In the middle of summer 356 BC. e., presumably on July 20/21, in the city of Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia, a boy was born who 30 years later became a great conqueror. Alexander the Great was from the Argead family, an ancient dynasty that ruled Macedonia from the 8th century BC. BC e. According to one of the legends, on the same night when the new king was born, a certain Herostratus, a resident of Ephesus, set fire to and destroyed one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Temple of Artemis. In connection with this event, rumors began to spread among the Persian magicians that the destruction of the temple was a harbinger of the fall of the Persian state. There are many mysterious stories about Alexander the Great, one of the mysteries was the helmet, reconstructed last year with the support of Violity. See our video for more details.
Alexander the Great was a wise commander and known for bold decisions regarding the expansion of his kingdom. Although he tried to spread Hellenistic culture in the East, he did not forget about local cultures. His solution was to stop looking at the conquered Persians as a conquered civilization and try to become their new leader. An important step was the borrowing of customs in Persian culture in order to win the trust and goodwill of yesterday's enemy. The commander mixed the armies, sending the Persians to serve in his cavalry and infantry. His commanders did not like this, riots began to ripen, moreover, protracted campaigns greatly depleted the army. All attempts at rebellion were suppressed, but dissatisfaction with the rule of Alexander the Great continued. Interestingly, the historian Callisthenes, a relative of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, fell under the hot hand. While Aristotle himself taught the future commander various sciences, Callisthenes became the chronicler of his campaigns. Macedonian began to be criticized by Callisthenes, so he ordered him to be captured and imprisoned, where he died.
The commander went around half the world with his army, reached India, where, finally, he was rebuffed. Among the main reasons for the defeat was the unfavorable climate and death from disease. However, not everywhere the Macedonian army lost because of such circumstances. And not everywhere at the peak of success, the troops defeated the enemy. At a time when Alexander the Great was preparing for battles with Darius III, part of the troops under the command of Zopyrion, the governor of Pontus, went to capture Olbia. It was not possible to take the city, since all the slaves who lived in it were given freedom, thus increasing the potential number of defenders. Zopyrion retreated, and very soon the Scythians attacked him, completely defeating the army. If the subsequent campaign of Alexander the Great in India was successful, it is quite possible that he would later go to Scythia, and we would know about other battles, victories or defeats of the commander. However, fate decreed otherwise: a ten-day fever, picked up before the next campaign, greatly weakened the king, and he died.