Alexander III of Macedon (, ; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (, ), was a king ("basileus") of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through western Asia and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.
Introduction
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great | Introduction
Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon Pella. Pella From Pella
who was the king of macedonia who built an empire that stretched to india
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Alexander the Great
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where is the above ancient kingdom located?
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On the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece.
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what is the origin of its name?
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The name Macedonia comes from the ethnonym Μακεδόνες , which itself is derived from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός, meaning "tall, slim", also the name of a people related to the Dorians, and possibly descriptive of Ancient Macedonians
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who was the leader here before the above mentioned king?
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The Argead king, PhilipII
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which language was spoken here?
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Koine Greek, the "lingua franca" of late Classical and Hellenistic Greece, and the native Macedonian language was either a dialect of Greek  similar to Thessalian Greek and Northwestern Greek, or a language closely related to Greek
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where was the aforementioned great king from?
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Alexander III of Macedon (, ; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (, ), was a king ("basileus") of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through western Asia and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.
Alexander the Great | Introduction
"Great King" is prominently attested for both Antiochus I (r. 281–261 BC) in the Borsippa Cylinder and for Antiochus III the Great (r. 222–187 BC) throughout his rule. In the late Seleucid Empire, "King of Kings" even saw a revival, despite the fact that the territory controlled by the Empire was significantly smaller than it had been during the reigns of the early Seleucid kings. The title was evidently quite well known to be associated with the Seleucid king, the usurper Timarchus (active 163–160 BC) called himself "King of Kings" and the title was discussed in sources from outside the empire as well.
King of Kings | Hellenic usage
Alexander (, "Aléxandros"; 1 August 189325 October 1920) was King of Greece from 11 June 1917 until his death three years later, at the age of 27, from the effects of a monkey bite. The second son of King Constantine I, Alexander was born in the summer palace of Tatoi on the outskirts of Athens. He succeeded his father in 1917, during World War I, after the Entente Powers and the followers of Eleftherios Venizelos pushed Constantine I, and his eldest son Crown Prince George, into exile. Having no real political experience, the new king was stripped of his powers by the Venizelists and effectively imprisoned in his own palace.
Alexander of Greece | Introduction
Alexander the Great's conquests ended the Achaemenid Empire and the subsequent division of Alexander's own empire resulted in the Seleucid dynasty inherting the lands formerly associated with the Achaemenid dynasty. Although Alexander himself did not employ any of the old Persian royal titles, instead using his own new title "King of Asia" (βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἀσίας), the monarchs of the Seleucid Empire more and more aligned themselves to the Persian political system. The official title of most of the Seleucid kings was "Great King", which like "King of Kings", a title of Assyrian origin, was frequently used by the Achaemenid rulers and was intended to demonstrate the supremacy of its holder over other rulers.
King of Kings | Hellenic usage
In classical times, most Greek states had abolished the hereditary royal office in favor of democratic or oligarchic rule. Some exceptions existed, namely the two hereditary Kings of Sparta (who served as joint commanders of the army, and were also called "arkhagetai"), the Kings of Cyrene, the Kings of Macedon and of the Molossians in Epirus and Kings of Arcadian Orchomenus. The Greeks also used the term to refer to various kings of "barbaric" (i.e. non-Greek) tribes in Thrace and Illyria, as well as to the Achaemenid kings of Persia. The Persian king was also referred to as "Megas Basileus" (Great King) or "Basileus Basileōn", a translation of the Persian title "xšāyaθiya xšāyaθiyānām" ("King of Kings"), or simply ""the" king".
Basileus | Use of "basileus" in classical times
Alexander was the second born son of Alexander and Glaphyra. His oldest brother was called Tigranes and had a younger unnamed sister. His father Alexander was a Judean Prince, of Jewish, Nabataean and Edomite descent and was a son of the King of Judea, Herod the Great and his wife Mariamne. His mother Glaphyra was a Cappadocian Princess, who was of Greek, Armenian and Persian descent. She was the daughter of the King Archelaus of Cappadocia and her mother was an unnamed Princess from Armenia, possibly a relation of the Artaxiad Dynasty. Alexander's name reflected his Hasmonean and Hellenic lineage.
Alexander (grandson of Herod the Great) | Family
Daniel 8:5–8 and 21–22 states that a King of Greece will conquer the Medes and Persians but then die at the height of his power and have his kingdom broken into four kingdoms. This is sometimes taken as a reference to Alexander. Alexander was briefly mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees. All of Chapter 1, verses 1–7 was about Alexander and this serves as an introduction of the book. This explains how the Greek influence reached the Land of Israel at that time.
Historiography of Alexander the Great | The Bible
In summer 336 BC, while at Aegae attending the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, Alexander I of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards, Pausanias. As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. Alexander was proclaimed king on the spot by the nobles and army at the age of 20.
Alexander the Great | Accession
In 336 BC, Philip sent Parmenion with an army of 10,000 men, as vanguard of a force to free the Greeks living on the western coast of Anatolia from Persian rule. The people of Eresus on the island Lesbos erected an altar to Zeus Philippios. Alexander himself was the model for the image of Apollo on coins issued by his father. When Alexander went to Egypt, he was given the title "pharaoh", which included the epithet "Son of Ra", declaring him to be the son of the sun. A story told that one night King Philip had found a huge snake in the bed next to his sleeping wife.
