How Did Alexander the Great Conquer So Much by 30? The King Who Never Lost a Battle

Alexander the Great built one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to north-western India, before he turned 30, and he is described as undefeated in battle. He did it with a superb army inherited from his father, extraordinary speed and daring as a commander, and a willingness to take enormous personal risks, all directed against a Persian Empire that was huge but hard to defend. He died in Babylon in June 323 BC at just 32, and his empire broke apart almost immediately. The story of how he rose so fast is also a story about why one man's empire could not outlive him.

A prince taught by Aristotle

Alexander was born in July 356 BC in Pella, the capital of the kingdom of Macedon, to King Philip II and Queen Olympias. As a teenager he was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle, who taught him philosophy, literature and science. Alexander is said to have loved Homer's Iliad and to have seen himself in its hero, Achilles.

His father mattered even more than his teacher. Philip II had turned Macedon from a weak kingdom on the edge of the Greek world into a military power, with a professional army built around the phalanx, a dense formation of infantry armed with very long spears, supported by powerful cavalry. Alexander inherited this army, and he knew how to use it.

King at twenty

When Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, Alexander became king at the age of 20. Enemies inside and outside Macedon expected the young king to struggle. Instead he moved fast: he put down revolts in the Balkans, destroyed the rebellious Greek city of Thebes and took over his father's position as leader of the League of Corinth, an alliance of Greek states. The message to the rest of Greece was clear.

Into the Persian Empire

In 334 BC Alexander crossed into Asia and invaded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the greatest power of the age. For about ten years he campaigned across Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Central Asia.

He defeated the Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Issus and then, decisively, at the Battle of Gaugamela. At Gaugamela in 331 BC his army was heavily outnumbered, but Alexander used his cavalry to open a gap in the Persian line and charged towards Darius himself, who fled. After that, the Persian Empire collapsed into Alexander's hands.

Egypt and the city of Alexandria

Along the way Alexander took Egypt, where he was welcomed as a liberator from Persian rule. He founded more than twenty cities during his campaigns, the most famous being Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria became one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, a centre of trade and learning, home to the famous Library and lighthouse.

To the edge of India

Alexander did not stop with Persia. He pushed on into Central Asia and then into the Indian subcontinent. In 326 BC he defeated the Indian king Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes. But his soldiers, after years of marching thousands of kilometres from home, had had enough. They mutinied, and Alexander was forced to turn back at the Beas River. It was one of the few times anyone made him stop.

How did he do it?

Historians usually point to several factors working together:

• The army. Philip's professional, well-drilled army, combining infantry and cavalry, was the best of its time.
• Speed. Alexander moved faster than his enemies expected and attacked before they were ready.
• Personal leadership. He led cavalry charges himself and was wounded several times, which inspired loyalty.
• Adaptability. He besieged cities, fought in mountains and deserts, and adopted some Persian customs and administrators to govern conquered lands.
• A vulnerable target. The Persian Empire was vast and wealthy, but its size and diversity made it difficult to defend once its main army was beaten.

Death in Babylon and a divided empire

Alexander died in Babylon in June 323 BC, aged 32. The cause is still debated, with illness and poison both suggested. He had no adult heir and no clear plan for succession. His generals, known as the Diadochi, or "successors", fought a series of wars over his empire, which fractured into several kingdoms.

Yet his conquests had a lasting effect: they spread Greek language and culture across a huge region, from Egypt to Afghanistan. For centuries afterwards, Greek was a common language of trade, government and scholarship across much of that world, a reminder that empires fall but languages can travel very far.

Learn with Alexander: English phrases

Phrase	Meaning	Example
to lead from the front	to lead by doing the hard work yourself	A good captain leads from the front.
to strike while the iron is hot	to act quickly while there is a chance	The sale ends today, so strike while the iron is hot.
to have the upper hand	to have an advantage	After the first goal, they had the upper hand.
to turn back	to return instead of continuing	The storm forced us to turn back.
to fall apart	to break into pieces or fail	Without a leader, the plan fell apart.

Try this: Write three English sentences about a goal you are chasing, as if you were Alexander's general reporting to him. Use "lead from the front" and "have the upper hand".