DISCOVERIES

LEXANDER f.

the GREAT* \

the legend of a warrior kinc)

WITNESS ... ..>

the mi ClmY advance

fthe^tici^ent
Boston Public Library

9
 I

19J

ALEXANDER
i *
THE GREAT
THE LEGEND of a WARRIOR KING
 ALEXANDER
^THE GREAT
rHE LEGEND OF A WARRIOR KING

Written by
Peter Chrisp
Illustrated by
Peter Dennis

Macedonian soldiers

Alexanders
&
personal 3{ 1
historian and '&s
secretary

A Dorling Kindersley Book

 LONDON, NEW YORK, SYDNEY, DELHI,
MUNICH, AND JOHANNESBERG
PARIS, Contents
Project Editor Carey Scott
Art Editor Joanne Connor
Senior Editor Scarlett O Hara
Deputy Managing Art Editor Vicky Wharton
Managing Editor Sue Grabham
The long feud
Senior Managing Art Editor Julia Harris
DTP Designers Andrew O'Brien, Georgia Bryer
Picture Researcher Deborah Pownall
Jacket Designer Dean Price
Production Kate Oliver and Chris Avgherinos
8
US Editor Chuck Wills THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
American Edition, 2000
hirst

00 01 02 03 04 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I

Published in the United States by Dorling Kmdersley Publishing, Inc

95 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10016 10
Copyright © 2000 Dorling Kmdersley Limited
THE MACEDONIANS
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions
No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the copyright owner Published in Creat Britain
by Dorling Kindersley Limited 12
DK Publishing offers special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions or
premiums Specific large-quantity needs can be met with special editions, including Prince Alexander
personalized covers, excerpts of existing guides, and corporate imprints For more
information, contact Special Markets Department DK Publishing, Inc ,

95 Madison Avenue New York. NY 10016 Fax 800-600-9098

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chrisp, Peter
Alexander the Creat by Peter Chrisp
p. cm. -- (Dorling Kindersley discoveries
Summary: Follows the history of Alexander the Creat and his campaign to conquer
the known world including information on his traveling companions, armies of his
time, ships, and food
ISBN 0-7894-6109-9
I. C — Military leadership—Juvenile
Alexander, the Creat, 356-323 B literature 2
Greece— History— Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 BC — Juvenile literature 3

— History--To 324 B C —Juvenile

India 4 — Discovery and
literature India
exploration-Creek —Juvenile Alexander, the Creat, 356-323 B C
literature [I. 2
Kings queens rulers etc 3 Generals 4 Greece — History— Macedonian Expansion,
359-323 B.C.] I. Title II Series

DF234 2 C48 2000

934— dc2l

Reproduced by Colourscan Singapore

Printed and bound by L.E.C.O., Italy 14
Additional illustrations by David Ashby

see our complete catalogue at

The first challenge
www.dk.com
16
BR BR
J
The great expedition
DF234.2
.C48
2000
18
"Lord of all asia"
 36
Victory in india

- IIP 38
Into an unknown land
20
The battle of issus

22
The siege of tyre

24
The city of Alexandria 40
The journey home
26
Clash of two kings 42
Death in babylon
28-31 i

The battle of
gaugamela >;
t T V!. • "

32 ^'flp
A NEW GREAT KING 44
Empire builders

46
Discovering
king philip's tomb

34 48
Plots and quarrels Index
Long Feud
ABOUT 500 BC, A SERIES OF WARS BEGAN BETWEEN TWO ANCIENT
IN
civilizations. Their dispute was to continue for almost 200
years. The conflict was started by the Persians, who were trying
to expand their empire. Facing them in battle were their western

neighbors, the Greeks, who were fighting to keep their freedom.

This Greek vase, painted in the

4th century BC, shows King Darius I

of Persia making plans for campaigns

of war against Greece. In 492 and
490 BC, Darius made two unsuccessful
attempts to concjuer Greece

The Greeks thought that

naked men looked heroic,

so in art soldiers were often

shown fighting naked. In

reality, Greek warriors
wore body armor.
A 4th-century BC carving
showing Greeks and
Persians in battle
 THE LONG FEUD

GREEK UNITY
The In 380 BC, an Athenian
politician called Isocrates
on the Greek cities
PERSIAN EMPIRE called
to unite and invade Persia.
Greece was a poor land, he
The ancient Persians and said, which was why the
Greeks were always
Greeks were very different from fighting each other.
But Persia was rich.
each other. The vast Persian All Greece s problems
would be solved by
empire included many different conquering the Persian
people with various religions and empire, and seizing its

magnificent wealth.
languages. They were united in a
The Parthenon in Athens was a temple
single state, which was ruled by a king.
.

to the goddess Athena It replaced an

Wtrl earlier shrine burned by the Persians
In contrast, the Greeks all spoke the same ^Mirr
language and worshiped the same gods, •
but were not ruled by one king. Greece was not
an empire but a collection of city-states, which Asia MINOR
were like different countries with their own 1

governments and laws. Some of the city-states, such as tit

Athens and Sparta, were often at war with one another.
Priest holding barsom Crete

THE MAKING OF AN EK4PIRE

The Persians were the ancient people of
southern Iran. Between 549 and 522 BC,
two Persian kings, Cyrus the Great and his
son Cambyses, won a huge empire It
stretched from Egypt in the west to the
borders of India in the east, and included
some Greek settlements on the edge of Asia
Minor. Later kings, such as King Darius and 1

his son Xerxes, hoped to expand the empire

even further by conquering all of Greece.

Egyptian
dwarf
Ancient m< >numents
god Bes
The great pyramid tombs and the statue of

the sphinx were already over 2,000 years

old tobtn the Persians conquered Egypt.

Fact file
MAGI
The ancient Persians worshiped • For almost 200 years from about
a supreme god called Ahura 522-334 BC, the Persian empire stretched
2,500 miles (4 000 km from west to east
Mazda (wise lord), as well as
other, lesser gods. Priests, called PERSIAN FINERY • More than a dozen languages were
magi (from which our wo id The wealth, and the diversity, of the spoken in Asia Minor alone.
"magic" comes), performed rituals Persian empire was displayed in richly • The great hall of King Darius's palace
to honor these gods. As he furnished palaces. Craftworkers of at Persepolis was big enough to hold
10,000 people.
prayed, a priest held up a holy many nationalities made elaborate
bundle of twigs called a barsom. items, such as this silver bowl
 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

XERXES
In 480 BC, the Persian king, Xerxes,
"It is much more came close to conquering Greece.
He led a vast invasion force, which
glorious to fight against succeeded in capturing Athens and
the Persian king for his burning the city's temples. But the
Athenians fought back and won a
empire than to fight great victory. Xerxes had to flee

each other... We back to Persia. The Greeks

never forgave the Persians for
Greeks will never have burning their holy temples.

asting peace unless we

join together." Sacred fire
Persian priests, or magi, burned
ates, fromspeech
his
holy fires on large, open-air altars Illustration of King Xerxes of Persia,
iven in Athens, son of Darius I

380 BC

Bactrian (two-
bumpeti) camels
carried treasure

across the empire.

Pers E M P
'Ecbatana

• Sus
Darius
Persian king
title t/jf
I was

"Great
the first

to use the

King"
*& War elephants
Indian elephants
were trained for war
Persia and used by the

Persian army in
The Ishtar gate was >Ptrxl>0i,i
their battles.
the entrance to the

ancient city oj Babylon

Arabian desert Assyrian citizen

bringing a gift

of fine cloth.

BRINGING TRIBUTE
Each New Years Day, a great ceremony
was held at the palace of Persepolis in
Persia. People from all over the empire
brought tribute gifts to the king as a
i

These carvings
sign of their loyalty. ^m
from Persepolis show Indians and rW
an Assyrian bringing their gifts
The palace walls were covered
with such carvings They were
intended to show the wealth
of the empire and its many
different peoples all united

under their Great King.

 THE LONG FEUD

Thf
macedonians
North of Greece lies the
land of Macedonia. The ancient
Macedonians spoke a form of
Greek and worshiped the Greek
gods. Despite this, other Greeks
looked down on them as
"barbarians," orbackward foreigners.
They thought that the Macedonians
had rough, crude ways. Unlike the
Greek city-states, which were mostly
governed by the citizens themselves,
Macedonia was ruled by kings. Between
359 and 336 BC, the king was a brilliant,
ambitious man called Philip. Macedonian womet
When he came to the throne, his made bread at home
Sheep were raised for wool and /<
kingdom was small, weak, and
milk, which was made into cheese HETAIRA!
surrounded by enemies. Some women became trained

Philip created a powerful PARTY AT PELLA companions called hetairai They

When he was not away at war, Philip were taught to be witty speakers and
army, which he used to relaxed in his palace at Pella, where skilled musicians. Hetairai often

conquer the neighboring he often held drinking parties. This entertained the men at parties

gave the Greeks another excuse to

countries of Thessaly and
look down on the Macedonians - as
Thrace, and to dominate drunkards Greeks always mixed their
the whole of Greece. wine with water, but the Macedonians
were said to drink theirs undiluted.