Alexander the Great in legend | Deified Alexander
The king's death took place under the most tragic and unusual circumstances. On October 2 the king was walking in the grounds of the Royal Gardens behind the Royal Palace, when his pet dog was attacked by a monkey. The king endeavoured to separate the animals, and was himself badly bitten by another monkey. It was at first thought that his wounds were not serious, but blood poison ensued, and it was soon realized that the king's condition was critical. The best medical assistance was obtained from Paris, but the efforts of the physicians were unavailing and King Alexander died on October 25.
1920 in Greece | The death of the King
Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC) was an ancient king of Macedon. Alexander the Great may also refer to:
Alexander the Great (disambiguation) | Introduction
Great king and the equivalent in many languages is a title for historical titles of monarchs, suggesting an elevated status among the host of kings and princes. This title is most usually associated with the "shahanshah" (shah of shahs, i.e. king of kings, indeed translated in Greek as "basileus tōn basileōn", later adopted by the Byzantine emperors) of Persia under the Achaemenid dynasty whose vast empire in Asia lasted for 200 years up to the year 330 BC, and later adopted by successors of the Achaemenid Empire whose monarchial names were also succeeded by "the great". In comparison, "high king" was used by ancient rulers in Great Britain and Ireland, as well as Greece.
Great king | Introduction
The funeral of King Alexander took place in the cathedral at Athens. It was, of course, one of the tragedies of the late king's position that none of his nearest relatives could be present either during his last illness or at the funeral. Ex-King Constantine, Ex-Queen Sophie, the ex-crown prince, Prince Paul, and the three princesses, were all exiled in Switzerland. The Dowager Queen Olga came to Athens, but did not arrive until after the king's death. Madame Manos was, however, constantly with her husband during his last illness. The funeral was attended by the Dowager Queen Olga, Madame Manos, Admiral Kountouriotis, the crown prince of Sweden, and Crown Prince Alexander of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
1920 in Greece | The funeral of the King
King Alexander was the second son of ex-King Constantine and ex-Queen Sophie, sister of the ex-Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany. He was proclaimed king of the Greeks in June 1917. He had gained the sympathy of many people, both in Greece and abroad, by his romantic marriage with Mlle Aspasia Manos. The election campaign was already proceeding when the king died, but the date of the elections was postponed, and Venizelos summoned the Chamber to meet for a special session on October 28. The Chamber duly met on that afternoon, but less than half the deputies were present. The prime minister announced to the deputies that King Alexander had died, and declared that in his opinion the constitutional successor to the throne was the late king's younger brother, Prince Paul.
1920 in Greece | The death of the King
Olympias was from Epirus and may have practiced a mystery cult that involved snake-handling. The snake was said to be Zeus Ammon in disguise. After his visit to the Siwa Oasis in February 331 BC, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father. Upon his return to Memphis in April, he met envoys from Greece who reported that the Erythraean Sibyl had confirmed that Alexander was the son of Zeus. By 330 BC, Alexander had started to adopt elements of Persian royal dress. In 327 BC he introduced proskynesis a ritualized honor accorded by Persians to their rulers. This Greek soldiers resisted, as such prostrations were reserved for honoring the gods.
Alexander the Great in legend | Deified Alexander
Daniel 8:5–8 and 21–22 states that a King of Greece will conquer the Medes and Persians but then die at the height of his power and have his kingdom broken into four kingdoms. This is sometimes taken as a reference to Alexander. Alexander was briefly mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees. All of Chapter 1, verses 1–7 was about Alexander and this serves as an introduction of the book. This explains how the Greek influence reached the Land of Israel at that time.
Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great | In the Bible
In the Macedonian Kingdom, and later the Macedonian Empire, the body that assisted the king with running the kingdom was called the "synedrion", literally translated as "The Congress". This tradition continued to be in use in the years of Alexander the Great and its members were hereditary. Although not democratic, the members of the Synedrion, including the king were considered equal to one another and had the right of the freedom of speech.
Boule (ancient Greece) | Kingdom of Macedonia
Alexander IV (Greek: ; 323 – 309 BC), erroneously called sometimes in modern times Aegus, was the son of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) and Princess Roxana of Bactria.
Alexander IV of Macedon | Introduction
Alexander of Greece (1893–1920) was king of Greece from 1917 until his death. Alexander of Greece may also refer to:
Alexander of Greece (disambiguation) | Introduction
"Basileus" and "megas basileus" were exclusively used by Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors in Ptolemaic Egypt, Asia (e.g. the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon and non-Greek but Greek-influenced states like the Kingdom of Pontus) and Macedon. (The feminine counterpart is "basilissa" (queen), meaning both a queen regnant (such as Cleopatra VII of Egypt) and a queen consort). It is at this time that the term "basileus" acquired a fully royal connotation, in stark contrast with the much less sophisticated earlier perceptions of kingship within Greece.
Basileus | Alexander the Great
Alexander was born at Tatoi Palace on 1 August 1893 (20 July in the Julian calendar), the second son of Crown Prince Constantine of Greece of the House of Glücksburg and his wife Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was related to royalty throughout Europe. His father was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George I of Greece by his wife Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia; his mother was the daughter of Emperor Frederick III of Germany and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. Constantine was a grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark and a cousin of both King George V of the United Kingdom and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.
Alexander of Greece | Early life
Alexander of Megalopolis () was originally a Macedonian, but he received the franchise and was settled at Arcadian Megalopolis about 190 BC. He pretended to be a descendant of Alexander the Great, and accordingly, he called his two sons Philip and Alexander. His daughter Apama was married to Amynander king of Athamanians. Her eldest brother Philip, followed her to her court, and being of vain character, he allowed himself to be tempted with the prospect of gaining possession to the throne of Macedonia.
