Alexander the Great: Part 2 - Against the King of Kings

We left with Alexander taking the crown after the rather fortunate death of his father. He had his sights on setting out east until the ends of the earth, but he couldn't leave until he was ensured Greece was entirely settled.

Alexander decided it would be too difficult to completely control the likes of Athens and Sparta, and decided to rule from the backseat. They were all part of his empire, but he allowed them the autonomy of controlling their government, resources, etc., but he asked for their military might to support him in his travels. As well, he demanded tribute to be regularly paid to Macedon. He couldn't continue on until he had his home secured, as if he left with his army they could very well have revolted in his absence and likely have won, forcing him to return and fight what could have been part of his own fighting force. What was slowing down the consolidation of forces was Darius of Persia sending along bribes to the non-

Macedonian people of Greece to oppose the new rule. Athens and Sparta in particular were resistant - the smaller cities either didn't hold as strong of opposition, or were simply less important.

The plan for one of twenty cities Alexander founded
about twenty cities named after himself in what showed
a tremendous degree of egotism as well as a lack of creativity.

Thebes, farther south, was particularly frustrating to Alexander, and were more outwardly rebellious. Deciding to make an example of them, Alexander moved on Thebes and demanded the city send out the leaders of the rebellion in exchange for amnesty for the rest of their citizens - which you would think probably made those rebellion leaders pretty nervous. Either way, they did not comply, and after a siege of the city Alexander was victorious. The problem for Thebes was Alexander was not fond of those that resisted his rule, and he responded in the way he knows best: extreme brutality. He not only destroyed the city, but slaughtered every citizen save for those that took the safety of their temple, which Alexander spared. The rest of the Greek cities got word of this, presumedly pulled at their collars, cleared their throats, and decided that perhaps upsetting Alexander was not in their best interest if they wanted to keep their city intact and their heads attached to their torsos. Thebes probably should have rolled with Alexander, but hey, you know what they say about hindsight.

The powers of Greece now supporting him, and with an army at his back - somewhere close to 32,000 infantry composed predominantly of Macedonians, but also harbouring allies from other Greek cities and groups of mercenary fighters, in addition to 5,100 cavalry - he set forth to destroy Darius and take the vast riches of his treasury. The infantry was the prize of his military, well trained, well fed, and well paid. They would be the terror of the battlefield, but their might could only amount for so much in the face of extreme numbers on the other side. Darius had 150,000 at his disposal, but his leadership was weak. He rarely brought out more than 75,000 to battle Alexander, and with his inferior leadership and tactics, those numbers simply didn't hold up.

Alexander riding his horse, fighting Darius on his chariot.
As with all ancient depictions of battle, they fit as many
people into the picture as humanly possible.

Alexander began moving across the countryside, but mostly found small Persian towns which had no interest in dying in vain against the Macedonian horde. He would replace taken cities and towns' rulers with Macedonians, but would leave their customs intact, simply demanding tribute. Darius knew he was taking over his lands, and had to decide how to approach the problem; the recommendations coming to him from his generals were to burn the land and resources in the direction in which Alexander was moving, starving out his army as they went, forcing their retreat without any bloodshed. Darius declined, and instead sent his first major force of about 75,000 to meet Alexander on the battlefield. Tactically outmatched (although Darius wasn't present at this particular battle) Alexander won the battle, but was dealt one of what would be many injuries where a sabre cut through his helmet, right to the scalp. He wouldn't shy away from the battles, but instead charge right in there with his men. He was no coward, and it cost him plenty of blood.

After his victory, Alexander set his sights on Egyptian Gaza, where the Persians held oppressive control. After defeating the city (and taking an arrow in the shoulder, one of an impressive number of wounds he took), he was named a liberator and crowned the Pharaoh, putting him in the Egyptian's minds as a god. Finally he found some people that felt the same way he did. It's testament to his successes that he conquered so much land that taking enough of Egypt to be crowned the Pharaoh has to be reduced to a few short sentences.

Alexander covering the corpse of Darius with his cloak:
it seems like kind of a waste of a perfectly good cloak.

Darius finally met Alexander shortly after in the battle of Guagamela, Alexander atop his famed horse and Darius in his chariot. Darius appeared to have been wounded and retreated, and his soldiers thought he was dead - and having no one to fight for, many broke rank and fled, turning it from a fight into a rout. It left Alexander to take Babylon and Susa, and the absolutely incredible riches that were left behind there. Much like the other territories he took, he left their society intact, just demanding tribute and a Macedonian in power, leaving them at least relatively content. Suddenly, Alexander was the richest man in the world (and all he had to do was lead a massive army and conquer a vast amount of territory!). Darius, however, did not have such a fate. He was usurped by a man named Bessus, who deserted him bleeding in a desert where one of Alexander's men found him. Having respect for his adversary, he buried Darius with his royal cloak, and gave him the sendoff of a proper king.

Alexander had crushed his greatest adversary, created a massive empire, and had more money than one could possibly know what to do with. What more could he want?