Healthy living
LIKE THEIR CREEK neighbors, the
Macedonians ate a simple diet based
on wine pressed from grapes,
bread made from barley
or wheat, and olives -
some eaten fresh, and
others pressed for oil.

Rich and poor

The wealthy enjoyed seafood
such as squid, and they hunted
wild boar and deer for meat. These guests are playing
'

The poor, however, rarely Bread "cottabos, " a game in which

ate fish or meat.
wine was flicked at a target -
here, a bowl on the floor.

10
I
 THE MACEDONIANS

HILLS AND PLAINS

Macedonia was a divided land. The plains of
Lower Macedonia, where the king's rule was
strongest,were occupied by
people who spoke Creek. Upper
Macedonia was hill country and
home to tribes who spoke
various languages. Philip's first

achievement as king was to

bring together all these PLOWING AND HOEING
different people into These farmers are preparing the ground for
one kingdom. *> planting. One man wooden plow
steers a
pulled by oxen, while another man breaks
Much of the land was ^",_ clods of earth with a hoe. Most Macedonians
wooded, and timber was were poor farmers, but under Philip's rule
sold to the southern many of them became skilled soldiers, too.
Greeks jor shipbuilding

"Philip is no
PHILIP'S GOLD
In 357 BC Philip conquered Amphipolis, east Greek... He is
of Macedonia. The region was famous for its
gold mines, and Philip became the richest
wretch
a filthy
The palace
ruler in Greece. He used the gold to hire from Macedonia,
floors were
more soldiers, buy off his enemies,and to
decorated with win over influential Creeks with bribes. a place where it
mosaics made
from pebbles
was never yet
possible to buy a
decent slave."
Demosthenes the Athenian,
from his speech

Macedonia today
For most of its history Macedonia
has been ruled by foreigners -
Romans, Greeks, Bulgarians and
Heating was provided Turks Following the breakup of
by braziers - metal Yugoslavia in l
(
)
l
)i Macedonia,
dishes containing became an independent state
burning charcoal. It is much smaller than Philips

A Philip's many slaves waited

n and its inhabitants
hetaira playing
the aulos, or double pipes. on him and his guests. related to the ancient M

1 1

.
 THE LONG FEUD

Prince
ALEXANDER
IN 356 BC, KING PHILIP OF MACEDON'S WIFE,
Olympias, gave birth to a son, Alexander.
The young prince soon learned that he
came from an extraordinary family. Philip
claimed descent from Heracles, the legendary
OLYMPIAS strongman and son of the god Zeus. Olympias
Prince Alexander was closer to
his mother, Olympias, than to traced her bloodline back to the famous warrior
his father,who was often away Achilles. Tales of his heroic ancestors and news
fighting.Olympias was just
one of the kings wives, and she of his father's conquests filled Alexander with
bitterly resented her rivals. After
Philips death, she murdered
ambition. Whenever Philip won a victory, Alexander
his most recent wife and baby would complain to his friends, "Boys, my father will leave
daughter. Alexander, like his
mother, also had a ruthless streak.
no great achievement for me to show the world."

Each string was

tightened or

loosened to produce

Ready for actk

Alexander rushed to

Crateru-
ready to atta^ •

the lion with

A musical life
i The lion would adopt
wclin.
Like even.- wealthy Creek boy a defensive position as
Alexander studied music as part ot \\"\R \\T V
Craterus raised his sword
his education He learned to sing Alexander's friend Crateru
and play the lyre an instalment with
a soundbox made from the shell of a
ROYAL SPORTS is shown wielding a kopi^
a curved sword used for
Alexander and his friends are shown hunting a lion.
tortoise. The strings were plucked r.4 The kopis and
with a disk called a plectrum Music Hunting was the favorite sport of the Macedonian javelin were also used in

was played at almost even' Greek royal family, and Alexander would have hunted almost warfare, so hunting was
social event, from religious daily He stalked the wild animals, such as bears, lions, seen as a useful part of
festivals to private parties and stags, that still roamed the Macedonian hills military training.

\2
 PRINCE ALEXANDER

Education for girls

ALEXANDER'S SISTERS had a very different upbringing. They were taught
to spin and weave wool into cloth. All Creek women, even princesses,
were expected to spend their days at home, spinning and weaving.

ARISTOTLE
When Alexander was 3, the1

famous Greek philosopher

Aristotle became his tutor.
Aristotle was an expert in

all the sciences as well as

politics. Alexander came to
share his tutor's curiosity IThe first

making cloth was

stage in
2 was
Next, wool
the
wrapped
3 Then the thread
was woven into The ancient
about the natural world.
to roll out the rough around a stick, cloth on an upright Greeks wore
fibers into twisted called a distaff loom - a timber loose, simple
strands. This was and spun into frame resting against clothes such

done on an epinetron, thread on a spindle. a wall.Even Queen as this dress,

a pottery sheath A spindle was a Olympias would called a chiton
that fitted over weighted rod of have had her
the V nees. wood or bone. own loom.

Taming Bucephalus
Alexander noticed that Bucephalus
A hilltop village shied away from its own
shadow. He tamed the
horse by turning it

toward the sun,

Alexander's servant
*- so it couldn't
ran to help.
) see its shade

Achilles
Alexander's hero
is shown killing

the queen oj the

Amazons, a
legendary tribe oj
fighting women-

The iliad THE FIRST FEAT

Alexander's ancestor, Achilles, is the By his teens, Alexander was an expert
hero of an epic poem called the Iliad. horseman. His first recorded deed,
Composed by Homer some 400 years before at the age of about 2, was to tame a wild
1

Alexander's birth, the poem tells of a Greek horse, Bucephalus, which nobody else had
war against Troy in Asia. When Alexander set been able to mount. Over the years to
off on his own Asian campaign, he took the come Bucephalus would carry Alexander
Iliad with him, keeping it under his pillow. into the thick ol many battles.

13
 THE LONG FEUD

Thf
first challenge
IN 336 BC, KING PHILIP OF MACEDON
was at the height of his power. He had
forced most of the Greek cities to join
a military alliance, or league, headed by
himself. The king planned to lead the Greeks
-,^j
in a war against the Persian empire. However,
;:::g:,i„
:

',?',:;:

Heracles
Alexander traced his family back to this plan came to nothing, because Philip was
the legendary hero Heracles. The
engraving above shows Heracles murdered. He was immediately succeeded by
who
his son, Alexander, who was just 20 years old.
capturing Cerberus, the dog
guarded the underworld. Heracles
was born in Thebes, one of the When the news spread, there was a widespread
oldest and most famous of the Greek
cities. Despite his link with Thebes, rebellion against Macedonian Alexander had to
rule.
Alexander came to hate the city.
act quickly to save the situation. He had to prove that
he was just as strong a king as his father had been.
Hailing the new king
The soldiers proclaimed Alexander
king by beating their spears
acjamst their shields KING ALEXANDER
e Macedonian throne did
not automatically pass to
the king's eldest son. First,
Alexander had to be
accepted by the army.
On the very day that
Philip was murdered,
the soldiers hailed
Alexander as their -
king. Alexander told i&,
them, "Nothing has
changed except the
name of the king!"

Alexander's soldiers 1H<

poured into the city

\ The soldiers' shields were decorated

with a star - the emblem of the

Macedonian royal famdy

TRAINING FOR WAR

The Thebans, who had joined Philip's league, did not
take Alexander seriously. In 335 BC, they withdrew from
the alliance and surrounded the Macedonian garrison
(supply of soldiers) that Philip had left in the city. The
young men of Thebes began to train for a war with
Macedonia, which they thought they would easily win.

14
 THE FIRST CHALLENGE

NO SANCTUARY IN THEBES
When Alexander's soldiers stormed the -~
~r -
city, frightened people fled to the temples,
hoping they would be safe in such holy
places. But the soldiers showed no
ft-2' ^ mercy. They dragged people

T& from the temples and murdered

them. About 6,000 Thebans
I

were killed during the battle.

As well as men. women

and children ir

sold into slavery .