Alexander of Megalopolis | Introduction
Alexander's death raised questions about the succession to the throne as well as the nature of the Greek regime. As the king had contracted an unequal marriage, his descendants were not in the line of succession. The Hellenic Parliament demanded that Constantine I and Crown Prince George be excluded from the succession but sought to preserve the monarchy by selecting another member of the royal house as the new sovereign. On 29 October 1920, the Greek minister in Berne, acting under the direction of the Greek authorities, offered the throne to Alexander's younger brother, Prince Paul. Paul, however, refused to become king while his father and elder brother were alive, insisting that neither of them had renounced their rights to the throne and that he therefore could never legitimately wear the crown.
Alexander of Greece | Legacy
In an inscription found in the Kuliab area of Tadjikistan, in eastern Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200–195 BC, a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating a fire altar to Hestia, mentions Euthydemus as the greatest of all kings, and his son Demetrius I as "Demetrios Kalinikos" "Demetrius the Glorious Conqueror":
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom | Kuliab inscription
When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice in 338 BC, the niece of his general Attalus. The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir. In 337 BC, Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona, capital of the Molossians. He continued to Illyria, where he sought refuge with one or more Illyrian kings, perhaps with Glaukias, and was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before.
Alexander the Great | Exile and return
Following its adoption as the court language of Philip II of Macedon's regime, authors of ancient Macedonia wrote their works in Koine Greek, the "lingua franca" of late Classical and Hellenistic Greece. Rare textual evidence indicates that the native Macedonian language was either a dialect of Greek similar to Thessalian Greek and Northwestern Greek, or a language closely related to Greek. The vast majority of surviving inscriptions from ancient Macedonia were written in Attic Greek and its successor Koine. Attic (and later Koine) Greek was the preferred language of the Ancient Macedonian army, although it is known that Alexander the Great once shouted an emergency order in Macedonian to his royal guards during the drinking party where he killed Cleitus the Black.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Language and dialects
Four months pregnant at the time of her husband's death, Aspasia withdrew to the Diadochos Palace at Athens. In Greece, the unexpected death of Alexander I had much more serious consequences: it raised the question of succession and even the survival of the monarchy. Because the King had married without his father's or the head of Orthodox Church's permission, it was technically illegal, the marriage void, and the couple's posthumous child illegitimate according to law. Maintaining the monarchy therefore involved finding another sovereign and, as the Venizelists still oppose Constantine I and "Diadochos" George, the government decided to offer the crown to another member of the royal family, the young Prince Paul.
Aspasia Manos | Kingdom without a King
When Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BCE, he left behind a huge empire which comprised many essentially independent territories. Alexander's empire stretched from his homeland of Macedon itself, along with the Greek city-states that his father had subdued, to Bactria and parts of India in the east. It included parts of the present day Balkans, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Babylonia, and most of the former Achaemenid Empire, except for some lands the Achaemenids formerly held in Central Asia.
Diadochi | Hegemon
Alexander (; flourished 3rd century BC) was a Greek nobleman of Anatolia and served as a Seleucid official. Alexander was the first son born to Achaeus by an unnamed Greek mother. His father Achaeus was a wealthy nobleman who owned estates in Anatolia. His family had power in Anatolia with strong royal connections. Alexander had three siblings, two sisters, Antiochis and Laodice I, and a brother Andromachus. His father Achaeus was the second son of King Seleucus I Nicator and his first wife Apama I. According to surviving inscriptions, Alexander was already active and held high positions under his paternal uncle Antiochus I Soter.
Alexander (grandson of Seleucus I Nicator) | Introduction
Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, viewed non-Greeks as barbarian animals. Alexander however, ignored his teacher's indication and expanded on the concept of Homonoia. With an Empire covering most of the known world, Alexander sought to rule his subjects, whether they were Greek, Persian or Egyptian, under the concept of Homonoia. In his short time as ruler of his vast Empire he tried to adopt customs of the cultures he conquered such as Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of "proskynesis", either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians paid to their social superiors.
Homonoia | Alexander the Great
He then continued south towards the Peloponnese.
Alexander the Great | Consolidation of power
Two years later, on a scorching hot summer night, Carnehan creeps into the narrator's office. He is a broken man, a crippled beggar clad in rags and he tells an amazing story. Dravot and Carnehan succeeded in becoming kings: traversing treacherous mountains, finding the Kafirs, mustering an army, taking over villages, and dreaming of building a unified nation and even an empire. The Kafirs (pagans, not Muslims) were impressed by the rifles and Dravot's lack of fear of their idols, and acclaimed him as a god, the reincarnation or descendant of Alexander the Great. They show a whiter complexion than others of the area ("so hairy and white and fair it was just shaking hands with old friends") implying their ancient lineage to Alexander himself.
The Man Who Would Be King | Plot summary
Alexander I the Great (, "Aleksandre I Didi") (1386 – between August 26, 1445 and March 7, 1446), of the Bagrationi house, was king of Georgia from 1412 to 1442. Despite his efforts to restore the country from the ruins left by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur's invasions, Georgia never recovered and faced the inevitable fragmentation that was followed by a long period of stagnation. Alexander was the last ruler of a united Georgia which was relatively free from foreign domination. In 1442, he abdicated the throne and retired to a monastery.
