Section+5-4+Alexander's+Empire

Key Words:

 * __Macedonia__: A kingdom north of Greece.

Key People:

 * __Philip II__: King of Macedonia, dreamed of taking over the Persian Empire when it began to decline in power.
 * __Alexander the Great__: King of Macedonia after his father died. Ruled for 13 years.
 * __Darius III__: The king of Persia when Alexander attacked. Promised to defeat him.

Philip Builds Macedonia Power:

 * Rough terrain, cold climate, looked down by Greeks, only thing they are know for: their kings.
 * Philip's Army:**
 * Became king of Macedonia in 359 B.C., 23 years old, trained his people to be soldiers, phalanx: 16x16, crushed opponents.
 * Conquest of Greece:**
 * Demosthenes warned Greek, told them to unite, couldn't decide on a policy and it became too late, crushed by Macedonia in 338 B.C. at the battle of Chaeronea, lost freedom.
 * Philip II was about to invade Persia, but stabbed at his daughters wedding in 336 B.C., Alexander the Great gained control.

Alexander Defeats Persia:

 * Became king at 20, student of Aristotle, studied science, geography, and literature, enjoyed Homer's epics.
 * Trained since a small boy, showed as a king, when Thebes rebelled, 6,000 killed and the rest became slaves, all Greek city-states feared him.
 * Invasion of Persia:**
 * Alexander marched into Persia, Antolia, with 35,000 soldiers in 334 B.C., 40,000 were sent to defend when heard from messengers along the Royal Road, Alexander marched right into battle at Granicus River, defeating Persia's army.
 * King Darius III sent an army of somewhere between 50,000 and 75,000 to fight at Issus. Alexander was able to defeat this army by sending is finest solders through the weakest point, right towards Darius III, he and his army fled, gained Antolia.
 * Conquering the Persian Empire:**
 * Darius III tried to make a peace offering: all the land past the Euphrates, but Alexander wanted all of it and continued to fight.
 * Marched into Egypt and was accepted as their new pharaoh king, made the city Alexandria, then Darius sent an army of 250,000 men, met in Gaugamela, where he fled again.
 * Alexander conquered Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, which was Persia's capital, and soon burned to the ground. Why and how is a mystery, but Greek historian Arrian said, 500 years later, it was in revenge for burning Athens.

Alexander's Other Conquests:

 * Alexander was more interested in conquering land, and capturing Darius, found Darius dead near the Caspian Sea, continued with his army for three more years conquering Asia and Central Asia.
 * Alexander in India:**
 * He reached Indus Valley, defeated powerful army on the Hydaspes River, by now he had been fighting for 11 years, and marched over 11,000 miles, army wanted to go home, although disappointed, Alexander agreed.
 * Reached Babylon in 323 B.C., announced plans for new cities, roads, and to conquer Arabia, but died from an illness at age 32.
 * Alexander's Legacy:**
 * The land was divided into three regions for Alexander's officials, all governed with complete power, Antigonus recieved Macedonia and Greek, Ptolemy got Egypt becoming a pharaoh, and Seleucus old Persian Empire making it the Seleucus Empire.
 * Impact on culture: Alexander took in Persian culture, married a Persian women, clothes, customs, and Persian soldiers, and a new culture came from the Greeks and Europeans.