HARSH PUNISHMENT
Alexander had the whole city burned
to the ground as an example to the rest
of Greece. A few noble Thebans who
had opposed the revolt, plus the city's
priests and priestesses, were spared.
The remaining inhabitants, some
20,000 people, were sold as slaves.
u
In hiding
Some Tbeban soldiers hid

from their attackers.

$ .
f $.
JTbe terrified

citizens tried

to flee.

V
V >.u
B
Escape!
Mounted Thehan
* \ ^\- troops fled to the
countryside.
The city of Thebes
under attack

ATTACK ON THEBES
Alexander was away fighting in soldiers burst into ^ , % \_
'

Thrace, to the north, when he bouses, killing the occupants I

heard that Thebes had risen in

revolt. He raced south, covering MERCY GESTURE
240 miles (386 km) in just 3 days. 1 A Theban woman called Timocleia
The Thebans were shocked to see one of Alexander's soldiers in
killed
Alexanders army so soon, but still self-defence. When she was arrested
they refused to surrender. A and brought to the king, he pardoned
fierce battle followed,and the her. Alexander wanted to be seen as a
city was eventually taken by merciful conqueror, so he made sure that
the Macedonian army. everyone knew he had been generous.

15
 THE LONG FEUD

The Wax tablet

GREAT EXPEDITION for taking notes

Alexander had crushed all opposition in Greece

Now he planned a new war of conquest against the
vast Persian empire. He said that it would be a war
on behalf of Greeks, to punish the Persians
all
WRITERS
for invading their homeland 150 years earlier. Alexander's secretaries wrote
letters for the king and kept a
He also intended to free the eastern Greek cities diary of the campaign. For a more
lasting record, Alexander had his
from Persian rule. By the spring of 334 BC, own historian, called Callisthenes.
'Alexanders fame," he boasted,
Alexander had gathered a huge army. It included depends on me and my history."
not only Macedonians, but troops drawn
from over Greece and from the
all .

Balkan lands to the north. As well p oe ts, painters, sculptors,

as soldiers, Alexander's expedition and musicians were among the
i < j i
. . artists who traveled with the
included scientists, architects, writers, king Their role was to make
artists, philosophers, and Seers. statues and paintings of
Alexander, and to celebrate
his actions in poems and
songs. These were all ways

of bringing Alexander
lastmg fame
ETERNAL FAME
Alexander's personal
motive for the campaign
was to win everlasting
fame, and prove himself
an even greater
conqueror than FIGHTING TROOPS
his father. Alexander had two main cavalry
units - the Macedonian companion
cavalry and the horsemen of Thessaly
Most of the Macedonian infantry
were foot companions. They fought
alongside the Macedonian shield
bearers, the fittest and toughest
soldiers in the whole army. The
expedition also included heavily
armed Creek infantrymen called
hoplites, archers from Crete,
Balkan javelin-throwers,
slingers,and Thracian scouts
Shield bearers Foot companion

12,500 Greek I 2,000 Macedonian

infantry infantry

16
 THE GREAT EXPEDITION

MIND AND BODY

Alexander's personal
physician was among a team
of doctors. Philosophers gave
the king advice and entertained
him with tfneir conversation. THE SEER
Before making any
important decision,
BUILDERS
Alexander consulted the
Surveyors, architects, and
engineers were needed to lay
gods. He believed that
his seer, Aristander,
out the army's camps and to
could foretell the future
build siege equipment, bridges
and interpret the gods'
and, later, whole cities. Architect Surveyor
wishes. These were
shown through omens
SCIENTISTS (signs), such as the

The expedition was also a journey of appearance of eagles

exploration. Astronomers, map makers
and other scientistswere on hand to
record any discoveries.
Geologists looked
Fact file
for valuable
• More Creeks fought against
metals, such
Alexander than served with him. The
as gold.
Persian king had a force of 50,000
Greek mercenaries (hired soldiers)
Geologist Map maker Astronomer • Alexander left a second Macedonian
army at home to prevent any further

Pages
WOMEN AND Greek uprisings
• Callisthenes was one of several men
CHILDREN on the expedition who wrote books
SERVANTS Some Creek women followed about the campaign. Their accounts
Among the servants were grooms who the army, and later on they formed the basis of all future histories

cared for the horses and mules. The were joined by many more of Alexander.

pages were noble Macedonian youths Asian women. More than

who served Alexander's meals, slept in 10,000 babies were born
his tent, and went hunting with him. during the campaign.

Greek hoplites '

rumpeter Foot companion officer

A well-kept army
There were more than 37,000 fighting men in
Alexander's army and one of his biggest problems
was making sure that every man received wages
and food. The campaign began with enough j

to last just 30 days so Alexander had to find

1,800 Macedonian 900 Balkan sources of food in Asia He also needed to

2,400 Greek
cavalry cavalry cavalry Persian treasure in order to pay his troops

17
7
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P u* C « C 5C O
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o ra u -^ <D
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< §-5 8 3

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I
_
 —~:~^= LORD OF ALL ASIA
3f
BU(

Thf
battle of issus
IN APRIL 334 BC, ALEXANDER LED HIS
army into Asia Minor (present-day
Conquering Asia Minor
Alexanders victory at the Cranicus gave
Turkey). In May, he fought a
him the freedom to lead his army through battle against the satraps, or local
Asia Minor from one Greek city to
another Most of the cities welcomed him, Persian governors, at the Granicus.
though two surrendered only after sieges.
Meanwhile, Darius III was far
away in Babylon, collecting troops. It was not until late
333 BC that he marched north to Issus, and the two kings
finally met in battle. The Macedonians were outnumbered
by Persian troops, but Darius made a fatal mistake. He chose to
fight on a narrow plain, where there was
not enough room for his
army, and thousands
of soldiers had to wait
behind the battlefront

BATTLE WINNERS
Alexander was a better
general than Darius, and
his soldiers were very
brave. The awesome
Macedonian phalanx -
a solid formation of
infantry armed with
pikes — mowed
down the Persian
troops. Meanwhile,
Alexander himself
led the cavalry charge

Swordmaking
ALL THE SHIELDS, helmets, and
weapons used by Alexander's
soldiers were hand-made by
skilled smiths. Armor was
beaten into shape from sheets
of bronze. For spearheads and
swords, iron was preferred
because it is a much harder metal. IThe iron was
2 For hotseveral hours 3 The sword was
heated in a the iron was plunged into cold
Iron must be heated to a very
charcoal tire until repeatedly beaten and w ater to harden it
high temperature - about 2,192°F it was hot enough reheated until it was and then sharpened
( 1 ,200°C - before it can be worked.
) to be shaped. the shape o\ a sword on a grindstone
 THE BATTLE OF ISSUS

• 100,000 Persian soldiers, but only

450 Macedonians, were killed at Issus.

The length of the pi,

• During his campaigns Alexander
or sarissa, allowed the was wounded at least ten times, by
phalanx to spear enemy every kind of weapon, including
Bronze helmet soldiers from a safe distance
swords, daggers, clubs, and stones.
with cheek guards

Shield protected the Alexander's friend

soldier's left side Alexander is shown greeting his royal Hephaestion
prisoners in a painting by Italian
artist Sebastiano Ricci, 1708-10.

anx infantry
were known as
companions. Jewel of asia
Darius's wife,
Stateira, was said to
reaves he the most heautifu
(shin guards) woman in Asia. _

AFTER THE BATTLE

Darius fled from Issus in such a hurry that he left his
mother, wife, and children behind. The women were
terrified of Alexander at first, but he treated them
with such kindness that they soon became fond of
him. He would later marry one of Darius's daughters.
 —
LORD OF ALL ASIA"

Battle ot
rdssus arte
:
. The
SIEGE OF TYRE
Alexander had beaten darius's army,
,-3»HciraciA — ".

but the Persians still had a powerful

fleet of warships. While this fleet sailed
the Mediterranean, Alexander would not be
safe. He did not have enough warships to
fight a sea battle, but he found another way
to beat Darius's fleet. He planned to capture
CONQUESTS the ports that supplied the ships with food and
Just one year after defeating Darius
at the battle of Issus, Alexander water. Without supplies, the fleet would soon
captured the major Phoenician
port cities of Sidon and Byblos.
surrender. The first two ports gave up without a fight,
They surrendered in 332 BC. but the people of Tyre resisted. They were sure that
Alexander could be defeated, because their city
was built on a well -defended island. Alexander's siege ^jfetf
of Tyre lasted for seven months. It was his most
difficult military operation, but he finally
succeeded in capturing the city.

