Alexander the Great

From the beginning of his reign (336 BCE) to the Battle of the Granicus

River (334 BC)

Death of Philip

• Philip murder by Pausanius, a disgruntled lover, in 336 BC

• Sikander and Halil (1999) argue that a complex grouping of Persians; the Macedonian generals, Attalus and Parmenion; and a branch of the Macedonian royal family – the sons of Aeropus, may have been behind Pausanius.

Reign of Alexander begins

• Macedonian nobles vote on the succession to Philip

• Attalus, father of Philip’s second wife, Cleopatra-E, sponsored his infant grandson, Karanos, as a claimant to the throne.

• Attalus was murdered on the orders of Alexander. Cleopatra-E and Karanos were murdered on the orders of Olympias.

Alexander in Greece 335 BCE

• Alexander made a lightning march through central Greece to quell unrest, force recognition of him as his father’s successor, take over as commander-in-chief of the League of Corinth, gain support for plans against the Persians (first developed by Philip).

Alexander in Greece BCE

• Restless tribes of Thrace and Illyria subdued

• Demosthenes stirred up trouble in Athens. Thebans killed the Macedonian garrison. Alexander sacked Thebes and razed it to the ground. Thebans either killed or sold into slavery. Athens and Demosthenes treated leniently.

The Persian Expedition

• Debate about objectives of Alexander’s expedition against the Persians:

• Asia Minor?; Persia?; the world?

• Revenge? Exploration? Scientific research? Spread of Hellenic culture?

The Battle of the Granicus River, 334 BCE

• Persians waited on the far side of the Granicus River

• Alexander’s army crossed the deep and flowing river

• Greek mercenaries who had fought for the Persians were butchered

The Battle of the Granicus River, 334 BCE

• Results: prisoners; spoils; appointment of Macedonian governor; liberation of some of the Ionian Greeks