Conquest of the Persian Empire


Alexander's
Persian campaigns
Main articles: Wars of Alexander the Great and Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia
Asia Minor
Main articles: Battle of the Granicus, Siege of Halicarnassus, and Siege of Miletus


Map of Alexander's empire and the paths he took
Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC with approximately 42,000 soldiers from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and feudally-raised soldiers from Thrace, Paionia, and Illyria.[63] After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis and proceeded down the Ionian coast.[64] At Halicarnassus, Alexander successfully waged the first of many sieges, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea.[65] Alexander left the government of Caria to Ada, who adopted Alexander as her son.[66]
From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities. He did this to deny the Persians naval bases. Since Alexander had no reliable fleet of his own, defeating the Persian fleet required land control.[67] From Pamphylia onward, the coast held no major ports and so Alexander moved inland. At Termessos, Alexander humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city.[68] At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Alexander 'undid' the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said to await the future "king of Asia".[69] According to the most vivid story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone, and he hacked it apart with his sword.[70]
The Levant and Syria
Main articles: Battle of Issus and Siege of Tyre


Alexander Mosaic, showing Battle of Issus, from the House of the Faun, Pompeii
After spending the winter campaigning in Asia Minor, Alexander's army crossed the Cilician Gates in 333 BC, and defeated the main Persian army under the command of Darius III at the Battle of Issus in November.[71] Darius was forced to flee the battle after his army broke, and in doing so left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis, and a fabulous amount of treasure.[72] He afterward offered a peace treaty to Alexander, the concession of the lands he had already conquered, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Alexander replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions.[73]
Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant.[74] However, the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he eventually captured after a famous siege.[75][76] After the capture of Tyre, Alexander crucified all the men of military age, and sold the women and children into slavery.[77]
Egypt
Main article: Siege of Gaza


Egyptian alabaster statuette of Alexander the Great in the Brooklyn Museum
When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated, with the exception of Gaza. The stronghold at Gaza was built on a hill and was heavily fortified.[78] At the beginning of the Siege of Gaza, Alexander utilized the engines he had employed against Tyre. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold was finally taken by force, but not before Alexander received a serious shoulder wound. When Gaza was taken, the male population was put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery.[79]
Jerusalem, on the other hand, opened its gates in surrender, and according to Josephus, Alexander was shown the book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, where a mighty Greek king would subdue and conquer the Persian Empire. Thereupon, Alexander spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.[80][81]
Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator.[82] He was pronounced the new "master of the Universe" and son of the deity of Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert.[83] Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and subsequent currency depicted him adorned with ram horns as a symbol of his divinity.[84][85] During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic kingdom after his death.[86]

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