Screens and sbtds wen

set up to protect the

soldiers while they

built the causeway

Sea snail
Tyre was one of the richest cities ot
the Mediterranean, thanks to a sea
snail called themurex. These were
crushed to make a prized purple
dye, used to color robes and other
garments It took 60,000 sea snails to
make one pound (half a kilo) of dye.

The finished mole,

BUILDING or causeway

A MOLE
Alexander ordered his men to build a mole - a
Reaching the walls
land bridge - from the mainland to the island of
Carthage The finished mole was about
Tyre. The soldiers drove wooden stakes into the
The Phoenicians were an ancient 200 jt (60 m] wide atid half a
seafaring people. They sailed all
seabed to act as a frame, and then piled rocks and mile (800 m) long. Unfortunately
around the Mediterranean, founding logs on top. As they neared the city walls, the work for Alexander. \bt wall faciiu) the
trading cities. The most famous was grew more difficult and dangerous. The water was moli was too strong to be battered

Carthage, in today's Tunisia, which deep, and Alexander's men were bombarded with down It would take an assault
was founded by settlers from Tyre. stones and fire from Tyrian catapults. from the sea to do this

22
 THE EGE OF TYRE

Hot sand BREAKING IN CATAPULTS

The Tynans tipped
Again and again, Alexanders ships, armed with battering Both attackers and defenders
red-hot sand on top oj rams, smashed against the city walls. Eventually, they used deadly catapults, which
Macedonian soldiers managed to bring down part of the wall. Alexander then fired stones, red-hot lumps of
trying to climb ffoe wall. sent in troop-carrying ships with drawbridges attached. metal, or bolts (big arrows).
From these ships, the Macedonian shield bearers and foot The catapults were fired by
companions fought their way into the city. springs made from tightly
twisted animal sinews or hair.

A soldier aims
j the catapult

Cunning trick
Some Tyrians threw spears attached

to ropes at their attackers shields.

They pulled on the ropes to force the

Macedonians to

drop their shields.

\ Tactical towers
The Tyrians built wooden towers
on top oj their walls. These made it

harder for the Macedonian catapult

missiles to reach them, and gave
their own artillery greater range.

The Tyrians piled rocks into the

water to prevent Alexander's ships

from getting close to (foe island

VICTORY AT LAST
After months trying to capture Tyre, most of the Persian ibijn were

fleet surrendered in 332 BC. With these new warships, lashed togi

Alexander was able to attack Tyre from all sides. After provide a

the Macedonian victory, the adult men of Tyre were platform |

nailed to wooden crosses as a warning to other cities.

23
 LORD OF ALL ASIA

Thf
city of alexandria
From tyre, Alexander traveled
southwest to Egypt, the richest province
of the Persian empire. The Egyptians hated
A GOOD OMEN Persian rule, and they gave their new conqueror
Alexander scattered barley a warm welcome. On November 14, 332 BC, the
on the ground to mark out
a plan of the city's streets, 24-year-old Macedonian was crowned pharaoh,
but was alarmed when
most of it was eaten or king, of Egypt. Alexander spent six months
However,
by birds.
in his new kingdom. While he was there he made
Aristander, his seer, said
that this was a good sign, plans to build a great port on the Mediterranean.
because meant the city
it

would attract many settlers

He chose the site and named the city Alexandria.
who would be well-fed. This was the first of 17 cities that
The library contained
Alexander named after himself.
the world's largest

collection of scrolls

Books were
written by hand
on papyrus scrolls

The palact
THE GREAT LIBRARY planned by

After Alexander's death, the city became Alexander

the capital of his friend Ptolemy's and enlarged

kingdom. Ptolemy founded a great library by later

kings.
AN ALPHABETICAL CITY
in Alexandria, and gave orders for copies By the early third century BC, Alexandria was a flourishing and, for
to be made of all the world's books. The its time, modern city. It was settled by Creeks, Jews, and Egyptians,

library became famous, attracting scholars each living in their own neighborhoods, named after letters of the
and scientists from manv lands. alphabet. The Jews, for example, lived in Delta (the Greek letter D

24
 THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA

"Many consider to
be the first city of
it
Son of Ammon
the civilized world, ONCE HE WAS CROWNED PHARAOH, Egyptian priests greeted
Alexander as the son of Ammon, their most important god.
and it is certainly far This made a deep impression on Alexander, who had always
ahead of all the rest felt that he was no ordinary human being.

in elegance, size,
King of the gods
riches, and luxury." Alexander believed that
Ammon was Zeus, king of the
Diodorus of Sicily, gods, under a different name.
from his book The
Library of History,
1st century BC
/ He was shown wearing a
crown decorated with two
goose feathers, or sometimes
with a horned ram's head.

The agora, or Grid system This Egyptian

marketplace Alexandria had a network of Horns of Ammon oh holds
straight streets at right angles After Alexander's death,
a crook and
to each other, like many coin portraits were
flail to
cities oj today made, showing him represent
wearing the ram kingship.
horns of Ammon.

Living god
As apharaoh, Alexander was worshiped by
the Egyptians as a living god. Nobody knows
if Alexander really believed that he was a god,

but he certainly enjoyed being treated as one.

The Pharos lighthouse

WONDER OF
THE WORLD Alexandria today
In 279 BC, a lighthouse
Anstander's prediction proved correct,
was built on the island of
because today Alexandria supports a
The eastern, or Great Pharos. It was 400 ft (122 m) thriving population of around three
harbor. The western high, and so solidly built million people. It is the second largest
harbor was called the that it stood for more than city in Egypt, and is still the country s

Harbor oj the Happy 1,000 years. The

lighthouse was chief port. For more than 2,300 v
Return proclaimed as one of the seven merchant ships have sailed to and
wonders of the ancient world. from the city's harbors.

25
 .

Clash 1/
of two Rings
ALEXANDER HAD MET DARIUS IN BATTLE ONCE BEFORE, AT
Issus, when the Persian king fled in terror. Determined not
to be beaten a second time, Darius spent two years gathering a

new army before he was ready to fight again.

This time, the prize for victory
would be the whole Persian em
Alexan
a Persian
 '
Everything you possess^"^
is now mine. ..If you wish

to dispute your throne,

stand and fight for it and
do not run away.
Darius, surrounded Wherever you may hide
by Macedonian yourself, be sure I shall
pikes, wasjrozen Darius' s charioteer seek you out."
in horror as whipped his horses
Alexander, in a

Alexander charged furiously to speed tfcletter to Darius,

331 BC
toward him. his master's escape
 Issus
CLASH OF TWO KINGS.
\ »
NA/N
IF HI
— ??BKK

apascu

i~
'

r*
%
The battle
k
wit OF GAUGAMELA
_ ill" lk*T!£'^»^_ Darius had two years to figure
out why he had lost at Issus and to
Journey to Gaugamela
Alexander left Egypt in the spring plan for a second battle. Alexander
of 331 BC and traveled back to Tyre
to gather his troops, now around had won the first time with a cavalry
47,000 men. In the summer, they
marched northeast, reaching charge, so Darius strengthened his own
Gaugamela in late September
cavalry with his empire's best horsemen

APPEAL TO FEAR BaTTI.i

The
OMI NS
seer Arislandei hell
For the first and only time He
a ram's liver toii
in his life, Alexander Alexandti th<it the omens
sacrificed an animal to the indicated a victory for
god Phobos (Fear). In his the Macedonians
prayers, he asked Fear to
fill the Persians with terror

during the coming battle.

Alexander knew he needed
Offerings to the gods all the help he could get

Before battles, animals were to defeat the massive

sacrificed to the gods in order to Persian army.
win their help. Sometimes special
hooks such as those above were
used to pull the flesh back and The Macedonian camp
reach the inner organs. Marks on
the organs were believed to be
omens (signs) from the
gods, showing how
the battle would
turn out.

Macedonian troops marched to the battlefield.

Soldiers for hire

Alexander claimed to be fighting for all of
A STIRRING SPEECH Greece, though many Greek, mercenaries
Before the battle, Alexander made (hired soldiers) fought in Darius's army.
a rousing speech to his men. He
reminded them of their previous Fighting for Persia
victories,and told them not to By Alexander's time, Greek mercenaries had fought
worry that they were outnumbered. for Persia for more than a century. Greece was a

"There may be more men standing poor land, and it was hard to make a decent
living at home. Persia was a rich empire, and
on their side," he said, "but there
the king always .ieeded soldiers.
will be more fighting on ours."

