Alexander the Great

• Philip II of Macedon had conquered Greece and dreamed of invading Persia, but it was Alexander the Great who set out to complete his father's work with an army of 35,000 men
• Alexander's army was unique, including soldiers, clerks for daily accounts, historians, geographers, and poets
• Influenced by his teacher Aristotle, Alexander had a deep appreciation for Greek culture, and the invasion of the Persian empire meant spreading Greek learning along with armed forces
• Alexander faced the 'Kingdom of the Whole World' as he embarked on his conquests
• FEATURES OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

  Persian empire was well governed, connected by good roads and able to assemble enormous armies for war. Its bowmen and cavalry were famous and feared; its fleet was first class. Young Alexander, sacrificed a bull to the Greek god Poseidon as his fleet crossed into Asia.At first, Darius III, the Great King of Persia, did not take the

  Greek invasion seriously and left his generals in command of the army. The first major battle was by the river Granicus
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  Darius's answer was to recruit a far larger army and challenge Alexander in person at Issus in 333 BC. Although they were slowed down by the sheer weight of numbers on the enemy side, the Macedonian cavalry slaughtered thousands of Persians. Many others were captured, including Darius's wife, mother and two daughters. When the news spread that Darius had fled the Persian resistance crumbled.
• After Issus, Alexander entered Egypt where he was welcomed as the enemy of the unpopular Persians. The Egyptian priests received him with special honours because he wore ram's horns, the sign of the god Amun, in his hair. This was a clever thing to do. It won him the favour of the Egyptians who, for centuries afterwards, called him 'The Two-Horned'.
• Alexander founded the city 'Alexandria' while he was in Egypt.