Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman Book Review

I of the few ancient Greeks that the majority of the people can mention is Alexander the Bang-up. Perhaps they've watched a moving picture almost him or heard well-nigh him during a conversation. However, practice you truly sympathise anything about Alexander? Or the reason he was really great?

During the death of Alexander, his empire was the largest the world had ever witnessed. Even by the current standards, the quantity of land he succeeded to conquer is huge, extending from Republic of macedonia in Europe to Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. This success has made him the prototype of the winning king. Let'due south look at the situations that made this male monarch too as his empire, and follow him on a path really full of risk it would make anybody great.

Buy this volume from Amazon

Chapter one – Alexander the Great was born into the Macedonian royal family, and his gifts were recognized early on on.

Alexander was given birth to during the 356 BC, in the northern expanse of Greece called Macedonia.

Philip II of Macedon who was Alexander's father was a legendary conquistador who achieved the remarkable victory of bringing about the unabridged Greek states under his control.

Although a striking father effigy, Philip was immediately impressed by Alexander.

I 24-hour interval, a horse dealer offered Philip a very purple horse for a very expensive cost. This equus caballus was supposed to be untameable, but, Philip rejected the offering. However, the young Alexander was well-nigh 13years during the time, and he intervened, beseeching his father not let become of such an opportunity.

Alexander's public flare-up made Philip angry; however, he offered a deal: If Alexander could proceed the beast, he would buy it.

Alexander was somewhat clever, and he understood the horse merely got when it saw its own shadow. Therefore, Alexander basically took the horse into the sun and, as soon as the horse was calm, skillfully climbed on it.

This horse name was Bucephalus – and the horse became one of the most popular animals in history.

Everybody, equally well equally his begetter, was stunned. Philip proudly stated, "My son, y'all have to wait for a kingdom similar to yourself – Republic of macedonia is not actually big for you!"

Merely, Philip'south pride didn't concluding for long; certainly, the young Alexander's gifts made his father feel threatened more than and more than.

When Alexander did better than his male parent on the field of battle, Philip had gotten plenty and started attempts to curb his son's increasing fame.

In order for Philip to punish Alexander, he divorced Alexander's mother, Olympias, and remarried immediately. Only, in an attempt to make things somewhat calm, Philip called Alexander to the wedding feast, where everybody went on to drink, according to custom, huge amounts of wine.

When a invitee proposed to brand a toast to the happy couple and the likelihood of a new heir, Alexander threw his cup across the tabular array in a drunken fury. Philip took out his sword, even so, with a stomach full of vino, he quickly fell to the flooring.

To run from this circumstance, Alexander and his mother ran to her homeland in the mountains of Epirus. Happily, but, intervention efforts were successful, and they went back home not long later.

Chapter 2 – Alexander's ardent military heed assisted him to move apace through Asia Small-scale.

Alexander didn't have any interest in wasting time with triumph celebrations. He immediately processed to capture the cities of Sardis and Ephesus before attaining the ancient city of Miletus, which is at present called southwestern Turkey.

Considering Miletus was a base for the Western farsi navy, it was a meaning aspect of Alexander's strategy. Also, considering the city offered to surrender at starting time, it looked similar it would exist captured easily. All the same, the word immediately came out that a Persian fleet was fast coming, and another fight started.

Once more, Alexander succeeded in challenging the advice of Parmenion.

While devising a strategy of assail, they saw an eagle hovered upon one of their ships. Parmenion considered this as a symbol that the gods preferred a naval set on and recommended to first attack the Farsi navy, and and so tempest the city of Miletus.

Withal, Alexander understood the sign in another way. Considering the eagle was facing landward, he chose to capture the city commencement and so handle the Persian navy.

This led to a key victory. The city barbarous actually fast that the Persian navy was never able to dock its ships.

After capturing Miletus, Alexander fabricated a curious option that historians accept been discussing ever since: he broke up the Greek navy.

Arrius, one of Alexander's modern historians, recommended that Alexander was aware that his fleet couldn't compete with the Persian navy; therefore he evaded defying information technology completely and full-bodied instead on defeating the entre eastern Mediterranean coastline – a plan that would get out no place for the Persians to dock their ships.