.
28
He had new weapons of war, too. There were
15 elephants from India to terrify Alexander's horses, and
200 chariots with razor-sharp blades sticking out from their
wheel axles. This time, the Persians would outnumber Alexander's The Persian camp

men by five to one,and Darius would not repeat the mistake of

fighting on a narrow, crowded battlefield. Instead, he looked for an
open space, where he could use all his forces. In September 331 BC, he
found what seemed the perfect place for the battle - a wide open
plain near a village called Gaugamela (in modern-day
Iraq). He led his huge army from Babylon to
Gaugamela, and waited
for Alexander.

The vast Persian

army streamed down
on to the battlefield

CHARIOT
CHARGE
The 200 Persian war
chariots charged across
the plain. Alexander's archers
and javelin throwers attacked them,
bringing down the drivers and horses.
When the chariots reached the Macedonian lines, the
soldiers opened their ranks, lettingthem pass through.
CAVALRY BATTLE
The battle began with hard fighting
between Alexanders cavalry and GROUNDWORK
Darius's Scythian horsemen. Heavily Darius had prepared the battleground carefully. In some
outnumbered, the Macedonians lost areas, his soldiers had scattered metal spikes called
many men. But they managed to caltrops to cripple the Macedonian horses. Other
hold off the Scythians until areas had been cleared of obstacles and the ground
reinforcements arrived. eveled to give the Persian chariots a smooth ride.

^ Tk .
 THE IMMORTALS
Darius had a personal bodyguard of 10,000 specially
chosen soldiers called Immortals. They received this
name because when one of them was killed, he was
immediately replaced by a new recruit, so that it
seemed that the soldiers defied death. This frieze
'flat sculpturej of Immortal soldiers, armed with

spears and bows, comes from Darius's palace at Susa.

The village of Gaugamela

I
BATTLh TROI'HIHS
| After the bottle, the Macedonians
marked their great victory with
trophies — these included Persian

arms and armor,

stripped from

the dead and

displayed on poles.

Nineveh, an
:
* ancient Assyria
city already
in ruins by
Alexander s da>

Alexander thrust his

spear at Darius's driver

Hephaestion's gashed arm

was cleaned and bandaged

HEPHAESTION wounded THE TURNING POINT

Doctors were stationed behind the lines ready Darius's fatal mistake was to leave a gap
to tend to the injured. Alexander's closest in the Persian line of defense. Alexander at

friend,Hephaestion, was wounded when his once led companion cavalry through the opening, and galloped
his
arm was slashed by a spear. Hephaestion towards Darius himself. The two kings faced one another. Alexander
was probably treated by Alexanders was able to kill Darius's chariot driver before the Persian king le
personal physician, Philip of Acarnania. from the chariot and fled the battlefield in a cloud of dust

30
 THE BATTLE OF CAUGAMELA

TOO LATE THE KINGS TREASURE

Alexander rode through the night to Alexander gazed in InArbela Darius had abandoned his treasure.
reach Darius, but was too late to catch wonder at the Persian Thanks to these riches, Alexander was able to
the king. Although Alexander was king's treasures. reward his soldiers with vast amounts of loot.
K
disappointed, he knew that Darius was Meanwhile, Darius had escaped by fleeing east
now a broken man. Alexander had through the mountains to the land of
beaten the best army the Persians Media, where he gathered the
could raise, and on a battlefield chosen survivors of the battle.
by Darius. Now nothing could stop
him from becoming ruler of the
Persian empire.

Arbela
Darius's base was
the town of Arbela,
60 miles (96 km)
from the battlefield.

u I

Alexander's cavalry
traveled more than
400 mi,

in just eleven days.

I 1

',
w A
The
IN PURSUIT
following spring
Alexander gathered an
army of 9,000 men and set
off once more in pursuit of

Darius was carried o the king who was now

in a covered wagon heading northeast
It was a long
'(
exhausting chase.

Betrayed
Darius hoped to fight
Alexander again, but hi IGNOBLE END
satraps, or governors, had VC'hen they realized Alexander
was close behind them Darn, s s
lost faith in his leadership. captors decided to kill the king
Led by Bessus, satrap Two of them dragged Darius

of Bactria, they plotted from the cart and stabbed him

repeatedly By the time-
to overthrow their king.
Alexander reached them
In July 330 BC, Darius was
Darius was dead
taken prisoner by his own men.
^£ wjt^ Alexander gave
He was tied up, flung into the his enemy a royal
back of a wagon, and taken into funeral at the Persian
the desert by Bessus and his friends capital Persepolis.

31
 CLASH OF TWO KINGS

Anew
GREAT KING I
THE PERSIAN ARMY HAD BEEN UTTERLY
defeated on the plain at Gaugamela. Now
Alexander was free to take the prizes of
his victory. These included Babylon and Susa,
two rich and ancient cities that had been
Babylonian welcome conquered by the Persians. Their inhabitants
Alexander made a triumphant entry
into Babylon, riding his chariot. surrendered once to Alexander, and they
at
To welcome their new king, the
Babylonians scattered flowers on welcomed their new ruler. After several weeks
the road in front of him. Alexander

promised to rebuild the city's temple

resting in Babylon, Alexander traveled southeast,
to the chief Babylonian god Bel into the land of Persia and towards Persepolis. There
Marduk, which had been destroyed
by the Persians. This made him was no welcome here. Any Persians who did not flee
very popular with the Babylonians.
fought to defend their homeland, but they were soon
overwhelmed. At the age of 25, Alexander had
Stone lions stood guard
tit either side oj the hall.
become ruler of the Persian empire - the new Great King.
The chief Persian god, Ahura Mazda, Frieze oj royal
The hall columns were shown as a pair oj outstretched wings. guards, called
59Jt(i8m)tall Darius s Immortals
 NEW GREAT KING
Fact file
• Alexander captured five of Darius's
royal palaces, at Babylon, Susa, Persepolis,
Pasargadae, and Ecbatana.
• Darius's treasure was enough for Alexander
to pay his army for 25 years
• The treasure weighed around 7,290 tons.

A I 4th-century

THE EMPIRE'S WEALTH

ON THE THRONE For years, each district of the Persian
When Alexander first sat on the empire had paid taxes to King Darius
Persian throne, Demaratus, an old Gold and silver were brought by camel to
Greek wept with emotion.
soldier, his palaces. When Alexander became the
He any Greek who had
said that Persian king, there were so many valuables
died before that day had missed one in the palaces that 20,000 mules and
of the greatest pleasures of life - seeing 5,000 camels were needed to carry them
Alexander on the throne of Darius. to the new king's treasury at Ecbatana.

Silver ornaments

Gold and silver were melted

down into

Alexander found the Persian palaces full of

gold and silver. He was not interested in the
treasure for its own sake,
and much of it was
PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS melted down to make
In January 330 BC, Alexander entered coins to pay his troops
the great palace of the Persian kings
at Persepolis. It was an awe-inspiring
building At its center was a vast
Royal goat
"apadana," or audience hall,
This silver goat may have
where the Persian king
been an ornament in one
saton his throne of Darius's palaces.
and received visitors
from all over

Armlet
This solid gold armlet, or bracelet,
was once worn by a Persian noble,
perhaps the king himself.

PALACE IN RUINS
After staying in Persepolis
for four months, Alexander
burned the palace down. He
claimed that this was done
to punish the Persians for
burning Athens in 480 BC.
However, some said that
Alexander was drunk at the
time of the fire and later
regretted destroying his
palace. Persepolis was
abandoned. All that remained
were the stone doorways,
carvings, and palace columns.

33
 CLASH OF TWO KINGS

"We have lost Plots

Alexander, we have
lost our king! Have
AND QUARRELS
we spilled our blood
From 330 until 327 bc, Alexander I

to make a god who campaigned along the northeastern

despises us?" frontiers of the Persian empire, fighting
Hegelochus, a Macedonian against a series of local rulers. It was here
officer, quoted in Quintus
Curtius Rufus s that he began to fall out with his Macedonian
The History of
% Alexander,
c. AD 40
followers. Hoping to be accepted as king by
the Persians, Alexander had
begun to wear Persian dress
and to welcome Persian
nobles into his court. He
expected the Macedonians
to treat his Persian friends
as equals and to bow as the
Persians did when they greeted
him. The Macedonians hated
the new Persian courtiers,
and they refused to bow.
They felt that Alexander
had become arrogant. Now,
he was even claiming to be
a son of the god Zeus. The
Greeks saw their king changing for
the worse, and they did not like it.

