Alexander was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, a part of northern Greece but at that time an ancient kingdom . He was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, a strong ruler whoconquered most cities of ancient Greece and was planning to take control of the Persian Empire .

When Alexander was thirteen years old, the Greek philosopher Aristotle came to Macedonia to teach him. He was trained in military strategy and planning but was also interested in art and sciences . At eighteen Alexander became commander of a part of the army and fought against Greek soldiers .

 

 

 

Alexander becomes king

When Philip was murdered in 336 B.C. Alexander became king of Macedonia and continued his father’s plans for invading Asia. In 334 he led an army across the Hellespont – the narrow strait between Europe and Asia – with 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 men on horseback. At the Granicus River he defeated a much larger group of Persians. Along the way he freed Greek cities that were under Persian rule and made them his allies .

When Alexander came to the city of Gordium in Asia Minor , today’s Turkey, a legend tells us that he was shown a strange, complexknot . The person who could untie the Gordian knot would be the ruler of all of Asia. Alexander tried hard but could not untie it with his hands, so he drew out is sword and cut the knot in a single stroke .