by John Greece

Created on: December 24, 2008   Last Updated: October 28, 2010

It is worth noting that Alexander the Great was not only leader and king of the ancient Macedonian Kingdom. This was to be expected because he was the only sole legal son of king Philip II. So, he was the undisputed successor to the Macedonian throne.

What made him widely known and famous was his intelligent ideas, the highly successful military skills and the war strategies and tactics that followed each time being confronted with hostile troops, even in foreign territory which increases his value even more because of the environmental and weather conditions where prevailed (desert and rocky areas, drought, dust, inaccessible locations etc).

Battle of  Chaeronea 338 BC

The battle of Chaeronea held in 338 BC between the Macedonian kingdom and the united forces of Athens, Corinth, Corfu, Lefkada, Achaia, Megara, Akarnanias, Evia and the Joint of Viotia, whose leader was Thebes. The battle was a triumph for the Macedonians armies. The battlefield lies in Viotia plain (near to the ancient village of Chaeronea), 13 km north of Livadia.

This battle was significant because it has been crucial in shaping the political situation in Greece. Philip II (king of Macedonia) after many years of bloody campaigns and intense diplomatic consultations and managed together with Alexander to subdue the last pillars of resistance against their plans for influence in Greece. The battle of Chaeronea effectively marks the start of the Macedonian sovereignty in Greek politics for nearly a century.

Battle of Granikus River 334 BC

Granikus was the greatest obstacle presented to Alexander once had crossed the Hellespont at the narrowest point between Sisto and Avydo. According to the information of the vanguard, on the right part of the river had gathered Persian forces to prevent the crossing. Specifically there were 20 thousand Persian cavalry and 30 thousand Greek mercenary army infantry.

Alexander had 30 to 35 thousand infantry (mixed Greeks and Macedonians), 5 to 6 thousands cavalry and Parmenion was the assistant general of Alexander. The leader of Rhodes Memnonas (which was also the General) supported the Persians at a meeting which took place before the battle. There proposed to retreat inside destroying everything in order the Greek army which will follow, not finding food for animals and humans (to trap), so will achieve destruction. However, the plan was not the one that were looking for and finally the battle did not held.

The arrangement of opponents was as follows:

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