Alexander I of Georgia | Introduction
The body of Alexander the Great was to have reposed at Aegae, where his father Philip II of Macedon fell by the hand of Pausanias of Orestis but it was taken to Memphis through the intrigues of Ptolemy I Soter.
Aegae (Macedonia) | Introduction
Seeming to confirm this link, from historical accounts it is known that Alexander the Great, who married a Sogdian woman from Bactria named Roxana, encouraged his soldiers and generals to marry local women; consequentially the later kings of the Seleucid Empire and Greco-Bactrian Kingdom had a mixed Persian-Greek ethnic background.
Europeans in Medieval China | Hellenistic Greeks
Modern scholars have argued over the possible role of AlexanderIII "the Great" and his mother Olympias in the assassination of PhilipII, noting the latter's choice to exclude Alexander from his planned invasion of Asia, choosing instead for him to act as regent of Greece and deputy "hegemon" of the League of Corinth, and the potential bearing of another male heir between PhilipII and his new wife, Cleopatra Eurydice. AlexanderIII () was immediately proclaimed king by an assembly of the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them being Antipater and Parmenion. By the end of his reign and military career in 323BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of mainland Greece, Asia Minor, the Levant, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and much of Central and South Asia (i.e.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Empire
He also assumed the title "Basileus Megas" (Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire, before suffering a serious setback, towards the end of his reign, in his war against Rome. Declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination", Antiochus III waged a four-year war against the Roman Republic beginning in mainland Greece in the autumn of 192 BC before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Magnesia. He died three years later on campaign in the east.
Antiochus III the Great | Introduction
Alexander's death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed. Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death. According to Diodorus, Alexander's companions asked him on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest". Another theory is that his successors wilfully or erroneously misheard "tôi Kraterôi"—"to Craterus", the general leading his Macedonian troops home and newly entrusted with the regency of Macedonia. Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speechless by this point, implying that this was an apocryphal story.
Alexander the Great | Division of the empire
Alexander the Great's horse, Bucephalus, was originally from Pharsalos. The surrounding mountainous regions, however, were less suitable for agriculture and relied more heavily on pastoralism.
Ancient Thessaly | Geography
Alexander populated the city with 7,000 Macedonians, 3,000 mercenaries and thousands of natives (according to Curtius VII.3.23), or some 7,000 natives and 3,000 non-military camp followers and a number of Greek mercenaries (Diodorus, XVII.83.2), in March 329 BC. He had also built forts in what is now Bagram, Afghanistan, at the foot of the Hindu Kush, replacing forts erected in much the same place by Persia's king Cyrus the Great c. 500 BC, Alexandria being in fact a refoundation of an Achaemenid settlement called Kapisa. The deity of the city seems to have been Zeus, as suggested by coins of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides.
Alexandria in the Caucasus | Alexander the Great
he also positioned himself as a crusader for pan-hellenism, rescuing the Greek people of Anatolia from tyrants and oligarchs. In addition he colonised the lands he captured with Greek settlers, spreading Greek culture. One of the controversies is the extent to which the Macedonian Empire represented either rupture or continuity. The ascendancy of Greek, and by extension European culture in an area predominantly influenced by Asia to date was to leave a lasting legacy.
Classical Anatolia | Alexander the Great
In an inscription found in the Kuliab area of Tadjikistan, in western Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200-195 BC, a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating a fire altar to Hestia, mentions Euthydemus as the greatest of all kings, and his son Demetrius I as "Demetrios Kalinikos" "Demetrius the Glorious Conqueror":
Euthydemus I | Kuliab inscription
In an inscription found in the Kuliab area of Tadjikistan, in western Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200-195 BC, a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating a fire altar to Hestia, mentions Euthydemus as the greatest of all kings, and his son as "τε παῖδα καλλίνικον ἐκπρεπῆ Δημήτριον" "his son, the glorious, victorious and remarkable Demetrios":
Demetrius I of Bactria | Kuliab inscription
But Alexander died, (323 BC) in Babylon aged 33. After about 20 years of infighting, four kingdoms – the four horns – emerged from the political chaos: 1. Macedonia under Cassander; 2. Thrace and northwestern Asia Minor under Lysimachus; 3. Syria and Babylonia under Seleucus I Nicator; and 4. Egypt under Ptolemy I Soter.
Seventh-day Adventist eschatology (Daniel's prophecies) | 3 Kingdom: Greece
This is a list of people known as "the Great", or the equivalent, in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as Persian "e Bozorg" and Urdu "e azam". In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have been a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". It was first used by Cyrus II of Persia. The title was inherited by Alexander III when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference to this is in a comedy by Plautus, in which it is assumed that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no evidence that he was called "the Great" before this.
List of people known as &quot;the Great&quot; | Introduction
Long and sustained efforts to overthrow Persian rule proved unsuccessful and Cyprus remained a vassal of the Persian Empire until the Persian's defeat by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon and Alexander III of Macedon), was born in Pella in 356 BC and died in Babylon in 323 BCE. Son of King Philip II and Olympias, he succeeded his father to the throne of Macedonia in 336 BC at the age of 20. He was perhaps the greatest commander in history and led his army in a series of victorious battles, creating a vast empire that stretched from Greece to Egypt in Africa and to the Caspian Sea and India.