Alexander kept on confronting conventional military wisdom past failing to rest and moving his campaign forward with the harsh winter of 334 BC, carrying on his streak of wins.

Furthermore, Alexander made use of rare approached to take the port city of Telmessus.

With small help from inside the city, he succeeded to sneak a group of female dancers by the gate so they could perform for the Persian soldiers.

After much drinking, the soldiers, drowsy with drink, permit become of their guard, and the dancers killed the entire garrison, letting Alexander accept the urban center.

Chapter 3 – Unexpected illness and death extremely transformed the course of history.

Alexander'southward entrada proceeded, and during the spring of 333 BC, he together with his army had gotten to cardinal Anatolia.

This was the time that Alexander got some disturbing data: The great Farsi general Memnon's fleet was getting close to southern Greece and seemed to exist shut to initiating an attack.

Alexander was aware that, in spite of Persia'southward barbarous attack of Greece in the onetime century, the electric current hatred of Macedonian rule signified that Memnon's advances would be very welcomed.

Alexander encountered a problem: Keep on defeating or go domicile? All the same, what good would his present campaign be if the Persians captured his homeland?

However, maybe the gods were really on Alexander'southward side, for, at that point, Memnon all of a sudden died after his health quickly worsened on the Greek isle of Lesbos.

Now it was the Neat King of Persia, Darius who had to brand a option. And with the general he trusted the most died, he chose to cancel his set on of Hellenic republic and accept his troops domicile in society for them to fight Alexander face-to-face.

This is when Alexander'south fortune inverse for the worse.

The extreme summer heat beat downwardly on Alexander's regular army as they got to southern Turkey, and Alexander, boiling, took off his clothes and jumped in the Cydnus River.

Yet, the h2o was really cold that Alexander eventually felt feverish and sick. Information technology got really worse that a lot of people thought he wouldn't live.

Fortunately, in that location was a doctor chosen Philip amid the troops whom Alexander had known since he was a child. Philip suggested a risky medicinal treatment, which Alexander accepted, understanding that, or else, he might die.

Merely, just earlier the treatment started, Alexander got a notice: the Persians might take bribed Philip to poison him!

Alexander encountered all the same some other trouble: Put his trust in Philip, or risk dying by not taking the treatment?

Alexander decided to cleverly. He took the drugs and was well over again within a few days, set to conduct on his entrada.

Chapter iv – In November, 333 BC Alexander showtime met Darius at the Boxing of Issus.

During this, the only thing separated the 23-twelvemonth-old Alexander and Male monarch Darius's Persian armies were a little Turkish mountain range.

Darius wished to see Alexander on a big, open battlefield, where his greater number of troops could overpower him. Rather, The Battle of Issus happened on a narrow stretch of state shut to the Pinarus River.

What happened later on would go down in history as one of the largest battles in history.

At first, Alexander'southward forces were pushed back, however, during a brutal counterattack, his right-fly cut through the Farsi army, making Alexander start fighting the last of Darius's forces.

This changed the events of the battle, and because Alexander was fighting across two fronts now, the Western farsi army started to crumble, and Darius knew that the fight was lost.

At this moment, Darius and Alexander's eyes met, and Alexander charged him.

This climactic instant has been memorialized forever in a mosaic that is shown in the urban center of Pompeii. With bodies scattered on the battleground, the two kings looked at each other down, and, instead of anger, Darius's face betrays shock.

But, in spite of this epic battle, Darius succeeded to flew from the battleground without any damage.

Now conquering, Alexander was in accuse of a lot of Persian captives, every bit well as Darius'south female parent and son, and they were both certain that would be killed immediately.

Only, Alexander humbly greeted Darius's female parent and bodacious to raise the Great King'due south son as his own son.

Before long after, Darius sent on a peace treaty that offered to requite Alexander the entire Asia Pocket-sized and a large bribe for his convict family.

Information technology was a large offer, and Alexander was aware that his generals would suggest that he accept it, however, Alexander was non nearly to put a stop to this. Rather, he forged another type of Darius's treaty that took out the concessions and included insulting remarks.

His advisors took the bait, and Alexander met no confrontation in carrying on his campaign to defeat the entire Persia.

Chapter v – The time Alexander used in Egypt showed to be a crucial milestone in his life.

