Post by Arxileas on Nov 16, 2008 8:06:35 GMT -5
Introduction
A brilliant, tireless, invincible glorious commander, Alexander, third in the dynasty of Argeades, has very properly been nominated as the Great. History reserved him a glorious destiny. He was designed to convey the glory of the Hellenic thought and the Hellenic civilisation to the extremities of the East and, furthermore, to establish new cities of Greek culture.
Alexander became King of Macedonia at the age of 20, after the assassination of his father, King Philip, in 336 BC. From the very start of his reign, the new King had to confront his father's enemies. The members of the League of Corinth as well as the Thracians and the Illyrians considered the death of the mighty Macedonian King as an ideal opportunity to secede from the rule of the Macedonians. However, Alexander, a worthy heir to his father, after his recognition as ruler of Thessaly, directed his campaign against Peloponnesus, with a very specific plan of action in mind. During the Assembly in Corinth, in which all Greek city-states, except Sparta, were represented, he succeeded in becoming Leader of the Alliance and at the same time "Hegemon (Captain General)" in the war against the Persians. As recorded by Plutarch, Alexander, when returning from Corinth, went to Delphi to ask for the oracles of Gods. However, his arrival there coincided with the period of "dark" days, during which oracles were not given. Alexander dragged the priestess to the altar by force and demanded her to proceed with the oracle. The answer of the Priestess was "Invincible thou shall be, oh child!" Satisfied with the oracle, Alexander said that he did not wish another and let the Priestess go.
In the spring of 335 BC, Alexander campaigned out of Amphipolis against the Triballians and the Illyrians who, after King Philip's death, had shown a rebellious attitude. Later, he marched through Thrace, traversed Haemus Mountain (Now, Balkan) and defeated the Triballians and the Thracians. He then crossed Istros River (Now, Danube) using long ships from Byzantium as well as wooden canoes, with 1.500 Cavalrymen and 4.000 Infantrymen.
The ease, with which the Macedonians crossed Istros River, had a great impact on the Getae, living on the north bank of the river: they withdrew without battle. Afterwards, Alexander turned to Boeotia in order to subjugate Thebes that had seceded. The conquest of Thebes was followed by the slaughter of its citizens, mainly by Phocians, Plateans and other Boeotians. The destruction of Thebes was attributed to two factors: the rage of Gods, who wanted to punish the Thebans for their treason during the Persian wars, and the hatred of the Plateans, who had suffered destruction from the Thebans in times of peace. The fall of Thebes marked the end of Alexander's operations on European soil. These operations were just enough to build Alexander's reputation as a general, despite the fact that they lasted only one year.
After his successful operations, the young King returned to Macedonia in order to offer a sacrifice to Olympian Zeus and to organise the Olympian Contest at Aegae. In the winter of 335 BC, Alexander devoted himself to the organisation of his Kingdom, since he planned to leave for Asia for a long period of time. Initially, his intention was to conquer Persia, dethrone Darius and declare himself King of the Persians. In this way, he wished to revenge Xerxes who, in the past, had tried to enslave all the Greeks. His primary plan comprised three phases: first, the conquest of Asia Minor, then of Syria and Egypt, which he would use as a base for the operations of the last phase, and finally the conquest of the Kingdom of Persia.
The weakness of the Macedonians was the lack of a fleet, necessary for facing the Persian one, which numbered 400 warships. However, Alexander did not want to ask his Allies to provide him with ships. For reasons of precaution, the young Macedonian King left half of his military forces in Macedonia and entrusted the government of the country to Antipater, his faithful and experienced general.
Darius had risen to the throne of Persia in 335 BC. In comparison to Alexander, he had a very large army. Furthermore, while the treasury of Pella was already empty, long before Alexander's campaigns, Darius had fabulous treasures available. His vaults at Susa were full and "astronomical" amounts of gold had been amassed in the royal Palace of Persepolis. In addition, he had a large fleet, which controlled the coasts of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, and was able to deny access to any enemy, who did not possess equal naval forces.
In those times, there was no social unrest in any part of the Persian Kingdom that could affect the defence of the country against an attacking enemy. However, there certainly were some ambitious satraps. On the other hand, Persia had not progressed in the modernisation of its warfare, while remarkable evolution had been made on the Greek part. Conscription of Greek Mercenaries by the Persians was not enough to cover the weaknesses and to fill the voids of the Persian Army, which also lacked officers capable of planning for any contingency or for counter attacks. Their abilities were limited to facing the enemy on the basis of numerical superiority, personal bravery in the battlefield and the use of their scythed chariots.
Alexander's army consisted of 30.000 Infantrymen and 5.000 Cavalrymen. The fundamental task organisation of the army, established by King Philip, comprised the Phalanx, light Cavalry, Hypaspists (Adjutants) and heavy Cavalry. Alexander, during his campaign to Asia, had six groups of the Macedonian Phalanx, which formed the main body of his army. The Phalanx was reinforced by Greek soldiers, either allies or mercenaries. Antigonus was the commander of the Allies, and Menander the commander of the Mercenaries.
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