Ancient history of Cyprus | Alexander the Great
There are numerous surviving ancient Greek and Latin sources on Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, as well as some Asian texts. The five main surviving accounts are by Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, Quintus Curtius Rufus, and Justin. In addition to these five main sources, there is the "Metz Epitome", an anonymous late Latin work that narrates Alexander's campaigns from Hyrcania to India. Much is also recounted incidentally by other authors, including Strabo, Athenaeus, Polyaenus, Aelian, and others. Strabo, who gives a summary of Callisthenes, is an important source for Alexander's journey to Siwah.
Historiography of Alexander the Great | Introduction
When the king, on his retreat from Greece, had reached Cenaeum in Euboea, Alexander died and was buried there, in 191.
Alexander of Acarnania | Introduction
The core of the Hellenistic culture promulgated by the conquests was essentially Athenian. The close association of men from across Greece in Alexander's army directly led to the emergence of the largely Attic-based "koine", or "common" Greek dialect. Koine spread throughout the Hellenistic world, becoming the lingua franca of Hellenistic lands and eventually the ancestor of modern Greek. Furthermore, town planning, education, local government, and art current in the Hellenistic period were all based on Classical Greek ideals, evolving into distinct new forms commonly grouped as Hellenistic. Aspects of Hellenistic culture were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century.
Alexander the Great | Hellenization
Alexander I ( ) (1445 or 1456 – April 27, 1511), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1476 to 1511. Alexander's pliancy and flexible diplomacy earned him security from the neighboring powers, only to be murdered by his own son George II "the Bad".
Alexander I of Kakheti | Introduction
Momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his internal position and, above all, his army. His most important innovation was doubtless the introduction of the phalanx infantry corps, armed with the famous sarissa, an exceedingly long spear, at the time the most important army corps in Macedonia. Philip's son, Alexander the Great, managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states, but also to the Persian empire, including Egypt and lands as far east as the fringes of India. Alexander's adoption of the styles of government of the conquered territories was accompanied by the spread of Greek culture and learning through his vast empire.
List of ancient great powers | Macedonia
With his parents and siblings in exile, Alexander found himself isolated. The royals remained unpopular with the Venizelists, and Entente representatives advised the king's aunts and uncles, particularly Prince Nicholas, to leave. Eventually, they all followed Constantine into exile. Royal household staff were gradually replaced by enemies of the former king, and Alexander's allies were either imprisoned or distanced from him. Portraits of the royal family were removed from public buildings, and Alexander's new ministers openly called him the "son of a traitor". On 26 June 1917, the king was forced to name Eleftherios Venizelos as head of the government.
Alexander of Greece | Puppet king
The Great Idea embodied a desire to bring all ethnic Greeks into the Greek state, and subsequently revive the Byzantine Empire; specifically those Greeks in Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace, the Aegean Islands, Crete, Cyprus, parts of Anatolia, and the city of Constantinople, which would replace Athens as capital. When the young Danish prince Wilhelm Georg was elected king in 1863, the title offered to him by the Greek National Assembly was "not" "King of Greece", the title of his deposed predecessor, King Otto; but rather "King of "the Hellenes"". Implicit in the wording was that George I was to be king of all Greeks, regardless of whether they then lived within the borders of his new kingdom.
Megali Idea | Greek War of Independence and later
They who make Inachus to have come into Greece from beyond the sea regard his name as a Greek form for the Oriental term Enak, denoting “great” or “powerful,” and this last as the base of the Greek ἄναξ, “a king.” In Virgil's "Aeneid", Inachus is represented on Turnus's shield. Compare the Inachos or Brimos of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Inachus | Reign
Alexander (in Greek Αλέξανδρος; died 220 BC) was brother of Molon. On the accession of the Seleucid king Antiochus III, afterwards called the Great, in 223 BC, he entrusted Alexander with the government of the satrapy of Persis and Molon received Media. Up to that time, local rulers of Persis, the Fratarakas seem to have been in charge of the region, between circa 295 and 220 BC. Antiochus was then only fifteen years of age, and this circumstance together with the fact that Hermeias, a crafty intriguer whom every one had to fear, was all-powerful at his court, induced the two brothers to form the plan of causing the upper satrapies of the kingdom to revolt.
Alexander (satrap) | Introduction
Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias. Philip's son, and previously designated heir, Alexander was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolt reached Alexander he responded quickly. Though his advisers counseled him to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south. When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had the men ride over Mount Ossa and, when the Thessalians awoke, they found Alexander at their rear.
Wars of Alexander the Great | Background
Alexander was unsure how to deal with this, so he decided to scare them into submission. He gave a speech, arguing that their conquests were not secure, that the Persians did not want the Greeks to remain in their country, and that only the strength of Macedon could secure the country. The speech worked, and Alexander's troops agreed to remain with him. Alexander, now the Persian "King of Kings", adopted Persian dress and mannerisms, which, in time, the Greeks began to view as decadent and autocratic. They began to fear that Alexander, the king they had hero-worshiped, was turning into an eastern despot, although a young eunuch was eventually introduced to Alexander, and helped to keep his decadence in check.
Wars of Alexander the Great | Bactria
Koine Greek arose as a common dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great. Under the leadership of Macedon, their newly formed common variety was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia. It replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. Though elements of Koine Greek took shape in Classical Greece, the post-Classical period of Greek is defined as beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, when cultures under Greek sway in turn began to influence the language. The passage into the next period, known as Medieval Greek, dates from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 330.
