Alexander the Great: Battles Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Alexander the Great was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon, in 356 BC the son and heir to King Philip II. He succeeded his father at the age of only twenty, in 336 BC, when his father was assassinated. Areas which had been brought under Macedonian control saw this as an opportunity to regain autonomy, but had reckoned without Alexander's abilities as both soldier and tactician.

Mount Haemus was a battle which took place in 335 BC as part of Alexander's Balkan campaign. He needed to exert authority over the region, which included Macedon itself, before being able to turn his attentions to Persia, his main aim. Thrace bordered Macedon to the south and was rebellious, but this battle was decisively won by Alexander and his forces. The Battle of Lyginus, named for the river, was also fought the same year and also against Thracians, but a different tribe.

Resistance to Alexander also existed in the city states of Greece, notably Athens and Thebes. The Battle of Thebes began with a siege and developed into a massacre and the near total destruction of the city. The Thebans had heard rumours of Alexander's death, which encouraged them to rebel. When Alexander heard the news, in the summer of 356 BC, he responded within three days, breaking into the city and killing thousands of the inhabitants. He ordered the razing of the city and the survivors were enslaved. The brutality of his response was enough to discourage resistance from any other city states, leaving Alexander free to pursue his Persian campaign.

The campaign began in the spring of 334 BC when Alexander led around 37,000 men across the Hellespont (now known as the Dardanelles) into Asia Minor, now Turkiye (long known as Turkey). The first major victory came in May, at the Granicus River, where Alexander's army defeated the Persians and established a foothold and vital supply train. The next major battle, the Battle of Issus, came in November 333 BC, and involved King Darius III. Alexander's army was vastly outnumbered, estimated as around 40,000 against at least 100,000, but his tactics of targeting Darius directly and encircling the Persians caused widespread panic. Darius fled in ignominy, leaving behind his wife, mother, two daughters and a treasure trove of gold and silver.

Following his siege of Tyre, which neutralised the naval threat, Alexander's next major battle, the Battle of Gaugamela, came in 331 BC in what is now Iraq. Again fighting against Darius III, and still vastly outnumbered, Alexander outwitted Darius and won the battle, although he failed in his objective of capturing the king. This second major loss led to the assassination of Darius soon after at the hands of his own official. Alexander then took the major city of Babylon with no resistance offered as the governor surrendered.

December 331 BC saw the Battle of the Uxian Defile, near Susa which is in the south west of modern day Iran. A vital mountain pass was controlled by a tribe called the Uxians who exacted a toll to allow people to pass. Alexander refused to play the game, and effectively wiped out the tribe. Continuing his journey through the mountains, Alexander and his army reached a narrow pass, called the Persian Gate, in January 330 BC. He was nearly caught out as the defenders had laid a trap - the battle is often compared to Thermopylae due to lie of the land and that the Macedonians were told of a way to bypass their enemies. Victory here meant Alexander could capture Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, and now controlled more than half of Persia.

Alexander's army now headed for the more central regions of Asia, reaching the Jaxartes River in 329 BC. He decided the river would mark the north eastern boundary of his empire, since beyond it lay only the endless steppes. The Macedonians began constructing a new city, named Alexandria Eschatê, but this drew the attention of the local tribes and led to a further battle, named after the river. Alexander prevailed again, and parts of his city still exist, now known as Khujand in Tajikistan.

The only region left to conquer was India, and Alexander moved his army there in 327 BC. Having laid siege to, and then capturing, various towns and cities en route, Alexander met stiffer resistance when he reached the Hydaspes River in May 326 BC. The battle between Alexander's forces and those of King Porus (the name most commonly attributed to him) was hard fought and amongst the most difficult of Alexander's campaigns. The are is now known as the Punjab.

The final major event of the Indian campaign involved Sangala, later in 326 BC. The battle began with a siege and ended with the Macedonians breaking through and razing the city. Although Alexander and his army were successful, his men were exhausted and refused to go any further forcing Alexander to turn back and head for Babylon. There were various skirmishes along the way, but no more major battles. Back in Babylon, Alexander arranged for a fleet of ships to be built to return to Egypt but he was taken ill in 323 BC and died before completion. The causes of his death are unknown but could have been typhoid or malaria. He was only thirty-two and had left no heir, so the Macedonians broke up into factions. Although his body was returned to Alexandria in Egypt, his burial place has never been found.

The incorrect answers are the Battle of Silva Arsia between Ancient Rome and the Etruscans in 509 BC. Both the Battle of Cannae and the Battle of Trebia were between Rome and Carthage, in 216 BC and 218 BC respectively. The Battle of Alesia took place in 52 BC between the Republic of Rome and the Gallic Confederation and, finally, the Milvian Bridge was a battle between two Roman Emperors, Constantine I and Maxentius, in 312 AD.