After the Battle of Issus, Alexander proceeded down the eastern Mediterranean coastline, and he got to Egypt after he traveled for a year.

On his way, he didn't meet whatever resistance, since the local population didn't love the Persians, who had been governing Egypt at present and and then for centuries.

During Alexander's stay in Egypt, he ensured that the Egyptians knew his aims to govern their state as a kind male monarch who would respect their lifestyle.

After going to the ancient pyramids of Giza, Alexander chose to establish an Egyptian city that would finish up functioning as a permanent connection to Greece.

Although Arab republic of egypt's Mediterranean coast had a modest port already, Alexander understood that he would have to construct a considerably bigger city that could serve as the main center for merchandise and provide a safety port for military vessels.

More inspiration appeared to him in a dream, where an elderly man told him of the island of Pharos. When Alexander woke upwards the post-obit morning, he knew where to construct the urban center of Alexandria: on the Egyptian coast next to the island of Pharos.

In order to marking the city's borders, Alexander'south soldiers started placing barley on the ground; however, they were immediately descended on by thousands of hungry birds. Alexander was concerned that this might be a terrible omen from the gods; notwithstanding, his soothsayer, Aristander, assured him that the birds were a wonderful sign that predicted how the urban center would thrive and assist feed the whole world.

From this moment, Alexander used weeks trekking across the arid Sahara to see an oracle at the sanctuary of Ammon. This occurrence had a major outcome on his life.

Historians have varied on the reason he embarked on this risky journeying; however, it's clear that, at this indicate in his life, he was searching for some solutions and wishing to know the significance of his journeying.

Alexander inquired the oracle if he was fated to conquer the world. The oracle answered with a nod and said to him that he would definitely end up transforming the course of history.

Affiliate 6 – After conquering Darius again, Alexander captured the ancient Mesopotamian urban center of Babylon.

Alexander started out from Egypt toward the ancient urban center of Babylon. All the same, after crossing both the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, he was again challenged by Rex Darius'south army, which had formed a military camp on the plain of Gaugamela.

The fourth dimension was set for another of history'southward biggest battles.

Still, Darius'due south forces were a lot greater than Alexander's army, and, this time around, they added remarkable Indian war elephants, a view that Alexander had never witnessed earlier.

The battlefield was fully open. Darius's had the edge, and Alexander realized he had to devise a smart strategy.

It appeared to him, the dark before the Battle of Gaugamela: he would ride his cavalry parallel to Darius's forepart line, which, optimistically, would push button his men abroad from the middle of the boxing and form a space that he could and so set on directly through!

Information technology was an enormous gamble –however, Alexander was really able to ride directly through the middle of the Persian regular army and direct toward Darius.

However, before Alexander got to Darius, Alexander was told that the Persians had also gotten through his line of defense and were killing his men.

Obliged to allow Darius to run away, Alexander turned to aid his troops and conquer the rest of the Persian army.

Eventually, Alexander was free to go along with his trip to Babylon.

As he got close, his eyes caught a city the likes of which he had never idea of: the extraordinary walls – which modern sources say were a minimum 300 feet tall – towered above him. As well, in that location was the urban center itself, structured in a peachy grid system, with hundreds of bronze gates operation as entrances.

This time effectually, there was no battle or bloodshed. The people of Babylon welcomes Alexander with music, flowers, and presents. As with the Egyptians, information technology's possible they were really happy to be released from roughshod Persian rule.

With the addition of Babylon, Alexander'south empire now included three continents and had lots of ethnicities.

Chapter 7 – Later on a humiliating obstruction, Alexander eventually defeated the capital of Persia, Persepolis.

From Babylon, Alexander traveled through the harsh and snowy mountains of Persia before eventually getting to the Western farsi Gates, a thin mountain pass that led straight to the Persian uppercase, Persepolis

This was where the rest of the Farsi army ambushed his men and acquired huge losses.

While regrouping, Alexander found another lesser-known route through the mountains that permit him sneak upwards behind the Persians under the cover of night and impale the residue of the forces.

The way to Persepolis was now open for Alexander.

