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The wars of Alexander the Great were fought by King Alexander III of Macedon ("The Great"), first against the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Darius III, and then against local chieftains and warlords as far east as Punjab, India. Alexander the Great was the most successful military commander of all time. He was undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks.〔''See, e.g.,'' (ac.wwu.edu ) 〕 Although being successful as a military commander, he failed to provide any stable alternative to the Achaemenid Empire〔Freeman, Charles. ''The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World''. Allen Lane, 1999. ISBN 9780713992243. p.172: "In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king, Alexander ("the Great") who was to demolish the empire in the 320s but fail to provide any stable alternative."〕—his untimely death threw the vast territories he conquered into war and chaos. Alexander assumed the kingship of Macedon following the death of his father Philip II, who had unified most of the city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian hegemony in a federation called the League of Corinth.〔Sacks, David, (1995), ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World'', London: Constable and Co. Ltd, ISBN 0-09-475270-2, p. 16.〕 After reconfirming Macedonian rule by quashing a rebellion of southern Greek city-states and staging a short but bloody excursion against Macedon's northern neighbors, Alexander set out east against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, under its "King of Kings" (the title all Achaemenid kings went by), Darius III, which he defeated and overthrew. His conquests included Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria, and Mesopotamia, and he extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as Punjab, India. Alexander had already made more plans prior to his death for military and mercantile expansions into the Arabian Peninsula, after which he was to turn his armies to the west (Carthage, Rome, and the Iberian Peninsula). However, Alexander's diadochi quietly abandoned these grandiose plans after his death. Instead, within a few years of Alexander's death, the diadochi began fighting with each other, dividing up the Empire between themselves, and triggering 40 years of warfare. ==Background== Philip II was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias. Philip's son, and previously designated heir, Alexander was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and army.〔McCarty, ''Alexander the elmo'', p. 30-31. * Plutarch, ''The Age of Alexander'', p. 262-263 * Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 61-62 * Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 72〕 News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolt reached Alexander he responded quickly. Though his advisers advised him to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon's immediate neighbor to the south. When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had the men ride through Mount Ossa and, when the Thessalians awoke, they found Alexander at their rear. The Thessalians surrendered and added their cavalry to Alexander's force as he rode down towards the Peloponnese.〔McCarty, ''Alexander the Great'', p. 31. * Plutarch, ''The Age of Alexander'', p. 263 * Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 72 * Fox, ''The Search For Alexander'', p. 104 * Bose, ''Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy, p. 95〕 Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of the Sacred League before heading south to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander received the envoy and pardoned anyone involved with the uprising. At Corinth, he was given the title 'Hegemon' of the Greek forces against the Persians. While at Corinth, he heard the news of the Thracian rising in the north.〔Bose, ''Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy'', p. 96. * Renault, ''The Nature of Alexander the Great'', p. 72〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wars of Alexander the Great」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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