alexander's conquer over persia

The river crossing at Shushtar	The end of Persia The Persian gate After crossing the river Pasitigris at a place that can be identified with modern Shushtar, Alexander reached the southern spurs of the Zagros mountains. They are situated between Susiana and the Persian homeland - that is, between modern Khuzestân and the Shîrâz. The Macedonian army would have to force its way through one of the passes. That would be difficult, because the Macedonians were now entering a country where they could not pretend to be liberating the inhabitants. They would encounter resistance from people who were defending their homes and families.
The Persian gate: entrance of the valley	Somewhere near Masjid-e Solaiman, Alexander divided his troops, to spread the risks. His trusted general Parmenion was to take a southerly route around the mountains, the Macedonian king would take the main road and would force the Persian gate, which is near modern Yasuj. As could be expected, the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes, occupied the pass and Alexander suffered heavy losses when he tried to repeat the frontal attack that had been successful at the Cilician gate. Every pass can be turned and we can be certain that Alexander's scouts searched for a mountain path to get into their enemy's rear. The Greek sources tell a charming story about a shepherd with a grudge against the Persians, who showed them the best way to by-pass the enemy. It may be true, but one suspects that the Greek authors could -before the final punishment of the Persians for the crimes they had committed during Xerxes' campaign- not resist the temptation to invent a traitor. The shepherd may have been introduced as a kind of answer to Ephialtes, who had once showed the Persians the road to the Greek heartland.
Persepolis: Gate of all Nations	Persepolis However this may be, the Persian garrison in the mountains was destroyed, and in January 330, the Macedonian army stood in Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid empire. Many inhabitants fled, some committed suicide, but the governor surrendered the town and its treasure. Alexander gave the town itself to his soldiers, who had seen the riches of the East several times, but had never had their share. So the city was looted, except for the royal palace. Almost at the same time, nearby Pasargadae (Pâthragâda) was captured, Persia's religious capital, where the kings were inaugurated.
Persepolis from the air (photo Mahin Bahrami; ©*)	The Macedonians and Greeks had reached the goal of their crusade: the Persians were punished for the destruction of Athens in 480/479 BCE. But this was not enough for the son of Zeus. He now wanted universal recognition as 'king of Asia'. Alexander had already claimed the title after the battle of Issus, had taken the Persian royal harem (above), had stressed that he descended from Perseus, the legendary ancestor of the Persian kings (above), had been recognized as 'king of the world' in Babylon (above and here), had appointed Persians in important offices (above), and now wanted recognition from all Persians. He needed it, if he were to rule the territories already conquered. Actually, our Greek sources do not mention this explicitly, but it is clear from other evidence. One clue is that Arrian of Nicomedia writes that Alexander intended to visit the tomb of Cyrus the Great after his conquest of Persia (text). This is a way of saying that he wanted to be crowned as king, because this ceremony took place near the tomb. Unfortunately, he could not be enthroned, as long as Darius III Codomannus was still alive.
"Royal warrior": the king killing a lion (Archaeological Museum, Tehran)	Another clue is that Alexander stayed at Persepolis for more than four months. This makes no military sense, but a likely explanation is that Alexander wanted to celebrate the New Year festival as if he were Persia's sole ruler. During this festival the Persian nobility came to Persepolis to do homage to the Achaemenid king and Alexander may have seen an opportunity to entice the Iranian aristocracy away from Darius. However, his hopes were disappointed. Except for the Persians he had already appointed in high offices, only a few visitors turned up in the first days of April; one of them was Phrasaortes, who was appointed satrap of Persis. Not having obtained support from the Persian aristocrats, it was war again: the army had to march to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan), the northern capital of the Achaemenid empire, where Darius was. This was the nightmare of the Macedonian high command: to search for an enemy that would certainly move to the eastern part of the Achaemenid empire. Unless Darius stood his ground at Ecbatana, the Macedonian army would be forced to follow him to unknown countries, fighting a war of an unknown type. Eventually, Darius was killed, but Alexander was indeed lured into a disastrous eastern campaign.
