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A Look Into the Life of Alexander the Great

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Submitted By birdman4980
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HIS- Early Western Civilization

1 December 2009

A Look into the Life of Alexander the Great

Today Alexander the Great is known as one of the greatest conquerors and warriors in history. He created the largest land empire in Western history second to Rome. Unlike modern generals, Alexander actually fought in battles. He usually led the troops himself, making him a hero to his men. He never lost a battle, though wounded a few times, and always successfully fought the battle.
Alexander was born in Pella, Macedon on July 20, 356 BC. He was the son of Philip II, the King of Macedon and Philip's fourth wife Queen Olympias (Burgan, 16). After his birth his nurse, Lanike, raised Alexander. When Alexander was thirteen years old, his father decided that he needed a higher education and he began to search for a tutor. He chooses Aristotle to be his tutor, and agreed to rebuild his hometown of Stagira, which Philip has razed years earlier. From the age of 14 to 18, he studied military affairs and improved his horse riding skills. He also worked on his strength by wrestling and gymnastics (Wikipedia, 2).
At the age of sixteen, his time with Aristotle came to an end. Philip had to go wage war against Byzantium and left Alexander as regent in charge of the kingdom. Under this role, Alexander was to serve as the head of the government while his father fought wars with the Greeks (Burgan, 25-26). During this time, a riot broke out in Macedonian. He assigned troops to put down the riots, and established a base for Macedonian troops to prevent future rebellions. This was the first time Alexander showed he could take on the responsibility, and it wouldn’t be the last (Wikipedia, 1).
Soon later Philip had angered the Athenians, and they convinced other city-states to fight together against Macedonia. So together, father and son, Philip and

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