Alexander the Great
Alexander the great
Warfare and life
Alexander the great a great man of great courage was a warrior when he was young. Born in greece and father killed at a young age he was hardened for war. Who was this young conquer. What was his origin. How was he so successful.
Alexander a boy born in greece Macedon. The son of king of Macedon philip II. His mother was Olympias. When Alexander was very young a nurse named Lanike was charged with being Alexander's care taker. Leonidas later on was Alexander's tutor. Leonidas was a relative of Alexander's mother Olympias. King philip later seeked out a better tutor for Alexander when Alexander grew to sixteen years old.
Who was Olympias? Olympias mother of alexander was a daughter of the king Neoptolemus of Epirus. Also Olympias was the fourth wife of philip and was born in 375 BC. She died in pydna pieria Greece.
Later Alexander's father philip was murdered and Alexander took charge of the Macedon army that his father had been amassing. Where did philip die?
Where did Alexander actually conquer? He conquered Persia, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Bactria and Punjab.
What were the improvements in warfare that Alexander and philip II made? Improvements were made to the Macedonian warriors. The new and improved type of soldier was outfitted with a new helmet that gave the soldiers a better hearing ability and made better communication between the army with each group a general/leader. Also weapons were changed. First of all the hoplite a spear like weapon got changed to a longer spear or more like a long pike used to hit the enemy ranks or opponents first. Another improved weapon was called the sarissa. Also soldiers held sarissa similar to the previous shields used by greek warriors but it had a arm sling so the soldiers hands were more mobile or free and also because the shield was pretty heavy to carry around. Plus for close quarter combat each soldier carried a small bronze or iron double edged sword. This sword was called a xiphos. One of the most effective warfare tactic was called a phalanx. The phalanx was a bristling wall of death. It was a great form a defence and offence. Image a small neat