Traces of fire on one of the columns of the Apadana ,Persepolis	The sack of Persepolis Before leaving Persepolis, Alexander ordered the palace to be burnt down. There are two accounts of this incident. First, there is the sober story of the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia, derived from his source Ptolemy, a close friend of Alexander who was an eyewitness. It states simply that Alexander, after a discussion with his friends, burnt the palace as a retribution for the destruction of Athens. A more romantic account can be found in Plutarch of Chaeronea, Quintus Curtius Rufus and Diodorus of Sicily; these sources are derived from Cleitarchus, who wrote a quarter of a century after the events. He tells  that a courtesan named Thais was present at a drinking party and convinced the drunken king that it would be his greatest achievement in Asia to set fire to the palace. At first, this seems to be a cautionary tale for alcoholics without any value as historical source; and we may be inclined to believe Ptolemy's sober statement that the destruction was a premeditated act. However, it can be proven that Ptolemy is not telling the whole truth: Thais was his lover (and the mother of three of his children). It may well be true that she did indeed play a role.
	Archaeologists have shown that the palace at Persepolis was only partially destroyed and that most buildings received a special treatment from the arsonists. For example, the palace of Xerxes, the destroyer of Athens, was damaged, but that palace of Darius wasn't. Other buildings that were damaged were the Apadana and the Treasury: the symbols of the gift exchange ritual that was the core of the Persian Empire's political system. It is highly unlikely that a fire created randomly by drunken arsonists would destroy exactly these three buildings. The fire was planned (more....).
The desert southeast of modern Isfahan	It remains to find a motive for this vandalism. The Macedonians could not leave the palace behind: the search for Darius promised to be a long and difficult campaign, and it was possible that the Persians would liberate Persepolis and gain access to the remains of the treasury when the Macedonians were at Ecbatana. The destruction of the palace was a military necessity, and the decision to destroy it was made easier because the Persian nobility had not visited the king: they had chosen to be enemies, so they would be treated like enemies. Preparations for the fire-raising must have taken some time and it is possible that they were not completely finished when an intoxicated king decided to commit the 'most detested town in the world' to the flames.
	The pursuit of Darius In May, the Macedonian infantry marched to the northwest, crossing Deh Bid pass, and in June, they reached Ecbatana, the capital of the satrapy Media. But Darius was no longer there. Just a couple of days before, he had gone to the east. It is interesting to note that he had stayed at Ecbatana during the winter, because this proves that he still hoped to be reinforced, could liberate Assyria and Babylonia and cut off the Macedonian lines of supply while Alexander lingered in Persepolis. In fact, during their march to Ecbatana, at Gabae, the Macedonians received word that Darius would indeed receive troops and was prepared to offer battle, but it seems that the new soldiers arrived too late.
Two Medes. Relief from Persepolis (more).	From now on, Darius III Codomannus was no longer fighting to regain his empire. The great king, the king of kings, the king of Persia, the king of countries, the lord of many kinds of men, the king of all men from the rising to the setting sun, the Persian, an Aryan, the Achaemenid, was now fighting for his survival and hoping to be in Bactria before the Macedonians would overtake him. Even worse, Darius' supporters were wavering. There were divisions within the royal family: a prince named Bisthanes, the son of the former king Artaxerxes III Ochus, surrendered Ecbatana to the Macedonians, the last of Persia's royal capitals to be captured. Alexander continued his policy to lure Persian noblemen away from his opponent: a Persian named Atropates was received an important courtier and later appointed as satrap of Media. He was to become one of the protectors of Zoroastrianism.