Koine Greek | Origins and history
Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC at the theatre of Aigai, Macedonia, amid games and spectacles celebrating the marriage of his daughter Cleopatra of Macedon. Alexander the Great was allegedly a great admirer of both theatre and music. He was especially fond of the plays by Classical Athenian tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, whose works formed part of a proper Greek education for his new eastern subjects alongside studies in the Greek language, including the epics of Homer. While he and his army were stationed at Tyre (in modern-day Lebanon), Alexander had his generals act as judges not only for athletic contests but also for stage performances of Greek tragedies.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Theatre, music and performing arts
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, invaded Egypt, which at the time was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire known as the Thirty-first Dynasty under Emperor Artaxerxes III. He visited Memphis, and traveled to the oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun. Alexander conciliated the Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion, but he appointed Macedonians to virtually all the senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the rest of the Achaemenid Empire.
Ptolemaic Kingdom | Background
Amyntas III (died 370 BC) was king of the ancient kingdom of Macedon in 393 BC and again from 392 to 370 BC. He was the son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas, one of the sons of Alexander I. His most famous son is Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. He is historically considered the founder of the unified Macedonian kingdom.
Amyntas III of Macedon | Introduction
Alexander V of Macedon (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Εʹ ὁ Μακεδών; died 294 BC) was the third and youngest son of Cassander and Thessalonica of Macedon, who was a half-sister of Alexander the Great. He ruled as King of Macedon along with his brother Antipater from 297 to 294 BC. When Antipater murdered their mother and ousted him from power, Alexander turned to Pyrrhus and Demetrius I Poliorcetes for help in recovering his throne. To the former he promised, as the price of his alliance, the land on the sea-coast of Macedonia, together with the provinces of Ambracia, Acarnania, and Amphilochia. Demetrius, according to Plutarch, arrived after Pyrrhus had retired, and when matters had been settled between Alexander and Antipater.
Alexander V of Macedon | Introduction
In 336 BC Philip II had already sent Parmenion, with Amyntas, Andromenes and Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion to free the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. At first, all went well. The Greek cities on the western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated near Magnesia by the Achaemenids under the command of the mercenary Memnon of Rhodes.
Alexander the Great | Asia Minor
The Greek orator Demosthenes of Athens is advocating war to resist King Philip II of Macedon and his planned invasion and takeover of all the city-states of Greece. While Philip II is leading a campaign to take over Olynthus, he is informed that his spouse Olympias has borne him a son who, she claims, is "a god born of a god." Philip is angry because he suspects that Olympias has committed adultery and that she was not impregnated by a god. However, General Parmenio advises the king to let Alexander grow up and succeed him. While growing up, Alexander receives instruction in history, mathematics, logic and other subjects from Aristotle in Mieza.
Alexander the Great (1956 film) | Plot
They display considerable knowledge of Latin, but less of Greek, on the value of which he strongly insisted.
Alexander Hegius von Heek | Introduction
Alexander was at the wedding banquet when Attalus, Cleopatra's uncle, made a remark that seemed inappropriate to him. He asked the Macedonians to pray for an "heir to the kingship" ("diadochon tes basileias"). Rising to his feet Alexander shouted, using the royal "we," "Do we seem like bastards ("nothoi") to you, evil-minded man?" and threw a cup at him. The inebriated Philip, rising to his feet, drawing his sword, presumably to defend his wife's uncle, promptly fell. Making a comment that the man who was preparing to cross from Europe to Asia could not cross from one couch to another, Alexander departed, to escort his mother to her native Epirus and to wait himself in Illyria.
Diadochi | Basileus
Tharrhypas (Greek: "Θαρύπας", 430 - 392 BC) was a king of the Molossians and ancestor of Alexander the Great. He is mentioned by Thucydides as a minor in 429 BC. He was the father of Alcetas I, and is said to have been the first to introduce southern Greek (namely Attic) cultural traits among Molossians.
Tharrhypas | Introduction
The text states that this "very great" He-goat represents Greece. According to tradition, Caranus,the first Macedon king followed goats to Edessa where he set up his capital called Aege, "the goat city", which is how the goat became the national symbol of Greece. Alexander's son by Roxana was named "Alexander AEgus", the "son of the goat". Some of Alexander's successors were represented on their coins with goat horns. Darius I (in 490 BC) and Xerxes (in 480 BC) invaded Greece but were eventually turned back. Greece did not forget this national humiliation. Alexander settled the score, and then some, rapidly "flying across the earth" trouncing the Persians and then the victorious army marched all the way to the Indus River.
Seventh-day Adventist eschatology (Daniel's prophecies) | 3 Kingdom: Greece
That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Alexander. Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception.
Alexander the Great | Lineage and childhood
Alexander is a male given name. From the male name Alexander derive the names Alex, Alexis and Xander. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Alexander | Introduction
When the Persians attacked Assos, King Hermias was caught and put to death. Aristotle fled to Macedonia, which was ruled by his friend King Philip II of Macedon. There, he tutored Philip's son, Alexander the Great. There is a modern statue of Aristotle at the town entrance. The Acts of the Apostles refers to visits by Luke the Evangelist and Paul the Apostle to Assos ()
Assos | Introduction
Cassander (Greek: Κάσσανδρος Ἀντιπάτρου, "Kassandros Antipatrou"; "son of Antipatros": c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the ancient kingdom of Macedon from 305 BC until 297 BC, and "de facto" ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. Eldest son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the Great, Cassander was one of the Diadochi who warred over Alexander's empire following the latter's death in 323 BC. Cassander later seized the crown by having Alexander's son and heir Alexander IV murdered. In governing Macedonia from 317 BC until 297 BC, Cassander restored peace and prosperity to the kingdom, while founding or restoring numerous cities (including Thessalonica, Cassandreia, and Thebes); however, his ruthlessness in dealing with political enemies complicates assessments of his rule.