PAYING RESPECT
Alexander's Persian nobles were used to bowing in front of
their king while blowing him kisses, an act of respect known
as proskynesis. To Macedonians, such |

gestures were made only to statues

of gods. When Alexander
LlSTEMM IN demanded proskynesis
From behind a curiam, -^ for himself, they
Alexander listened to felt he wanted
Philotas being tortured to be treated
PHILOTAS'S PLOT like a god.
As relations with his Macedonian
followers grew worse, Alexander began The Persian
to suspect plots against him. In kin0 Diirms /

330 BC, he was told that Philotas, who on bis throne,

commanded the companion cavalry, was receiving

planning to murder him. Philotas was proskynesis.

arrested, tortured until he confessed, and
executed. Historians still argue about
whether or not Philotas was guilty.

34
 PLOTS AND QUARRELS

HEAVY DRINKER
Alexander was heavy drinker, like his
a

Murderous intent father Philip. He would

often spend
several hours drinking wine with his friends
A nearby guest tried to hold
Alexander back when he and then stay in bed for the whole of the next day,
A cup called a kylix,
realized the king was about recovering from his hangover. Alexander had always commonly used at
to murder his friend had a bad temper, but it was made much worse by wine drinking parties.

Fateful friendship
Cleitus was the brother oj

Alexander's childhood
nursemaid and bad once
saved the king's life. Bui this

did not prevent Alexander

from killing him

THE KILLING OF CLEITUS

During a drinking party, one of the
older Macedonians, Cleitus, began
to criticize the king. He said that
Alexander's father Philip was a better
man than he would ever be. Alexander,
who was drunk, lost his temper, and
ran Cleitus through with a spear.

Hero or devil?
Alexander's head is

Alexander has always been seen in surrounded by a halo.

different ways by different people. Some

have seen him as a brutal killer, while to
others he is a noble hero.

Two horns
Coins showing Alexander wearing the
ram's horns of the god Ammon led to a
ater belief that he really had horns, like

a devil. In the Muslim holy book, the

Koran, heis called "Dhul Quarnein"
-
the two-horned one

Indian king
This 15th-century painting
A 16th-century Persian miniature showing
from India shows Alexander leading
Alexander as the "two-horned one." luxurious life of an Indian emperor ot th JL
Victoryr in* .

IN
326 BC, ALEXANDER LED HIS I | | t 1 | ^Jk
army into India to begin a JL JL X^^^JL^^^
new campaign of conquest. His

first battle was against the Indian king

Porus, whose huge army included more
King Poms, said to be
than 100 elephants, specially trained over 7 jt (2 m) tall, rode
an elephant. From its
for battle. Although Alexander's
back he hurled javelins
army was outnumbered, his tactics, at the Macedonians.

and the discipline of his men,

eventually won the battle.

r
1

\*M

art
 Alexander riding into
battle on his faithful
horse Bucephalus.
/'Porus, gathering
Shortly after the battle, forty beasts
Bucephalus died from around him, drove
either wounds or old age. at the enemy with
the whole mass of
Shield bearers his elephants and
hacked at the
inflicted grevious
elephant's legs
losses.
Dead and dying with axes to
Diordorus of Sicily
The Defeat of Porus by elephants littered cripple them from his book The
Alexander by French ibrary of History,
the battlefield.
artist Louis Watteau
was painted in the
1st century BC i
mid-1 8th century.

'

1 \a
'
/

JP2?
 VICTORY IN INDIA

Into an
UNKNOWN LAND I

When Alexander led his army into

Victory coin India in 326 BC, he was setting off on a
Alexander marked his victory over
the Indian king Porus with this journey into the unknown. The Greeks
It shows Alexander on
silver coin.
Bucephalus attacking Porus mounted had only vague ideas about the size, the
on an elephant. After the battle, Porus
became a useful friend to Alexander. climate, and the people of India. Alexander
believed it was a small country that would be
easy to conquer. However, the Indian ruler
ti "You
Vc are always
'

Porus told him that large powerful kingdoms lay

busy and up to no
ahead, defended by huge armies including
good, traveling so
thousands of elephants. This alarming news spread
many miles from through the Macedonian army. His soldiers began to
home, a nuisance wonder whether they would ever see their homes again.
to yourself and
to others." V*"'

':'
Indian wise man, quoted in
Arrian s The Campaigns of ^% ^^
ad 150 y Jy
J*

Unfamiliar
fruits looked

tempting, but

often led to

sickness June I RAINY SEASON

326 J Alexander invaded India at

Soon, the soldiers' wet — ?5_J

•
the start of the summer rainy
clothes started to rot season - the worst possible time of
from the constant ram year. For two months, it rained
continuously. The rivers burst their
banks, flooding the surrounding plains.

fyf.
WORDS OF
bc j WISDOM A NEW TOWN
Alexander had a famous meeting On the site of his victory over
with some Indian wise men who Poms, Alexander founded two
spent their time thinking about cities called Nicaea (Victory) and
the world. They told him that his Bucephala. The latter was named
life of conquest was senseless. in honor of his faithful horse who

They stamped their feet to make died following the battle.

the point that a person can only
possess the earth that he or she Medieval French painting showing
stands on. the building of Bucephala.

38
 •Jfeii
If .jjgjHPp
Ind ian treasures
Alexander told his men that
3 fcjj
they would find rare treasures *r^
in India, a land rumored to
L Ki* --3 iraS
4=
be rich in precious stones. 1—^HS Sri #^
Strange birds
The soldiers saw animals and Ancient skill
birds they had never seen Alexander's men built floating bridges
before, including peacocks across some of the Indian rivers by
Alexander ordered his men lashing together boats and fixing
not to kill the beautiful birds planks of wood over them. Supplies
and peacock feathers were and horses could then be brought
sent back to Greece. across. This ancient method of building
bridges is still used in the Punjab today.

Makeshift boats
jui y ' CROSSING RIVERS July j
NO MORE HARDSHIP
326 ] Alexander led his army through the 326 i When the soldiers reached the fifth
The soldiers stuffed BC
J region called the Punjab, which means J!£ J Punjab river, the Hyphasis, they
their tents with straw
to make rafts, so they
"land of five rivers." The soldiers crossed four of refused to cross it. Their spokesman, Coenus,
could float themselves the rivers, which were swollen and fast-flowing told Alexander that the men wanted to go
and their belongings because of the heavy rains. Some of the men home. "The one thing man should
a successful
across the river. were swept away by the strong currents. know," he told Alexander, "is when to stop!"

The soldiers Aug I

DEFEATED
gathered outside 326 Alexander was furious
J

B<
June \
MISERABLE LIFE Alexander's
begging
J with his soldiers, and

326 The ] rains were a continua

tent,
announced that he would go
give up
~—3 source of misery. All
him to
on alone if necessary When
the campaign.
the metal equipment had to be this failed to change their

scoured daily to keep it free from minds, he sulked in his tent,

rust. Deadly snakes came out of refusing to speak to anyone for
their holes in the ground looking three days. At last, Alexander
for higher, dry land. Many men Crocoddes added to the danger gave in, and told his men" that
<fc*
died painfully of snakebites. of crossing the Indian i
he would take them home

39
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40
THE JOURNEY HOME

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:
 VICTORY IN INDIA
-

Death
IN BABYLON
IN BABYLON, ALEXANDER MADE
plans to conquer yet more
The carriage had a roof oj
territory. He intended to invade overlapping gold scales

Alexander funeral carriage

s
Arabia and then conquer the whole
Statue oj Nike,

coast of North Africa. However, at the end goddesss oj

victory

of May
323 BC, the king fell ill with a raging fever.
Bells warned
From his sickbed he continued to give orders about onlookers oj the

the coming campaigns, but his fever grew worse. It soon

procession's
approach

became clear that Alexander was dying. His friends

asked him, "To whom do you leave the kingdom?" The king Net ojjine
gold thread

replied, "To the strongest," but he could not know who this
Panels painted
would be. Alexander knew only that his generals would soon with scenes oj
be fighting each other for power. His last words were, "I foresee a great Alexander's wars

funeral contest over me." On 10 June, Alexander died. He was just 32 years
old, but he had conquered the greatest empire the world had ever seen.
Columns
decorated with
Funeral procession acanthus plants
. The gates Alexander's soldiers marched
of Babylon behind the carriage.

ROYAL CARRIAGE
The Macedonians spent an
entire year preparing a TWO KINGS
magnificent funeral carriage to After Alexander had died, his
carry Alexander's body home wife Roxane gave birth to a

As it traveled westward, the boy. Alexander also had a

fame of the carriage spread. In half-brother, Arrhidaeus, who
every city, vast crowds gathered was mentally handicapped.
to watch the dead king's These two were proclaimed
procession pass. But Alexander's as joint kings, though they
body never reached Macedonia. never had the chance to rule.
The carriage was seized by AllAlexanders relatives were \The BABY KING
Ptolemy, the new ruler of murdered in the power struggle Alexander's son, King Alexander IV,
Egypt, and taken to Alexandria. that followed his death. was murdered, with his mother,
when he was twelve years old.