A Parthian. Relief from the eastern stairs of the Apadana at Persepolis (more).	King Darius was taking with him the treasure of Ecbatana and traveled slowly. He should have left earlier and he must have cursed the reinforcements that had promised to help him and had caused him to stay at Ecbatana. He reached Rhagae (near modern Tehran), the most important religious center of the Zoroastrians. Darius may have wanted to sacrifice to the sacred fire, but was unable to stop: if Persia and its religion were to have a future, he would have to reach the eastern satrapies and recruit an army. Being killed by the Macedonians was more honorable but would not help the Persians. So he continued to Parthia.
The Dasht-e-kavir desert where Darius was killed	The death of Darius The satrap of Bactria was the most important man in the Achaemenid empire after the king. A crown prince would reign Bactria for a couple of years and a king without grown-up sons would appoint his brother in this satrapy. The present governor of Bactria, a man named Bessus, must have been very closely related to Darius and the king must have thought that he was safe when he reached the territory of Bessus. But he was wrong. To Bessus and Barsaentes, the satrap of Arachosia and Drangiana, the situation was clear: if they remained loyal to their king, the Macedonians would invade the eastern satrapies. On the other hand, if they arrested Darius and delivered him to the invaders, there would be no war, because it was unlikely that the Macedonians were interested in unknown countries, where they would be forced to fight a war of an unknown type. But they were wrong too. Alexander and the cavalry followed Darius as fast as they could. After ten or twelve days, the Macedonians were at Rhagae, where they briefly paused; two days later, they crossed the Caspian Gate and reached Parthia, where they met two servants of Darius -one Bagistanes and Artiboles (the son of the satrap of Babylonia, Mazaeus)- who told him that their master had been arrested. The Macedonian king who wanted to be recognized as king of Persia, was now faced with the following choice: if he accepted that Bessus delivered Darius to him, he was obliged to accept the independence of the eastern half of the empire, and he would have to make a decision about Darius' fate: if he killed the man, he would never be accepted by the Persians; the territories he had conquered would never be secure, especially since there were independent Iranians in the east, who could assist rebels; if he spared Darius, he would obtain the loyalty of the Persians, but this loyalty could always be switched back to the former king; if he did not accept Bessus' offer, the satrap of Bactria would kill Darius and become king himself; in that case Alexander could win the loyalty of the Persians by launching a crusade against the regicide. All these options must have crossed Alexander's mind, and he decided not to negotiate. It was better that a Persian killed the Persian king. If Alexander wanted to rule the countries he had conquered, he needed the undivided loyalty of the local aristocrats, and he would never receive their unconditional support as long as Darius was alive. If, on the other hand, Darius was killed, Alexander could be crowned at Pasargadae and could win the Persian support for an attack on the murderers. (The method was tried and tested: his father had used it to unite Greece. The difference was that the enemies of 337 were the allies of 330.) It was obvious what he had to do. The only thing Alexander needed, was a dead king.
The Tomb of Artaxerxes III. Darius' final resting place?	He did not give Bessus a chance to open negotiations, and sent Attalus and Parmenion's son Nicanor ahead to pursue the Persians. At Choara, they reached their enemies, who were struck with terror and killed the captive king (text). This happened in July 330, near modern Dâmghân. The incident is mentioned in the contemporary Babylonian Alexander Chronicle. Darius received a state funeral at Persepolis. Perhaps the "Unfinished tomb" was prepared for him, but this was never completed, and it is more likely that his last resting place was the Tomb of Artaxerxes III. This is interesting, because it proves that Alexander already regretted the destruction of the palace and wanted to do what was expected from a Persian king: restore it.

