Alexander's Invasion
356 323 BC
-356 -323
27.00E40.35N
MISC

MACEDONIA
	Alexander the Great is one of the very few generals in history who never lost.  His unbroken success is all the more amazing because the circumstances he faced varied widely and he often exposed himself recklessly in battle.
	Alexander won his first victory when he was just 16 against hill tribes on the borders of Macedonia.  When he ascended the throne of Macedonia, located just north of Greece, the hill tribes and the Greek city of Thebes rebelled against his rule.  He defeated them both and destroyed Thebes.
	Then, in 334 BC, he turned against the Persian Empire, crossing the Hellespont waterway with 30,000 to 40,000 men into what is now Turkey.  He encountered the Persians at the Granicus River.
	Though the Persians and their Greek mercenaries were in a strong position, Alexander waded across the river with his men, climbed the slippery bank on the far side, defeated the best of the Persian cavalry and destroyed the Greek mercenaries.
	In two more battles, Issus and Arbela, Alexander defeated the much larger armies of Persian King Darius.  He also destroyed the fortified island city of Tyre on the Mediterranean Sea, founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, conquered hill tribes the Persians had never been able to subdue, and defeated a well-trained Indian army equipped with elephants.
	After defeating Porus, an Indian ruler, he wanted to continue his conquests into India, but his weary, homesick army refused.  Reluctantly, Alexander turned around and led his army back to Babylon, where, just 33 years old, he died of a sickness (or perhaps by poison) after a wild party.
	Numerous stories are told of Alexander, many of them no doubt fictional. But one of them is interesting for the lesson it teaches:
	A pirate was captured and brought before Alexander, who asked him what he meant by infesting the sea. The bold pirate responded, "And what do you mean by warring against the whole world?"