HISTORYWAR & CONQUEST359 BC
In the north, the
Macedonians are on
the rise as King Philip
II seizes the initiative
in the power vacuum.
He seeks alliances with
Sparta and Athens on
a promise to wage war
again on Persia.
336 BC
Philip’s son Alexander
assumes leadership of
Macedonia following
the untimely murder
of his father. Within a
few years the new king
takes up the challenge
against Persia laid
down by the slain Philip.334–23 BC
Alexander the Great
sets out to conquer the
known world. Thebes
(Thiva) is the fi rst
victim, followed by the
Persians, the Egyptians
and fi nally the peoples
of today’s central Asia.
He dies in 323 BC.86 BC–AD
224
Roman expansion
includes Greek
territory. First defeating
Macedonia at Pydna
in 168 BC, the Romans
ultimately overtake the
mainland and establish
the Pax Romana.
It lasts 300 years.nor from Persian rule, bringing the Persians back into Greek aff airs where
they found willing allies in Athens and an increasingly powerful Thebes
(Thiva). The rivalry between Sparta and Thebes culminated in the decisive
Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, where Thebes, led by Epaminondas, infl icted
Sparta’s fi rst defeat in a pitched land battle. Spartan infl uence collapsed
and Thebes fi lled the vacuum. In a surprise about-turn, Athens now al-
lied itself with Sparta, and their combined forces met the Theban army
at Mantinea in the Peloponnese in 362 BC. Thebes won the battle, but
Epaminondas was killed; and without him, Theban power soon crumbled.
However, the political infl uence of the major city-states had by now
been signifi cantly eroded. Their strength waning, they were unable to
combat the new power in the north, Macedon – geographically the mod-
ern nomós (prefecture) of Macedonia – which was gathering strength
under its aggressive monarch, Philip II.
In 338 BC, Philip II marched into Greece and defeated a combined
army of Athenians and Thebans at the Battle of Chaeronea. In a move
that signalled the beginning of the end of the autonomous city-state
structure, Philip called together all the city-states (except Sparta who
resisted alliance) at Corinth and persuaded them to swear allegiance
to Macedonia by promising to campaign against Persia. But before the
monarch could realise those ambitions, a Macedonian noble assassinat-
ed Philip in 336 BC. His 20-year-old son, Alexander – brilliantly talented
as a fi ghter and scholar – became king.
Philip II’s death had been the signal for rebellions throughout the bud-
ding empire, but Alexander wasted no time in crushing them, making an
example of Thebes by razing it to the ground. Upon his black stallion he
was always the fi rst into battle ahead of his men, and was renowned for
his valour, cunning and recklessness. After restoring order in Thebes, he
turned his attention to the Persian Empire and marched his seasoned
army of 40,000 men into Asia Minor in 334 BC.
After a few bloody battles with the Persians, most notably at Issus
(333 BC), Alexander succeeded in conquering Syria, Palestine and Egypt
- where he was proclaimed pharaoh and founded the city of Alexan-
dria. One of Alexander’s tactics to minimise future resistance from his
new subjects was to interbreed his soldiers with his new subjects, which
forced a union between former foes. After Alexandria he maniacally pur-
sued the Persian king, Darius III, defeating his army in 331 BC. Alexander
continued his reign east into what is now Uzbekistan, Balkh in Afghani-
stan and northern India. His ambition was now to conquer the world,
which he believed ended at the sea beyond India, but his now aged sol-
diers grew weary and in 324 BC forced him to return to Mesopotamia,
where he settled in Babylon. The following year, at the age of 33, he fell
ill suddenly and died. There had never been a leader like him, achieving
Alexander the
Great is consid-
ered to be one of
the best military
leaders of all
time; was never
beaten in battle,
and by the age of
30 reigned over
one of the largest
ancient empires
stretching from
Greece to the
Himalayas.