http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander10.html

other important and fun readings and facts on alexander

	Alexander the Great
Alexander, bust from Delos (Louvre)	Alexander the Great (*356; r. 336-323): the Macedonian king who defeated his Persian colleague Darius III Codomannus and conquered the Achaemenid Empire. During his campaigns, Alexander visited a.o. Egypt, Babylonia, Persis, Media, Bactria, the Punjab, and the valley of the Indus. In the second half of his reign, he had to find a way to rule his newly conquered countries. Therefore, he made Babylon his capital and introduced the oriental court ceremonial, which caused great tensions with his Macedonian and Greek officers. This is the eighteenth of a series of articles. A complete overview can be found here and a chronological table of his reign can be found here.
	The fourth beast Cultural contact Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under given circumstances inherited from the past. It is tempting to see Alexander as an exception to this rule, to think that he was the brilliant conqueror who forged his own fate. This temptation should at all costs be resisted. Alexander was not the man who overthrew the Achaemenid empire, he was merely a harvester. In the century before his reign, the satraps of the western half of the Achaemenid empire had adapted themselves to the Greek culture of which Alexander was an exponent too. At the same time, the Macedonians had been pupils of the Persians. Many aspects of Macedonian society are best understood as imitations of Persian customs. East and west were already starting to resemble each other; Alexander was nothing more and nothing less than the man who united two cultures that would have been united anyway.
	This does not mean that Alexander was a mere puppet on a string. How the two cultures were united was very much of Alexander's choosing and responsibility. The decisive moment was the aftermath of the battle of Issus, when he refused to accept Darius' peace offer and proclaimed himself king of Asia. Until then, he had been the liberator of the Greek towns in Asia, from now on, his aims were higher: he became a conqueror. What had been a defensive action, changed into an offensive. It is no accident that Alexander treated the tomb of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, with respect. The legendary Persian king had been a conqueror too.
Alexander with a horned diadem. Coin by Lysimachus (©!!)	The destroyer Conquerors are by definition destroyers. Alexander ruined his own country, draining its human resources: after his reign, Macedonia never regained its former power. The Persian culture suffered severe blows, too. The destruction of Persepolis served no real military purpose. In Zoroastrian texts, Alexander is called 'the accursed', because many people were killed and the religious traditions were in great peril. (It is interesting to note that the ram's horns that are shown on Alexander's coins, became an attribute of the Persian god of evil, Ahriman. Later, they were to influence the western iconography of the devil.) It is true, Alexander could show clemency towards Persians and used them as satraps and soldiers (we will return to this point); but he was harsh towards people that were of no military value.
Skopas' Pothos (Archaeological Museum of Naples)	Alexander's biographer Aristobulus introduced the idea that Alexander was driven by pothos, 'longing'. He wanted to go beyond everything done before, and was thirsting for wisdom. This last aspect of Alexander's psychology -the desire for knowledge- is certainly incorrect. To make just three basic observations: the charming story about his meeting with the Brahmans can not be found in the 'good' historiographic tradition; Arrian of Nicomedia introduces the story with 'they say', which is always an indication that he did not find it in his best sources, Ptolemy and Aristobulus. the Macedonians and Greeks never understood such basic things as the difference between the Magians and the Chaldaeans (the first were Persian religious specialists, the second were Babylonian astronomers). Alexander never learned Persian or Aramaic.
	One of his contemporaries, Demetrius of Phaleron, a Greek philosopher who was like Alexander a pupil of Aristotle of Stagira, was especially impressed by the destruction of Persia (text). This is remarkable, because as an Aristotelian, he would have been aware of Alexander's quest for wisdom, if wisdom was really what the Macedonian king was longing for. This leaves us with Alexander as a conqueror, as the man who chose violence to unite what was bound to unite. The author of the Biblical book Daniel expressed this when he portrayed Alexander as an exceedingly strong beast with ten horns and iron teeth, which devoured, broke in pieces and stamped the world (text).
Bust of Alexander from Takht-i Sangin (Tajikistan) (From A. Kuhrt & S. Sherwin-White, From Samarkand to Sardes, 1993; ©!!!)	The spread of Greek culture This can, however, not be the last word. Conquest had cultural consequences. Although the Macedonians did the fighting, the Greeks were the beneficiaries of Alexander's campaigns. Their culture spread over the Near East. For example, archaeologists have excavated a town in northeastern Afghanistan (Ai Khanum) that was in nearly all its aspects Greek. On one of its temple walls, one could read the wisdom maxims from the oracle of Delphi. Antioch and Alexandria succeeded Babylon as the world's cultural capital. Unlike Athens, Sparta, Corinth and Thebes, these cities were cosmopolitan. A Greek from Antioch or Alexandria could meet people from other cultures. The famous Alexandrian library contained translations of the Jewish Bible, ancient Egyptian texts and Babylonian scientific publications.
Alexander. Bust from the  Acropolis Museum, Athens	The Greeks became increasingly aware of the achievements of other civilizations. That would have happened anyway, but Alexander speeded up the process. This was recognized by Eratosthenes of Cyrene (one of the Alexandrine librarians), who wrote that the most important result of Alexander's conquest was that the old, clear-cut distinction between good Greeks and evil barbarians had been challenged (text).