After years of journey and bloodshed, a lot of his antsy soldiers considered the acquisition of Persepolis as the grand finale to their trials. Therefore, when the city gave, Alexander didn't do annihilation to finish the horrible pillaging that followed.

Although this activeness went against Alexander'south personality, he was aware that if he attempted to stop his men, he'd have a full uprising on his hands and everything would be lost.

However, at Persepolis, Alexander himself made a destructive corrigendum.

According to one clarification of situations, Alexander, boozer at the Palace of Persepolis, was persuaded past an Athenian adult female that it would exist a good affair to burn down down the entire palace. Nevertheless, it would be reasonable payback for the Persians' burning of Athens a century before.

Alexander accepted drunkenly and went on to calorie-free the starting time flame. He immediately came dorsum to his senses every bit the fire spread, and attempted to put off the fire; however, it was already likewise late them.

This incident is an unpleasant 1 for a lot of historians, and the fact that they put the arraign on the wine and women is suggestive of how past Greeks blamed Helen for the errors at Troy.

After the horrible behaviors at Persepolis, Alexander began his journey to eventually lay his hands on Darius, who'd been captured as a prisoner after a successful rebellion past Bessus, i of Darius'south family members, who was now the new male monarch of Persia.

Just, when Alexander caught upwards with him, Bessus immediately murdered Darius before fleeing.

This cowardly murder extremely made Alexander deplorable, who at this point had grown to adore Darius as a worthy enemy.

Affiliate 8 – In the chase for Bessus, Alexander started a deceitful march that would ultimately take him to Bharat.

In spite of the feelings of Alexander, his ground forces was actually happy by the death of Darius. Naturally, a lot of them took this news as an indication that their fights were over and they could at present return home.

Still, Alexander had a new aim: to ensure that Bessus was disciplined for his cowardly expose of Darius.

Aside from that, too Alexander had a persistent passion for campaigning that forced him to continue pushing his empire further east.

Therefore, he gave an inspiring and stirring speech to his men that unbelievably persuaded them to deport on with their march.

But, he didn't know that with Bessus as their new aim of pursuit, they were near to experience the mendacious Hindu Kush mountains, found in modernistic-day Transitional islamic state of afghanistan.

At that point, Alexander had already crossed across his fair share of mountains; however, none of these could take made him ready for the Hindu Kush.

Non just is the usual height of these Himalayan mountains nearly 15,000 feet; notwithstanding, the passage as well is really thin that the army had to walk straight and single file – and all of this was done in the middle of wintertime!

But, the only skilful news was that Bessus didn't assume that Alexander was really wild to endeavor this climb; therefore, he didn't attempt to place whatsoever troops at the cease of the laissez passer.

Alexander'south army used five difficult days to get to the other side of the range and go into the land of Bactria.

Eventually, during the summer of 329 BC, Alexander defenseless up with Bessus and the village where he was hiding out in immediately handed him over to the Macedonians.

When Alexander confronted Bessus, he was peachy to know the reason why he had male monarch his own king and family in such a cowardly mode. Shockingly, Bessus said that he assumed Alexander would have liked what he did.

This wasn't the discussion Alexander wished to hear; therefore, he went ahead to flog and torture Bessus before sending him back to the family unit of Darius, who completed the work by killing him.

Chapter 9 – Alexander fabricated information technology all the manner to the banks of the Ganges in Bharat before realizing his soldiers could non go on.

During 327 BC, Alexander together with his regular army had used seven years away from Macedonia. He even got married to a local nobleman's girl named Roxane.

Yet, he wasn't set up to settle down: now, Alexander ready his eyes on Bharat. He had organized religion that, past defeating it, he would be able to be in history as King of the World.

Defeating this odd new world started off peacefully, although non without misunderstanding.

As he got to the settlement of Taxila, in modern-24-hour interval Pakistan, he confused the large grouping of men and huge elephants who were riding out to come to him as a threatening army.

Fortunately, the king of Taxila, Omphis saw the botch and noticed that Alexander was planning an assault. He immediately rode to reassure Alexander the show was basically their ways of welcoming foreign leaders.

However, some Indian kingdoms weren't actually fix to submit.

When Alexander got to the kingdom of Pauravas, King Porus was ready to showtime a fight. As well, it was during this fight that Bucephalus, Alexander's trusty horse was murdered.

