Alexander the great (Alexander III the Great ancient Greek. Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' ὁ Μέγας; presumably 20/23 July or 6/10 Oct 356 BC, Pella is a 10 or 13 June 323 BC, Babylon) — the king of Macedonia from the dynasty Areado (336 BC), the distinguished commander, Creator of the world powers, disintegrated after his death.

After the death of his father Philip II, Alexander was declared tsar at the age of 20. He suppressed the Thracian uprising and re-subjugated Greece, where the rebellious Thebes was destroyed. In 334 BC, Alexander crossed over to Asia Minor, thus starting a war with the Persian empire. Under Granicus, he defeated the satraps, and under Issus (333 BC) — King Darius III himself, after which he subjugated Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In 331 BC, Alexander won a decisive victory at Gavgamela in Mesopotamia. Darius was later killed; Alexander, having occupied the interior of Persia, assumed the title "king of Asia", surrounded himself with representatives of the eastern nobility and began to think about conquering
Alexander used his father's death to deal with all potential sources of threat to his power. Two Linkestides (representatives of the princely family from Linkestida in Upper Macedonia), Arraveus and Geromenes, were crucified on crosses at Philip's grave[52][53]. Aminta, Alexander's cousin and son-in-law, was killed; one source reports about the king's brother Karan, who was also killed[54]; Attalus was executed on charges of treason[52], and his fate was shared by all the closest male relatives. Finally, Olympias forced the last of Philip's wives, Cleopatra, to commit suicide, and ordered her newborn daughter to be killed. As a result, Alexander had no potential enemies left inside Macedonia[55][56]. The new tsar attracted the nobility and the people to his side by abolishing taxes, ignoring the empty treasury and 500 talents of debt[57].

At the time of Alexander's coming to power, the Macedonian Kingdom was a major territorial power: it included not only Lower Macedonia, but also Upper Macedonia.,
Before returning to Macedonia, Alexander met with the Cynic philosopher Diogenes in Corinth. According to legend, the king invited Diogenes to ask him what he wanted, and the philosopher replied: "Do not block the sun for me"[63]. The tsar was so struck by the pride and greatness of the philosopher, who treated him with such disdain, that on the way back he said: "If I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes"[64]. Later, Alexander visited Delphi; he demanded from the pythia that she predict his fate, and heard in response: "You are invincible, my son!" Alexander interrupted the pythia with the words: "Not a word more!" and walked away, satisfied with such a short answer[64].

Meanwhile, in the north, the Illyrians and Tribals were preparing for war. The king decided to launch a preemptive strike: in the spring of 335 BC, he moved a 15,000-strong army to Istra. In the battle of Mount Emon, Alexander defeated the Thracians, who occupied a strong position on the hill, and then defeated the Tribals. The ruler of the last Sirmas took refuge on
The commander of the Greek mercenaries in the Persian service, Memnon, who was familiar with the Macedonian military system and personally with Alexander [84], proposed to the Asia Minor satraps his plan to repel aggression. He assumed the abandonment of land battles, "scorched earth" tactics (including the destruction of cities on the Macedonian way), active fleet operations and strikes behind enemy lines in Greece. But this plan, which was extremely dangerous for Alexander, was rejected: the satraps did not want to plunder their lands. In addition, they were confident in the strength of their cavalry. On the fourth day after the Macedonians landed on the Granik River near Troy [85], the first big battle took place, in which mainly cavalry fought. Alexander himself led the attack of the hetaires and showed miracles of bravery: he killed Darius III's son-in-law in single combat, one of the enemy soldiers cut off his helmet and was already swinging to strike again, when suddenly Clete arrived and saved Alexander from death by his intervention. Having lost a thousand people killed, the Persian connieThe defenders of Halicarnassus fiercely defended themselves, making sorties and burning the siege towers of the Macedonians. After prolonged fighting, Alexander still managed to break through the fortress walls; then Memnon set fire to the city, and evacuated his troops to Kos. Having occupied Halicarnassus, the Macedonians finally destroyed it by order of the king (September 334 BC)[100][101]. From that moment on, the nature of the war changed radically. Memnon, who was appointed commander-in-chief in this war (perhaps even during the defense of Halicarnassus), transferred the fighting from the Asian mainland to the Aegis, to the rear of the Macedonians. Alexander disbanded his ships, realizing that the Persians were stronger at sea anyway, and not having enough money to finance the fleet. Now his task was to occupy the entire Mediterranean coast in order to deprive the Persian ships of their bases. Thus, both opponents operated in each other's rear [102].

From Halicarnassus, Alexander moved east and, without encountering much resistance, occupied the coastal regions of LyciaIn the south, only Egypt remained unconquered. The local population hated the Persians, and some of the troops of Satrap Mazak were destroyed at Issus, so Mazak surrendered without a fight. Alexander was greeted as a liberator and immediately proclaimed Pharaoh, after which he returned the local priests to their former privileges. After staying in Egypt for 6 months (December 332 — May 331 BC), the king made a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun in the Siwa oasis in the Libyan desert, and sources report that the soothsayer addressed Alexander as the son of god[124][125]. Near the Canopic mouth of the Nile, the king founded the city of Alexandria of Egypt, which soon became one of the main cultural centers of the ancient world and the largest city in Egypt[126][127][128][129].

The defeat of the Persian Empire (331-330 BC)The fate of Persia, occurred on October 1 at Gavgamela, near Nineveh. In it, Alexander was opposed by an army numbering, according to clearly overstated sources, up to 1 million people and assembled, unlike the army that fought at Issus, exclusively in the eastern satrapies. It included first-class cavalry and war chariots with long knives attached to the spokes of the wheels, but in general, the Macedonians, of whom there were about 47 thousand, outnumbered the enemy in terms of quality of weapons, training and experience[130][131][132].

The attack of the chariots was repulsed. Alexander, at the head of the hetaires, was able to wedge himself between the center and the left wing of the Persian battle line and almost made his way to Darius, who again fled the battlefield, despite the still uncertain outcome of the general battle. At the same time, the Macedonian left flank was forced to retreat under the onslaught of the enemy, and in one area the Persians even broke through to the wagon train. Parmenion, who commanded this flank, turned to the king for help. Alexander had to stop pursuing Darius: OhDuring the eastern campaign, the nature of the war and the nature of Alexander's rule over the conquered territories changed significantly. In 330 BC, once in Media, the king sent home the military contingents provided to him by the Corinthian Union, as well as the Thessalian cavalry. This meant that the Pan-Hellenic war, launched to avenge the Persians for past wrongs, was over (its symbolic finale was the burning of the palace in Persepolis) and Alexander's personal war for power over Asia began, for turning the Argeads into the heirs of the Achaemenids. The events in Susa, when Alexander ascended the throne of the Persian kings, could have already become a demonstration of such inte