A life at war
Alexander spent almost all of his
356 BC [333 BC
334 BC
I 3 -year reign at war. He was one
of the greatest generals in history
and won dozens of battles and more ALEXANDER ALEXANDER ALEXANDER DEFEATS
BORN IN PELLA, INVADES THE DARIUS AT THE
than 20 sieges, yet he also found
MACEDONIA. PERSIAN EMPIRE BATTLE OF ISSUS.
time to build around 20 cities

42
 DEATH N BABYLON

Banner decorated with THE CONQUEROR

a golden olive wreath After Alexander's death, rival
Macedonian warlords fought one
another for a share of the empire. The
was seized by Seleucus,
largest territory
who was nicknamed "the conqueror."
His Seleucid empire, which included
Persia and Syria, lasted for 241 years.

The Hellenistic world

The period after Alexander's death is
called the Hellenistic age (from the
word Hellene, which means Greek)
For 300 years, Greek language, art,
and culture flourished throughout the
Middle East A typical Hellenistic
city was Ephesus (above) in Turkey.

olemy

LAST DYNASTY
Ptolemy was the most
The king's fortunate of Alexander's
armor voai successors. Unlike Seleucus,
placed on a who was assassinated, he
purple robe.
lived into old age. Ptolemy
founded the last dynasty
Jars of sweet-
(family of rulers) of
smellhiii spices

surrounded
Egyptian pharaohs, the
Alexander's Ptolemies, who ruled
Egypt from 305 to 30 BC.
Legacy of Alexander
The Kalash people of Pakistan
believe that they are descended from
soldiers in Alexander's army who
married local women. The customs,
language, and religion of the Kalash
are unlike anything else found in
Pakistan, so this story may be true.

43
 FACT-FINDER

Map showing the

Empire Atlantic
ocean roman empire in ad 117

The Roman world

BUILDERS At its

Roman empire
largest extent, the

from Britain to Asia

Troops were kept busy
stretched

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, guarding the frontiers of

conquered lands The heart
new empires have been of the empire was the
Mediterranean, which the
conquered by military might. Romans called "our sea."

Some, such as the Roman

empire, were well-organized
and long-lasting. Others had
only a brief lifetime before
breaking up into separate states
or kingdoms. In successful
empires, the conquered
people have been united by
a shared religion,
language, or
Julius

way of life. Caesar

The roman
EMPIRE
The Romans
allowed many
of the people they
conquered to Trajan s Column
Under Emperor Trajan (AD 98-1 17), the empire reached its largest size. His
the
become Roman campaigns in Dacia (present-day Romania) are recorded in a series of carvings on
citizens and to share a pillar, known as Trajan's Column still standing in Rome Above Roman standard-
in the benefits of hearers soldiers carrying emblems) lead other troops across a bridge made of boats
their empire. This
made the Romans
Roman roads
popular rulers.
The Romans built an extensive
network of roads all over their
Maker of the empire empire in order to move soldiers
Julius Caesar (c 100-44 B( quickly around conquered lands
was one ol a series ol Roads were built in straight
generals who created the lines to keep the distance
Roman empire. Caesar between places as short as
conquered Gaul France) possible. The first Roman road
and he dreamed of was the Via Appui i
left I
built
equaling the achievements in 312 BC and later extended to
ol Alexander the Great become Rome's main link with
its expanding empire in the East

Gift of the empires

The Roman and Islamic empires each left a 300 200 |
1 00 BC J
AD AD 100 200 300
lasting legacy. Most ol the countries conquered
by the Arabs are still Muslim The Romans left THE ROMAN EMPIRE
behind the Latin language and calendar. Some
European cities such as Pans and London, R< )ME 197-14o in I I iNQUESl AD 43: i
\l> 117: R( IMAN
were Founded by the Romans. The Mongols 'IS ALL Ol MAC I l
i i
PNQUES1 l
MPIRI REAC Ills
left no long-term legacy. OF ITALY. AND GREECE. Ol BRITAIN lis 1 \RUM SIZI I\\i >

44
 EMPIRE BUILDERS

The islamic empire The moncol empire

In the 7th century AD, a new religion, called In the 13th century, the fierce Mongols from
Islam, appeared in Arabia. Its founder, the Asia conquered the largest land empire in
prophet Muhammad, united the tribes of history. For almost a century, Mongol armies
Arabia, and inspired them to fight a holy seemed unstoppable. Yet, although they were
war against their neighbors. brilliant warriors, the Mongols did not have
the Roman or Arab skill for ruling people.

United by
religion
Most of the
conquered peoples Genghis Khan
converted to Islam. The founder of the
They were called Mongol empire was
Muslims, and they Temujin who took
followed a strict the title Genghis Khan
code for everyday prince of all that lies
life Muslims pray between the oceans
five times a day, He claimed that his
often in mosques god, Tengri, had
I prayer buildings given him a mission
to conquer the world
M\l' SHOWING THE MONGOL EMPIRE IN AD I 259

The Mongol world

MONGOL WARRIOR'S Genghis Khan united the
QUIVER \M '
Mongol tribes and led
FOR ARROWS) them in an invasion of
China and Persia. His
successors conquered
southern Russia At
its peak the Mongol

empire stretched from

eastern Europe to the
Pacific Ocean

Map showing the islamic empire in ad 850 Mongol weapons

The Mongols' success was
The Muslim world due to their military tactics. They were
By AD 850 Muslim armies had conquered territory expert horsemen and skillful with bows
from Spain to the edge of India The capital of the and arrows Always ready to learn new
Islamic empire was Baghdad, which was a great skills the Mongols may have been the
trading center and the world's largest city. first people to use gunpowder in war.

Mongol decline
In 1259, Genghis Khans
grandson Kublai was the new
Great Khan, but his power
never reached far beyond
Holy decoration China. In the 1270s Kublai made
Another unifying force was Arabic, the language of the two attempts to conquer Japan, but
Muslim holy book, the Koran Texts from the Koran each time his fleets were destroyed
were often used as decoration in Muslim buildings. by typhoons The Mongols no The MONGOL fleet sails
This inscription comes from Cordoba in Spain longer seemed invincible. TOWARD THE SHORES OF JAPAN

500 600 700 800 900 1000 1 1 00 1200 1300

THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE THE MONCOL EMPIRE

400-450: WESTERN 634-650: CONQUEST OF 909: EMPIRE IS SPLIT 1237-1242: MONGOL ARMIES
EMPIRE FALLS TO SYRIA, PALESTINE, IRAQ. BY A RIVAL GROUP THROUGH RUSS
NORTHERN BARBARIANS. EGYPT, AND PERSIA OF MUSLIMS. O WD HUNGARY.

45
 FACT N D E R

Discovering king Unnatural bumps and hollows

PHILIP'S TOMB in the (/round can give an

indication that buildings once
stood on the site.

LITTLE REMAINS FROM THE

lifetime of Alexander the
Great. Even our statues of the
king were made long after he
died, copied from earlier statues
that have now been lost. So it
was exciting news when Greek
archaeologists announced, in
1977, that they had discovered
a rich Macedonia. The
tomb in

tomb held the bones of a man,

along with symbols of royalty.
This was evidence that the Site plan
1 Making a site plan
man was a king. Objects found Archaeologists look for features on the ground, such as tumuli
(earth mounds), which are often the sites of ancient burials. Philip's
within the tomb date from the
tomb was found under just such a mound. Once a suitable site has
fourth century BC. It was almost been identified, a plan is made of the area before digging begins.

certain that the tomb was that

of Alexander's father, King
Philip of Macedon.

2 Special tools
Archaeology is painstaking
work, requiring delicate
tools. To reach
Philip's tomb, the
archaeologists had
to carefully move tons
of soil, which they
then sifted for finds.
Small fragments of
pottery in the soil were
used to date the burial
of the tomb.

Plumb line to
show vertical
rows when
marking out
THE SITE
 DISCOVERING KING PHILIPS TOM
A grid of squares allows the
position of each find

to he recorded
Rebuilding Philip's face
Although the body buried in
thetomb had been cremated, there
were enough pieces of the skull left to
reconstruct the dead man's face. A plaster
cast was made of the skull, and clay was used
to build up the layers of muscle and skin.

