page_title: History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
section_title: Empire
hierarchical_section_title: History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) / Empire
caption_attribution_description: English: Stag hunt mosaic, Pella, Greece. Français&#160;: Mosaïque de la chasse au cerf, Pella, Grèce. The figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions. For further infromation, see Chugg, Andrew (2006). Alexander's Lovers. Raleigh, N.C.: Lulu. ISBN&#160;978-1-4116-9960-1, pp 78-79.
context_page_description: The kingdom of Macedonia was an ancient state in what is now the Macedonian region of northern Greece, founded in the mid-7th century BC during the period of Archaic Greece and lasting until the mid-2nd century BC. Led first by the Argead dynasty of kings, Macedonia became a vassal state of the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia during the reigns of Amyntas I of Macedon and his son Alexander I of Macedon. The period of Achaemenid Macedonia came to an end in roughly 479 BC with the ultimate Greek victory against the second Persian invasion of Greece led by Xerxes I and the withdrawal of Persian forces from the European mainland.
  During the age of Classical Greece, Perdiccas II of Macedon became directly involved in the Peloponnesian War between Classical Athens and Sparta, shifting his alliance from one city-state to another while attempting to retain Macedonian control over the Chalcidice peninsula. His reign was also marked by conflict and temporary alliances with the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the Odrysian Kingdom. He eventually made peace with Athens, which formed an alliance with Macedonia that carried over into the reign of Archelaus I of Macedon.
context_section_description: Before Philip II was assassinated in the summer of 336 BC, relations with his son Alexander had degenerated to the point where he excluded him entirely from his planned invasion of Asia, choosing instead for him to act as regent of Greece and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth. This, alongside his mother Olympias' apparent concern over Philip II bearing another potential heir with his new wife Cleopatra Eurydice, have led scholars to wrangle over the idea of her and Alexander's possible roles in Philip's murder. Nonetheless, Alexander III (r. 336 – 323 BC) was immediately proclaimed king by an assembly of the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them being Antipater and Parmenion. By the end of his reign and military career in 323 BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of mainland Greece, Asia Minor, the Levant, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and much of Central and South Asia (i.e. modern Pakistan). His first pressing concerns, however, would be to bury his father at Aigai and to pursue a campaign of suppression closer to home in the Balkans. Following Philip's death, the members of the League of Corinth revolted, yet were soon quelled by military force alongside persuasive diplomacy, Alexander forcing them to rejoin the league and elect him as hegemon to carry out the planned invasion of Achaemenid Persia. Alexander also took the opportunity to settle the score he had with his rival Attalus (who had taunted him during the wedding feast of his daughter Cleopatra Eurydice and Philip II) by having him executed.
  In 335 BC, Alexander led a campaign against the Thracian tribe of the Triballi at Haemus Mons, fighting them along the Danube and forcing their surrender on Peuce Island. Shortly thereafter, the Illyrian king Cleitus of the Dardani threatened to attack Macedonia, yet Alexander took the initiative and besieged them at Pelion (in modern Albania). When Alexander was given news that Thebes had once again revolted from the League of Corinth and were besieging the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea, Alexander left the Illyrian front and marched to Thebes, which he placed under siege. After breaching the walls, Alexander's forces killed 6,000 Thebans, took 30,000 inhabitants as prisoners of war, and burned the city to the ground as a warning to others, which proved effective since no other Greek state aside from Sparta dared to challenge Alexander for the remainder of his reign.
  Throughout his military career and kingship, Alexander won every battle that he personally commanded. His first victory against the Persians in Asia Minor at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC utilized a small cavalry contingent that successfully distracted the Persians, allowed his infantry to cross the river, and his Companions to drive them from the battle with a cavalry charge. Following the tradition of Macedonian warrior kings, Alexander personally led the cavalry charge at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, forcing the Persian king Darius III and his army to flee. Darius III, despite having superior numbers, was again forced to flee the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap of Bactria and kinsman, Bessus, in 330 BC. The Macedonian king subsequently hunted down and executed Bessus in what is now Afghanistan, securing the region of Sogdia in the process. At the 326 BC Battle of the Hydaspes (modern-day Punjab), when the war elephants of King Porus of the Pauravas threatened Alexander's troops, he had them form open ranks to surround the elephants and dislodge their handlers by using their sarissa pikes. When his Macedonian troops threatened mutiny at Opis, Babylonia (near modern Baghdad, Iraq) in 324 BC, Alexander III offered Macedonian military titles and greater responsibilities to Persian officers and units instead, forcing his troops to seek forgiveness, which the king offered at a banquet urging reconciliation between Persians and Macedonians.
  Despite his skills as a commander, Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs of megalomania.
caption: The Stag Hunt Mosaic, c. 300 BC, from Pella; the figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions.
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