Cassander | Introduction
Its finding was confirmed by a second referendum in 1974, after the restoration of democratic rule.
List of kings of Greece | Introduction
The name "Macedonians", in order to colloquially mean the Greek soldiers (etc) that Alexander the Great was first the hegemon of, is being used by – at least – contemporary sources when referring to the Hellenistic period, as the ancient Macedonian army, including the famous somatophylakes (e. g. Lysimachus) and, later, the diadochi of Alexander, consisted of warriors from numerous and diverse Greek tribes. Thus, as the Spartans (Lacedaemonians) did not take part in Alexander's campaign, Alexander once ordered for an inscription to be sent, along with some war spoils, to Athens saying "Alexander, son of Philip, and all the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians [...]" .
Names of the Greeks | Macedonians (Μακεδόνες)
Over the centuries, the myth of Alexander the Great, an illustrious conqueror of antiquity, has been enriched. History retains from him the image of a fine strategist and an ambitious monarch who managed, in little more than a decade, to constitute an immense empire going from Greece to India. But what man was he really? Based on reconstructions, the documentary attempts to unravel the legend of historical reality, looking back on Alexander's journey, from his birth in 356 ʙᴄ to his presumably illness-related death in 323 ʙᴄ.
Alexander the Great (miniseries) | Synopsis
In an inscription found in the Kulob area, formerly western Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200-195 BCE, a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating a fire altar to Hestia, mentions the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I as the greatest of all kings, and his son Demetrius I as "Demetrios Kalinikos" "Demetrius the Glorious Conqueror":
Kulob | Kulob inscription
This gave the Macedonian court a good knowledge of Persian issues, and may even have influenced some of the innovations in the management of the Macedonian state.
Alexander the Great | Education
The king of Macedon, Alexander III, to be known as Alexander the Great, came to the throne in October 336 BC, aged 20. He would soon take control of the Persian empire and cover all the territories of the ancient world, as far as India. Alexander was a remarkable person who combined the military genius and political vision of his father Philip II of Macedon, with a literary bent romanticism and a taste for adventure. In less than two years Alexander secured the Greek and Thracian borders and gathered an army of 50,000 men for the assault on Asia. In his early campaigns, he always maintained a considerable fleet of warships and supplies for his soldiers.
Middle Eastern empires | Alexander the Great
He is known as "al-Iskandar al-Makduni al-Yunani" ("Alexander the Macedonian Greek") in Arabic, אלכסנדר מוקדון, "Alexander Mokdon" in Hebrew, and "Tre-Qarnayia" in Aramaic (the two-horned one, apparently due to an image on coins minted during his rule that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's horns of the Egyptian god Ammon), الاسكندر الاكبر, "al-Iskandar al-Akbar" ("Alexander the Great") in Arabic, سکندر اعظم, "Skandar" in Pashto. Alexander is one of the two principals in most versions of the Diogenes and Alexander anecdote.
Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great | Other references
In the ancient Buddhist texts, the Mahajanapada kingdom of Kamboja compassed the territories of Paropamisus and extended to the southwest of Kashmir as far as Rajauri. The region came under Achaemenid Persian control in the late 6th century BC, either during the reign of Cyrus the Great or Darius I. In the 320s BC, Alexander the Great conquered the entire Achaemenid Empire, beginning the Hellenistic period. The Greek name Παροπαμισάδαι or Παροπαμισσός was used extensively in Greek literature to describe the conquests of Alexander and those of the kings of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom, from the 3rd to the 1st centuries BC.
Paropamisadae | History
Alexander (336–323 BC) succeeded his father King Philip of Macedon (359 BC – 336 BC) on his assassination in 336 BC. Alexander invaded Asia Minor in 335 BC with a combined land and naval force, and by 333 BC had effectively vanquished the Persians in the Anatolian lands, and ending the Achaemenid Empire by 330 BC. However, he devoted the rest of his life to military conquests further east, dying in 323 BC. Thus he fulfilled his father's ambition of liberating the Greeks of Asia Minor. Administratively he continued the satrapy system, his strategy being to respect and win support from the conquered (or liberated) people's, respecting their traditions.
Classical Anatolia | Alexander the Great
Once again, the royal family was refused permission to enter Greece; in consequence, apart from Aspasia, only Dowager Queen Olga was present at the funeral. The body of Alexander I was buried in the royal burial ground at Tatoi Palace.
Aspasia Manos | Death of Alexander I
Miletus, held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus, in Caria, Alexander successfully waged his first large-scale siege, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea. Alexander left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada, who adopted Alexander.
Alexander the Great | Asia Minor
When his Macedonian troops threatened mutiny in 324BC at Opis, Babylonia (near modern Baghdad, Iraq), Alexander offered Macedonian military titles and greater responsibilities to Persian officers and units instead, forcing his troops to seek forgiveness at a staged banquet of reconciliation between Persians and Macedonians. Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs of megalomania. While utilizing effective propaganda such as the cutting of the Gordian Knot, he also attempted to portray himself as a living god and son of Zeus following his visit to the oracle at Siwah in the Libyan Desert (in modern-day Egypt) in 331BC. His attempt in 327BC to have his men prostrate before him in Bactra in an act of "proskynesis" borrowed from the Persian kings was rejected as religious blasphemy by his Macedonian and Greek subjects after his court historian Callisthenes refused to perform this ritual.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Empire
Still occupied in Thrace, he ordered Alexander to muster an army for a campaign in southern Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander. Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae, taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes. The Athenians, led by Demosthenes, voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia.