Alexander could but mourn after he won the fight. In honor of his dismissed friend, he built a city nearby and called it Bucephalus.

However, Alexander was as well losing another matter at this point in the entrada: the trust of his army. When they got to the Ganges, Alexander couldn't motivate them with one of his normal words.

This betoken was emphasized when one of his generals delivered a speech past himself. He said to Alexander that the men were fulfilled to accept come really far and accomplished a lot; however, they desired to see their families and homeland once once again. This was met with a loud cheer.

The general proceeded to persuade Alexander that the best thing to do would be to go back home and form a new army with new Macedonian soldiers.

He accepted afterward days of thinking deeply well-nigh it. Alexander was eventually returning home subsequently vii long and bloody years.

Affiliate x – At the age of 32, Alexander died merely before he could achieve any of his future campaign strategies.

The walk home was a somewhat unexciting journey, in spite of the fact that Alexander well-nigh drowned in river rapids, and his army almost died in the Gedrosian desert.

By the time he went back home, it has already been ten years since he'd left Macedonia, and his empire had turned to the biggest the world had always witnessed.

Notwithstanding, Alexander wasn't the kind of person to be contented with a thing similar this.

While returning dwelling house, he made himself busy past making strategies for growing his empire more.

He visualized taking accuse of the whole Arabian and Northward African coastline and being able to travel the whole distance of the African coastline, from Egypt to the western Mediterranean.

Furthermore, he began reasoning nigh how to react to current reports nigh a worrying tribe known equally the Romans.

Unfortunately, Alexander did not live too long to achieve his entire plans. Merely three years afterwards he left India, disturbing signs started to emerge.

One day, shut to the urban center of Babylon, Alexander was met by Chaldean priests who cautioned him not to become to the metropolis.

Alexander laughed at their warning; however, the priests insisted. At the very least, they said to him, don't go to the city while walking westward near the setting sun. During that fourth dimension, the setting sun was usually seen equally a sign of death.

Withal, Alexander was hundred-to-one of the priests and didn't mind to their advice. Still, on getting to Babylon, bad signs from the gods started haunting him.

While Alexander was out sailing, the windswept away his crown. Also, worst of all, when he went back to his palace a few days later on, an ex-convict was sitting on Alexander's throne and he was putting on his crown!

Still, information technology wasn't until later on a night of drinking heavily that Alexander started to go severely sick.

As his illness kept on deteriorating, it started to become clear to Alexander that he would not live.

When his companions inquired him who would succeed him, Alexander said his dying words, "To the strongest."

Chapter 11 – Alexander's legacy would proceed to have broad-reaching impacts on the universe.

Alexander's amazing 10-year campaign did much more only cement Greek culture's ability on a huge part of Eurasia. These impacts definitely outlived his empire, which started to fall immediately after his death.

Persia and India are the just two places that were forever transformed past Alexander.

A series of kingdoms that combined Greek and Indian cultures emerged in Alexander's wake and Hellenistic civilization changed Indian art and architecture forever.

For instance, the ascension of statues of Buddha in the human being effigy is obviously motivated by the statues of the god Apollo.

Though Alexander was hated by a lot in Persia, he was remembered for his philosophical nature as well. The Qur'an cites Alexander's philosophic aptitude, referring to him equally a philosopher-king "whom God fabricated potent in the land and provided the means to realize everything."

In this manner, he started a Greek philosophical culture in the area that carried on influencing the Islamic age and its religious philosophy.

However, the area that Alexander's legacy flourished the most was really a place he never went to; Rome.

Equally the Roman Empire was offset, they accepted Greek equally ane of their intellectual languages, and Greek art and architecture severely impacted their own piece of work.

Likewise, the Jews and early Christians utilized the Greek language to re-create the Gospels. Also, considering Greek was the primary linguistic communication of the Mediterranean after Alexander's campaign, this signified that Christianity had a ready audience. Therefore, 1 could say that, without Alexander, Christianity would never have reached beyond Roman Palestine.

Also, although other conquerors such as Julius Caesar, Augustus and Napoleon looked upwards to Alexander every bit a hero to compete with, nobody succeeded to extend an empire more than than the empire of Alexander the Peachy.