A great defeater, in 13 short years he combined the largest empire in the entire ancient world - an empire that covered 3,000 miles. He further did this without the benefit of modern technology and ammunitions. This is not a small thing for a kid who became the King of Macedon at the age of 20. Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia who ruled an empire that ranged from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan. Alexander III was born in 356 B.C. in the small Kingdom of Macedonia. He was educated by the Philosopher Aristotle, and he got trained for battle-field by his father, Philip II, Alexander grew to become the most powerful imperialist. Alexander owed a very huge amount of debt to his father for leaving him a powerful army led by experienced and loyal generals. However, it was Alexander’s perception as a leader and battlefield tactician that gave success to him against an imposing rivalry deep in enemy territory (D. Roos, 2019)
Many of Alexander's achievements were made possible by his father, Philip of Macedon. Macedon, that had been aptly where the modern country of Macedonia lies today, was a regime situated that lay geologically north of the Greek city-states. During 338 B.C.E., King Philip of Macedon defeated and occupied the Greek city-states. Philip took advantage of the element that the Greek city-states were divided by years of backbiting and infighting. Philip conquered in doing what years of fighting between city-states had not done. He united Greece.
When Alexander, took the power in 336 B.C.E., he promised to complete the plans of his father. In 334 B.C.E., Alexander invaded Persia, which lay across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor i.e. modern-day Turkey. After three back-breaking years of warfare and three decisive victories, Alexander shattered the Persian armies and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon. For most of the Greeks, this victory manifests a moment of sweet revenge against a bitter foe. At this point, at the age of 25, Alexander ruled an expansive empire. Nevertheless, his ambitions were not satisfied. While fighting the Persians, Alexander defeated Egypt and founded a city near Nile River. This city, which he named Alexandria after himself, became a diverse, bustling centre of trade, cosmopolitan, the arts, and ideas. However, Alexander was not done. He continued his campaign, driving farther east, until he reached India and the Indus River in 326 B.C.E. At this juncture, his fatigued troops did not Co-operate to fight further. They told Alexander that a justly great leader knows when it is time to stop fighting to expand his regime.
In the young age itself, Alexander was a theist who used to do rituals in front of Greek gods Zeus was considered the ruler of the Olympian gods in ancient Greece and Macedon. The god Amun, called "Ammon" in Greece, that means "king of the gods" in the religion of ancient Egypt. Unlike many other religions, the religion of ancient Greece had the capability to incorporate foreign deities into their belief system. A god could take on different forms depending on the place and circumstances. During Alexander's time, Zeus-Ammon was an important and inevitable deity in Greece. This mixture god called Zeus-Ammon had an oracle who was located deep in the Libyan desert, a few hundred miles west of Memphis, the Egyptian capital city. The oracles of the ancient past were prophets believed to possess a unique connection to the gods. This connection allowed them to forecast the future, which was an ability in especially high demand among the great royals and warriors of the day. Alexander as well was no exception. This Oracle of Zeus-Ammon was located in the Siwah Oasis - where stretch of trees and vegetation found deep in the northern Sahara Desert. Siwah had first become an important sacred site in the Mediterranean world during the 7th century BCE, three centuries before Alexander's time. It was widely believed by that time that the Greek mythological hero Heracles had made a pilgrimage there to consult Zeus Ammon. As a a student of the lives of the mythological heroes, Alexander knew these stories.
