affects the pancreas is very difficult and often leads to the death of not only alcoholics, but also those who have drunk a large dose of alcohol once, especially of poor quality.

Typhus, which could also lead to death, was not uncommon in Babylon. This infectious disease, accompanied by fever and clouding of consciousness, fully corresponds to the description of Alexander's last torment.

It is possible that Alexander contracted malaria, the course of which could weaken the body so much that the inflammation of the lungs that developed against it killed the king. During the Indian campaign, Alexander injured his lung. The arrow hit him in the chest, and air came out of the wound along with the blood. The wound was severe, and it could lead to pneumonia later.

One of the most recent versions is that the king was poisoned by the juice of a poisonous plant called white hellebore. It may have been given to him by physicians for medicinal purposes, as it was used by the Greeks as an emetic and also as a means to exorcise evil spirits.

Burial place

The body of Alexander the Great was embalmed by Egyptian embalmers who arrived in Babylon. According to another version, two years before the burial in Egypt, the body was kept in a barrel of honey.

There is a version that the coffin with the body was transported to Memphis, and then to Alexandria of Egypt. For many years he was there. Other rulers of the era of Antiquity, such as Julius Caesar, Caligula, Octavian Augustus, Caracalla, made pilgrimages to the grave of Alexander. It was said that Caligula removed the breastplate from Alexander's mummy and wore it himself.

The Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (end of the 2nd century AD) ordered the tomb to be walled up, and since then the coffin with the remains of the great commander has disappeared without a trace.

There is a famous ancient Sidon sarcophagus, which is sometimes called the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. But it did not belong to the commander, but, presumably, to King Abdalonim, who lived at the same time. On one side of the sarcophagus there is a bas-relief depicting a rider wearing a lion's helmet. Many believe that this is Macedonian.

There is a legend according to which the body of the famous ancient ruler is still kept in a glass coffin and golden armor, in a secret tomb in the ruins of ancient Alexandria. In fact, no one knows the burial place of Alexander the Great. One can only guess about it.

short biography

The date of birth of Alexander III the Great from the Argead dynasty caused controversy among historians. Plutarch indicated the conqueror's birthday as July 20, 356 BC. e., and Arrian attributed it to the beginning of October. Myths say that he was born on the very night when Herostratus burned the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

The father of the great ruler, King Philip II of Macedonia, prepared Alexander for the throne from childhood and raised him as a future warrior. Olympias, his mother, was the daughter of the king of Epirus and, according to legend, descended from Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War. When Alexander ascended the throne, many of his contemporaries began to worship him as a deity.

Studies

Although Alexander was born in the capital of Macedonia, the city of Pella, the boy was trained in Miez by Leonidas and Lysimachus. The first instilled in the future ruler a disregard for comfort and the ability to be content with a Spartan environment, and the second instructed him in ethics and rhetoric.

When the young man was thirteen, Aristotle himself became his teacher. The great thinker taught the future ruler, first of all, politics, philosophy and ethics. The sciences also included medicine and literature.

Philip II, according to not only modern historians, but also some ancient authors, was a better ruler for his people than his son, although he did not conquer so many territories during his reign.

At the Battle of Chaeronea, which resulted in Greece returning to Macedonian control, Alexander commanded the right flank and defeated the enemy. He was 18 years old, and success in military affairs demonstrated the readiness of the young heir to take the throne. Alexander said at the time that as long as his father lived, he would do nothing great.

Conquest of territories

In 336 BC. e. Philip was killed, and perhaps not without the participation of his wife and son. Alexander was proclaimed the new king of Macedonia.

First of all, the young ruler suppresses the uprisings in Greece and establishes complete power over it. He then invades Persia, not intending to stop there. Just four years later, having captured this great empire, Alexander proclaims himself king of Asia.

Having conquered Bactria and Sogdiana, Alexander invades India. But his army refuses to go further, and the commander is forced to turn back home.

Arriving in Babylon and not in the best physical shape, Alexander hatches plans for an invasion of the Arabian Peninsula. These plans did not come true, Alexander died suddenly, without leaving a will and an order about who would be the new ruler of the state.

Alexander the Great was one of the greatest conquerors in the ancient world, with territory stretching from Greece to India. Alexander the Great lived a short but bright life.

It is still unknown where the grave of Alexander the Great is located.
For decades, the Greek archaeologist Calliope Limneos-Papakosta has been looking for Alexander's remains in Alexandria, Egypt, the city named after him. Papacosta's team at one point unearthed a marble statue of Alexander the Great. More recently, the remains of the ancient quarters of the city have been found.

3rd century BC Statue of Alexander the Great, signed "Menas". Archaeological Museum of Istanbul

Alexander the Great was only 20 years old in 336 BC when he became king of Macedon after the death of his father, Philip II. For 12 years, Alexander's armies smashed the enemy empires in Persia and Egypt.

Alexander died at the age of 32, in 323 BC. Versions of the causes of his death are varied: typhoid fever, malaria, alcohol poisoning, etc. Alexander had no heirs, and his empire was divided among the top generals.

Farewell to Alexander the Great written by Carl von Pilot in 1886

According to ancient sources, the body of the king was first buried in Memphis, Egypt, and then transported to Alexandria. After his death, many believed that Alexander was a god and came to worship his grave. There is mention that the body of Alexander was transferred to Alexandria around 280 BC. Also mentioned is a memorial building built to house the body.

Alexander proclaimed himself Pharaoh of Egypt during his lifetime. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian in the first century BC, wrote that Alexander's body was mummified in the ancient Egyptian style. The body was then placed in a golden sarcophagus.

Map of Alexandria in 1893

There are records of famous historical figures who visited the tomb of Alexander. These visitors were Julius Caesar, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and the emperor Caligula. In 215, the Roman emperor Caracalla became the last known visitor to the tomb.

In 356 AD, a tsunami hit Alexandria, and since then there have been many earthquakes. It is assumed that the ancient ruins of the city from the time of Alexander went under water by 3.5-4 meters.

Alexandrian sarcophagus.

The city participated in wars; Alexandria was repeatedly destroyed and plundered. Alexander's tomb may have been vandalized and robbed. The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire may have also led to the loss of the exact location of the tomb. By the early 400s, Christians were putting pressure on pagans who worshiped other gods. Alexander's tomb, if the place was still known, may have been destroyed.

Alexander the Great

Dozens of archaeological excavations in the past have failed to unearth any sign of Alexander's tomb. The latest work was carried out by Papakosta and her team. They used ancient records and maps as well as modern scientific methods.
One of the problems hindering excavations in the area is the high level of groundwater. I had to apply a drainage system.
Papacosta is becoming more and more confident that she is approaching the tomb of Alexander. She admits she won't be easy to find, but she's tenacious and says her team is making good progress along the way. And she is also sure that if the grave of Alexander the Great is not found there, it will never be found.