The wound
The shape
An exciting discovery was
a notch on the skull's right
of the heard
eye socket. Its angle
Pottery was based
on portraits
showed that it was a
fragmen
wound caused by a blow
collected for of Philip
from above. We know
cleaning and
if possible,
5f Archaeologists
from accounts of Philip's
life that he lost his right
restoration working on a dig Reconstruction
of king philips eye to an enemy arrow
HEAD
3 Digging the site
Excavating a site often means destroying its

evidence, preserving only finds, such as

bones and treasure. It is important for 4 The tomb
archaeologists to measure, examine, and The king was buried
record even small finds. They take with a magnificent set
photographs and keep site notebooks in of armor, including

which they record the position of their finds. a quiver and gilt leg
greaves (coverings
Unlike most ancient
royal tombs, Philip's
grave had never been
robbed. The armor
was found in 1977
exactly where it

had been placed at

Philips funeral in
336 BC, perhaps by
Alexander himself.

The lid was decorated with a starhurst, the

emblem of Macedonia s royal family

5 Wreath Larnax
Gold wreaths such After his body had been
burned King Philip's bones
as this one have
were carefully wrapped in
sometimes been a purple cloth. They were
found in Macedonian then placed with his
and Greek tombs. wreath inside this gold
They were modeled larnax 'ancient Greek
on different types of casket i

The larnaxwas
then put inside a marble
leaf, and each leaf
sarcophagus 'coffin for
was linked with a extra safekeeping
god. The olive tree
was sacred to Athena,
while the oak was Rosettes inlaid
Zeuss holy tree. with blue glass paste
 1

T 1 Demaratus 33 Hephaestion 1 NO seers, 17, 24

Index doctors
drunkenness,
Ecbatana, 33
17, 30
10, 35
21, 30
Heracles, 12
hetairai, 10, 1 1
14
Nearchus. 40, 41
Nicaea, 38
Olympias, 12
Seleucid empire, 43
shield bearers
20, 37
16

education, 12,13 Homer 1 3 omens 17. 24, 28 shields. 14, 20, 21

A Bessus 31 Egypt 8, 24 hoplites, 16 ships 40
Achilles 12, 13 booty, 31 elephants, war 9, Hyphasis, river, 39 P shipbuilding 41
agora 25 bows and arrows, 45 29 36 37 palaces, 10-11 24 Sidon 22
Ahura Mazda, 8, 32 bridges, floating, 39 empires 44—45 U 32-3 3 siege engines 23
Alexander IV King Bucephala, 38 Ephesus 43 Iliad, 13 Parthenon 8 silver, 8, 33
of Macedon 42 Bucephalus, 13, 20, Immortals, 30, 32 Pella, 10-11 slaves, 11, 15
Alexander the Great 37, 38 F India, 35, 36-41 Persepolis. 31, 32-33 soldiers:
army of, 16 17 builders. 17 farming, 10, 1 1 Indian Ocean 41 Persian empire 6 Greek, 7, 16
death ot 42 43 Byblos, 22 tish-eaters 41 Indus River 40 8-9, 14, 16, Macedonian, 1
1,

in Egypt 24 fleets, 22. 23, 40, infantry, 16, 20, 21 32-33, 34. 41 14 16-17, 20
as living god. c 41 45 Islamic empire, 45 Persian Gulf, 40 Persian 6
25, 34 Caesar, Julius, 44 food, 10, 38 Isocrates, 8, 9 phalanx, 20, 21 Roman 44
as Prince 12 13 Callisthenes 16 funeral carriage Issus, battle ot pharaohs, 25, 43 Sparta. 8
at war 14 15, 20, caltrops, 29 42-43 20 21, 26, 27, 28 Pharos lighthouse, 25 sphinx, 8
22, 26-31 34 Cambyses King ot Japan, 45 Philip, King of Stateira 2

42 Persia, 8 G Macedon, 10, 11, Susa, 30, 32 41

Alexandria camels, 9 ; alleys 40 KL 12, 14, 46-47 swords, 12, 20
24-25 42 Carmania 40, 41 Gaugamela, battle Kalash people 43 Philip of Acarnania,
library ot 24 Carthage, 22 ot 28-31, 32 kopii. 12 17, 30 T
Ammon, 25, 35 catapults, 23 Gedrosian desert 40 Koran, 45 philosophers 1~ Thebes 14-15
Amphilolis 1 1 cavalry, 16, 20, 21, Genghis Khan 45 Kublai Khan 45 Philotas 34 Thrace 15, 16
Arbela, 31 28, 29 31 girls, 13 larnax, 47 Phobos, god, 28 Timocleia 15
archaeology 46—47 Cerberus 1 4 gods: Phoenicians, 22 tombs, 46—47
Aristander 17 24, chariots 29 Alexander as living M Porus King 36 tools, 41 46
25 28 city-states, 8, 10 god 25 Macedonia 37, 38 Trajan's Column 44
Aristotle 1 3 Cleitus, 35 Babylonian 32 10-1 1 46 priests Persian, 8, 9 treasure, 33, 39
armies clothes 1 3 Egyptian 25 magi, 8, 9 proskynesii ^4 trophies, 30
Macedonian, 16-17 Coenus, 39 Greek, 28 Mallians 40 Ptolemy. King of tumuli 46
Persian, 28-31 coins, 33, 38 Persian 8, 32 Media 31 Egypt 24 42 43 Tyre, 22-23, 28
armlet, 33 Craterus, 12, 40-41 gold, 11, 33 Mediterranean Sea Punjab 39
armor 7 20, 21, 47 crocodiles, 39 Gordian knot, 18-19 44 WX
Arrhidaeus 42 Cyrus the Great, Granicus, 20
-
mercenaries 2 B QR warships 2~
art, 7, 16 King of Persia, 8 greaves 21 4 mole, land bridge roadsRoman 44 weapons 20, 21 45
Asia Minor, 20 Greece 6 8,9 14 22 Roman empire 44 women 13, 17
Athens, 8, 9, 33 D E gunpowder 45 Mongol empire 45 Roxane 42 wonders of the
Darius 1 King ot Muhammad, world 25
B Persia 7, 8, 9, 34 H prophet 45 s wreaths 4"
Babylon 32 42 Darius III, King ot harbors, 25 murex, 22 satraps, 31 writers, 16

Baghdad 4^ Persia 20,21 Hellenistic age 4^ music 12, 16 Scythians, 29 Xerxes King of
Bel Marduk 32 26-27, 28-31 helmets 20 21 Muslims 45 secretaries, 16 Persia. 6, 8

£*£** Bridgeman Art Library 14br 35bl © Michael Holford 3bl

Acknowledgments *( -;„'-„ Persepolis Iran Bridgeman Art 33c Hutchison Library: Mbr
1

& Architecture Collection 1 3br Library 34br British Museum Kostas Kontos 47cr.
The publisher would like to
Bridgeman Art Library London: 2tr, 8br, 12cl 25tcr Manchester Museum 4~tr
thank:
_ London New York 3 3cr, 3 3tr 4lbl 47b Cambridge Soprintendenza Archeologica
Janet All.s lor visualizing Tin Museum
Archaeological Museum University of Naples 7tr Scala 18-19, 26-27
SitgtoJTyrt. Polly Appleton and
Thessalonik, Greece Bridgeman Archaeology and Anthropology Telegraph Colour Library: 25br.
She.la Collins tor design
A[[ Ljbrary 47br Hnt|sh Ubnuy Cambridge 44c Corbis UK Ltd
assistance and Chris Bernstein London UK Bridgeman Art 9tr, North Carolina Museum ot Additional photography:
for the index, and Arbour Llbrarv 3gbc; Louvre ,, ans Art 21br Ric Ergenbright 39tr. The Museum of Archaeology
Antl(1 ues
France/Bndgeman Art Library ET. Archive I2tl I3tl 25tc and Anthropology, 45cr, Geoff
JOtr Musee des Beaux-Arts 32cl, 35br 38tl 44c Mary Brightling 45cl John Heseltine
The publisher would like to Lille/Lauros Giraudon Bridgeman Evans Picture Library 44bl 44crb
thank the following for their \ n Library Sonia Halliday Photographs
kind permission to reproduce - Museo Archaeologico 16bl 22bl 33br 43tr Jacket:
their photographs Nazionale Naples Robert Harding Picture Library British Museum tront cover left.
Picture credits: ltaly/Bridgeman Art Library 43tl 6 9b 9br 25cr 43cr 4~cl back cover left. Sonia Halliday:
t=top b=below, I=left, r=right. National Archaeological The John Hillelsoii Agency: front cover centre ©Michael
c=center Musuem Athens Greece Roland and Sabrina Michaud Holford tront cover bottom.

48
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