Alexander the Great | Regency and ascent of Macedon
This claim was particularly useful in Egypt, where Alexander had been greeted as liberator from the Achaemenid Empire (the so-called "Twenty-seventh Dynasty") and had been enthroned as Pharaoh and son of the deity Ammon-Ra, receiving divine honours. During his stay in Egypt, Alexander had also laid the foundations for the city of Alexandria, which became the main Greek colony and capital of the country. In the new Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Hellenic element (Macedonians and people from Greek city-states), to which the Ptolemaic dynasty itself belonged, formed the ruling class which succeeded the native Egyptian Pharaohs. While sacred kingship had long been practised in Egypt and other eastern nations, it was almost unheard-of in the Greek world.
Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great | Background
Alexander I of Epirus (; c. 371 BC – 331 BC), also known as Alexander Molossus (), was a king of Epirus (343/2–331 BC) of the Aeacid dynasty. As the son of Neoptolemus I and brother of Olympias, Alexander I was an uncle of Alexander the Great. He was also an uncle of Pyrrhus of Epirus.
Alexander I of Epirus | Introduction
News then reached Alexander that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria, Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, he secured his northern frontier. While Alexander campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediately headed south. While the other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective, and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace.
Alexander the Great | Balkan campaign
The latter asked them to leave his territory, believing in an omen that something great would happen to Perdiccas. The boys went to another part of Macedonia, near the garden of Midas, above which mount Bermio stands. There they made their abode and slowly formed their own kingdom. Herodotus also relates the incident of the participation of Alexander I of Macedon in the Olympic Games in 504 or 500 BC where the participation of the Macedonian king was contested by participants on the grounds that he was not Greek. The Hellanodikai, however, after examining his Argead claim confirmed that the Macedonian kings were Greeks and allowed him to participate.
Argead dynasty | Origin
Likewise, the term "Macedonian", while referring here to Greek dialects, also ended up meaning the Koine Greek in classical sources , whereas diverse major Ancient Greek dialects were natively spoken in the later/expanded Macedonian Kingdom, and even though the Koine dialect was mostly based on Attic Greek that was natively spoken around Athens. Notably, during of the reign of Constantine the Great, who is regarded as the first Byzantine Emperor, the Diocese of Macedonia was established, comprising principally the area that is modern Greece, with Thessalonica as its capital.
Names of the Greeks | Macedonians (Μακεδόνες)
Alexander (), known by the title comes (), was a Byzantine diplomat. He was active in the reign of Justinian I (r. 527-565). The main sources about him are Procopius, John Malalas and Theophanes the Confessor.
Alexander (comes) | Introduction
According to Pausanias and the contemporary Parian Chronicle records for the years 321–320 BC, Ptolemy initially buried Alexander in Memphis. In the late 4th or early 3rd century BC, during the early Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexander's body was transferred from Memphis to Alexandria, where it was reburied. The so-called Alexander Sarcophagus, unrelated to Alexander's body and once thought to be the sarcophagus of Abdalonymus, is now believed to be that of Mazaeus, a Persian governor of Babylon.
Tomb of Alexander the Great | Introduction
According to a Greek myth, Caranus was the son of Temenus, king of Argos, who in turn was a Heraclid, a descendant of Heracles. Plutarch agrees on the Heraclid lineage of Caranus and argues that Alexander the Great is a descendant of Heracles through Caranus. Temenus, along with Cresphontes and Aristodemus were the three Doric leaders who invaded the Mycenean Peloponnese region. Then they proceeded to divide the conquered territories between them. Cresphontes was given Messenia and Sparta; Aristodemus took Laconia; and finally Temenus was given Argos. Following the death of Temenus, the princes argued about who should be king.
Caranus of Macedon | Myth
For centuries, the Greek language had existed in multiple dialects. As Greek culture under Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) and his successors spread from Asia Minor to Egypt and the border regions of India the Attic dialect became the basis of the Koiné (Κοινή; "common"). The language was also learned by the inhabitants of the regions that Alexander conquered, turning Greek into a world language. The Greek language continued to thrive after Alexander, during the Hellenistic period (323 BC to 31 BC). During this period the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, appeared. For many centuries Greek was the lingua franca of the eastern half of the Roman Empire.
History of Greek | Koine Greek
The seers told him that a son whose birth coincided with three victories would always be victorious. When the young Alexander tamed the steed Bucephalus, his father noted that Macedonia would not be large enough for him.
Alexander the Great in legend | Prophesied conqueror
Plutarch recounts an anecdote in which Alexander pauses and talks to a fallen statue of Xerxes as if it were a live person:
Alexander the Great | Persia
Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator. He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death.
Alexander the Great | Egypt
Ambhi (Greek: Omphis), ruler of Taxila, whose kingdom extended from the Indus to the Jhelum (Greek: Hydaspes), complied. At the end of the spring of 327 BC, Alexander started on his Indian expedition leaving Amyntas behind with 3,500 horse and 10,000 foot soldiers to hold the land of the Bactrians.
Indian campaign of Alexander the Great | Alexander's preparation
Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket. According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative. While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity.
Alexander the Great | After death
Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon, on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is uncertain. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander. Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood. According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to spread "far and wide" before dying away.
Alexander the Great | Lineage and childhood