http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander18.html

more of alexander's youth and date and place of birth

Portrait of Philip, from Welschbillig (Germany). Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier.	Youth A Macedonian youth Alexander was born in the summer of 356, probably in Pella, as the son of the Macedonian king Philip II (r. 360-336) and queen Olympias. Because the son later claimed to be the son of the supreme god, which he called Zeus or Ammon, stories about his procreation and birth were invented. (You can read them here.) In fact, these stories were unnecessary. Even without them, anyone would have known that the boy was born for greatness. Ancient authors often maintain that Macedonia was a poor, backward country, and that Philip brought it to civilization. E.g., Alexander's biographer Arrian of Nicomedia writes that king Philip found the Macedonians wandering about without resources, many of them clothed in sheepskins and pasturing flocks in the mountains, defending themselves with difficulty against other tribes. Instead, Philip gave them cloaks instead of sheepskins, brought them down from the mountains to the plains, made them city-dwellers and civilized them. And he made them a match in war for the neighboring barbarians (text).
Olympias (Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki)	This may be a picturesque image, but it is simply incorrect. Earlier kings had founded cities in Macedonia, built roads, opened mines and invited Greek artists (e.g., the playwright Euripides) to come and live in Macedonia. However, the country, though potentially a superpower, was politically divided, and it is true that Philip, although technically an usurper, was the first to overcome the divisions and to realize Macedonia's potential. It must be stressed that this was comparatively easy, because the traditional powers were all in decline. Persia had temporarily lost Egypt and had to reconquer the ancient country along the Nile. Besides, it faced a civil war after 353, when the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, Artabazus, rebelled. Eventually, this rebellion was suppressed (Artabazus was exiled to Macedonia), but it had seriously weakened Persia's western border, and Philip was ready to pick up the fruits.
	The Greek powers were in decline, too. Sparta had lost Messenia, its economic base, and was still trying to recover. Thebes was fighting the Third Sacred War (357-346), which continued to drain its resources. Athens had founded a second empire, but was struggling to overcome some rebellious allies, who, worst of all, were invoking Persian help. Philip had free play. It would have been remarkable if he had failed to expand Macedonia.

http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander01.html

alexander's death

Alexander's Death

In the spring of 324, Alexander held a great victory celebration at Susa. He and 80 of his close associates married Persian noblewomen. In addition, he legitimized previous so-called marriages between soldiers and native women and gave them rich wedding gifts, no doubt to encourage such unions.

Little later, at Opis he proclaimed the discharge of 10,000 Macedonian veterans to be sent home to Macedonia with general Craterus.  Craterus' orders were to replace Antipater and Antipater’s to bring new reinforcements in Asia. But the army mutinied hearing this. Enraged Alexander pointed the main ringleaders to his bodyguards to be punished and then gave his famous speech where he reminded the Macedonians that without him and his father Philip, they would have still been leaving in fear of the nations surrounding Macedonia, instead of ruling the world.  After this the Macedonians were reconciled with their king and 10,000 of them set out for Europe, leaving their children of Asian women with Alexander. In the same time 30,000 Persian youth already trained in Macedonian manner were recruited in the army.  Alexander prayed for unity between Macedonians and Persians and by breeding a new army of mixed blood he hoped to create a core of a new royal army which would be attached only to him. 

But Alexander will never see this happen.  Shortly before beginning of the planned Arabian campaign, he contracted a high fever after attending a private party at his friend's Medius of Larisa.  As soon as he drank from the cup he “shrieked aloud as if smitten by a violent blow”. The fever became stronger with each following day to the point that he was unable to move and speak.  The Macedonians were allowed to file past their leader for the last time before he finally succumbed to the illness on June 7, 323 BC in the Macedonian month of Daesius. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king and the great conqueror of Persian Empire, died at the age of 33 without designating a successor to the Macedonian Empire. 

http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html

alexander the great

Conqueror and King of Macedonia, Alexander the Great was born September 20, 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia. During his leadership, he united the Greek city-states and led the Corinthian League. He also became the king of Persia, Babylon and Asia, and created Macedonian colonies in Iran. While considering the conquests of Carthage and Rome, Alexander died of malaria in Babylon on June 13, 323 B.C.

http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-the-great-9180468

why alexander was important

Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He was inspiration for later conquerors such as Hannibal the Carthaginian, the Romans Pompey and Caesar, and Napoleon.  Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. He was son of Philip II, King of Macedonia, and Olympias, the princess of neighboring Epirus. He spent his childhood watching his father transforming Macedonia into a great military power, winning victory after victory on the battlefields throughout the Balkans.  When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor.  During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander a training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life.  In 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, which shows that even at such young age Alexander was recognized as quite capable.  But as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country.  Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. 

http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html