Timelines and Battles

Today at the beginning of the class we discussed about what Macedonia was and why it was so important. Then we talked about the privacy and terrorism.

- Macedonia was north of Greece

- Wanted to take control of Greece and Persia
- Alexander was taught by Aristotle and learnt many skills as the prince

Timelines

- In 359 BC Philip became the king of Macedonia

- In 338 BC Philip prepared to invade Greece, Athens and Thebes joined forces to fight Philip

- In 336 BC Philip was murdered in his daughter's weeding, then Alexander proclaimed himself king of Macedonia

- In 334 BC Alexander invaded Persia (the first battle)

- In 332 BC Alexander marched to Egypt (the second battle)

- In 326 BC Alexander and his army reached Indus Valley but then they turned back

- In 323 BC Alexander and his army reached Babylon, then died at the age of 32

Battle of Philip
Macedonians defeated Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea → ended Greek independence
Self-government in local affairs but firmly under the control of a succession of foreign power

Battle of Alexander
1) The first battle
In 334 BC Alexander invaded Persia
Two forces met at the Granicus River (35,000 Macedonian soldiers and 40,000 Persian defenders)
Alexander ordered his cavalry to attack first
Then Darius III raised a huge army (50,000-75,000) to crush the invaders but failed
Alexander broke through a weak point in Persian line and the army charged straight at Darius
This victory gave Alexander control over Anatolia

2) The second battle
Darius tried to negotiate a peace settlement (the lands west of Euphrates River)
Alexander rejected → conquer the entire Persian Empire
In 332 BC Alexander marched to a Persian territory, Egypt
Egyptians welcomed him as the liberator → crowned him pharaoh
Founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of Nile
Two armies met at Gaugamela (250,000 Persian soldiers)
Alexander: phalanx and cavalry → his victory ended Persia's power
Occupied many wealthy cities and burned Persia's royal capital