The name Alexander automatically brings a picture of a Great War hero who is known to be the greatest military commander in the history of the world. During his 11 year journey of conquest he was able to conquer across various borders starting from Egypt to India. The intoxication of power took him to such an extent that winning became his passion and war the mode of conquest. Let us understand the insight of the life of this great king. Alexander was born to King Phillip II and Olympias.
Alexander was born on 20th July 356 BC and died at a very young age of 32 in 323 BC. On the day he was born, the temple of Diana at Ephesus burned down raising speculations among the fortune tellers that the driving force responsible for the destruction of Asia has come into existence.
Alexander was known for the sweat smelling fragrance of his body. He was known for his blond hair, fair skin and Alexander’s eyes (one blue, one brown) revealed a dewy, feminine quality. This condition is called Heterochromia, an ocular condition in which one iris is a different color from the other iris.
Alexander became the regent of Macedonia the age of 16 when his father King Phillip II had to leave the country to wage war and annex kingdoms.
Alexander enjoyed martial arts and hunting. The name of his favorite horse was Bucephalus which he rode until he fell sick and died.
Alexander was tutored and greatly influenced by Aristotle.
Olympias, his mother managed to turn Alexander against his own father as the relation of Philip II and Olympias was estranged which led Philip marrying Cleopatra. King Philip Ii was murdered by Pausanias (an angry subject of Philip’s dynasty). So at the age of Twenty Alexander was declared the King of Macedonia.
It is believed that Alexander was related to the great Greek heroes like Hercules from his father’s side and Achilles from his mother’s side.
He founded the city of Alexandria located by the mouth of the river Nile in Egypt in 331 B.C.Alexander ‘undid’ the hitherto unsolvable Gordian knot, a feat said to await the future “king of Asia”. According to the most vivid story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone, and he hacked it apart with his sword.
Alexander was known to be very generous. He distributed the earnings of the war among his soldiers and their families and his subjects. The only thing he kept for himself was “His Hope”.General Haphaestion was the best friend of Alexander and the second in command.
Alexander used to recruit the police force from his local people.
At present, Alexandria, with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort.
