How Was Alexander the Great able to Conquer the Persian Empire?
Or how was David able to beat Goliath again?
Alexander the Great is widely remembered as one of the most brilliant generals and greatest conquerors the world has ever seen. In a brilliant campaign, the young Macedonian ruler was able to subdue the mighty Persian Empire, the greatest power in Western Eurasia during those days.
If one looks at a map, a fight between Macedonia, even with the reluctant assistance of their Greek “allies,” against the Achaemenid Empire very much looks like a fight of David versus Goliath, yet just like in the Old Testament, this time round also David( Macedonians) was able to defeat Goliath( the Persian Empire).
Alexander’s victory, of course, did not come out of the blue, but there were several reasons why history turned out the way it did, and in the following parts of this article, I will dissect some of the main reasons which lead to the victory of Alexander the Great over King Darius III.
The formidable army Alexander inherited from his father
Professional armies were a rarity in the ancient world. The Greeks had formidable mercenaries and in the case of Sparta and later Thebes, even formidable standing forces; however, they were never…
