Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

19

Battles

alexander fought many battles.

Usually he had fewer men than

his enemy, but he won because his

men were well trained and

equipped. at the Battle of Issus in

333 bce, alexander, with 36,000

men, defeated Darius and his

110,000 troops. two years later,

with a force of 45,000 men,

alexander again overwhelmed

Darius and his 100,000 soldiers

at the Battle of Guagamela.

After Alexander’s death, Ptolemy Soter, commander of Egypt,

created a huge library at Alexandria. It was said to have contained

more than 500,000 books; today only ruins remain.

AlexAndriA

In 332 bce, alexander founded the city of

alexandria (named after himself) on the

Mediterranean coast. It soon became a

great port and a center of Greek culture

and learning, attracting poets and scientists

from all over the world. today, alexandria

is the second-largest city in egypt.

Alexander the Great

Dependent region

Alexander’s empire

Independent region

Alexander’s route

By 323 bce one Man haD conqUereD most of the known world

and set up an empire that extended from Greece to India. the name of

the general was alexander, today known as alexander the Great. he was the

son of King Philip II, ruler of Macedonia, a small but powerful Greek kingdom.

In 336 bce, Philip was murdered and alexander became king, although he

was only 20 years old. alexander was an ambitious and brilliant general. In

334, he invaded the great Persian empire ruled by Darius III. after a series of

remarkable victories, alexander then went on to conquer a vast empire running

from egypt in the west to India in the east. When alexander died, aged only 33,

he had led his armies at least 12,000 miles (19,000 km)

and had encouraged the spread of Greek culture

throughout the known world.

after he died, his empire

was divided.

But he is still

considered one

of the greatest

generals who

ever lived.

alexanDer

as a young man alexander

(356-323 bce) was brave and

intelligent. he was taught by the

Greek philosopher aristotle, from

whom he developed

a lifelong interest

in philosophy.

BUcePhalUs

alexander rode into

battle on a beautiful horse called Bucephalus. according to legend,

Bucephalus was completely wild and responded only to alexander.

When Bucephalus died, alexander built a monument and town, called

Bucephala, in honor of him. the city still exists in Pakistan today.

Granicus

Issus

ARABIA

PERSIA

Persepolis

INDIA

BACTRIA

EGYPT

Nile

River

Independent

state of Sparta Guagamela

Mediterranean Sea

Susa

Alexandria

MACEDONIA

Find out more

europe, history of

Greece, ancient

Phalanx

the army that alexander led into Persia (Iran)

consisted mostly of infantry, or foot soldiers, armed

with long spears. the infantry fought in a formation

called a phalanx. the men were packed closely

together with their spears pointing

toward the enemy.

Alexander the

Great’s empire,

334-323 bce

Dependent state

of Cyrenaica

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