Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was the monarch of Macedon and the man who led Macedons armies across the world and conquered Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, Bactria and parts of India. He is a most central figure in Empire of Ashes even if he never figures in any of the roleplays. The world in EoA has been shaped by Alexander, and many of the characters served directly under him or had some other contact with him.

Early Life
Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella. His father was the reigning king of Macedon, Philip II and his mother was named Olympias. Since Macedon was a growing power during this time Philip ensured the very best education for his son, including being tutored by Aristotle. Alexander also recieved military training, riding alongside the Hetairoi. Philip made the Macedonian Military become a great machine.

His parents were on uneven terms with one another, and Alexander often sided with his mother whenever Philip would start a brawl or verbal engagement. Eventually, this led to Alexander being expelled from the court of Macedon however he was later forgiven and returned home to Pella.

In 336 BC, Philip was assassinated by his friend and lover Pausanias. The killer was caught and slain so the real motives were never uncovered. The assassination could have been arraged by Olympias, Alexander or Darius III who feared Philips promised invasion of Persia. As a result of the assassination, Alexander was crowned king of Macedon.

King of Macedon
The Greek city states saw this as a perfect opportunity to rebel against their new leader, who they saw as young and inexperienced. Alexander acted swiftly and marched south where he laid siege to Thebes and razed it to the ground. The rest of the greeks laid down their arms and accepted Alexander as their new king. The young monarch wasted no time and took his army to invade Asia Minor.

There he meet the persian forces at the Battle of Granicus where he defeated them. He took Halicarnassus and marched down into Syria where he met Darius III in battle at Issus and won a triumphant victory. He later took the city of Tyre and when he marched on Egypt the local satrap surrendered and Alexander met with little resistance. His next target was marching deeper into Asia and once again Darius stood in his way, this time at Gaugamela which proved to be the most decisive victory of Alexander's campaigns. Nobody knows how much the persians outnumbered the macedonians but estimates up to 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 are probably not exagerated.

After Gaugamela Alexander marched on Babylon and took the city. He later marched into Susa and captured the Persian Gates, despite heavy casualties. His conquests later took him further east into Bactria and eventually into India. There he met the Indian king Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes where Alexander once again triumphed, despite many difficulties such as unfavourable terrain and Porus' war elephants. Not shortly after the conquest of Porus' kingdom the Macedonian soldiers refused to march any further east and Alexander had to turn back. On his way to Babylon he conquered many other cities and fortresses including those of the Malli. During the storming of the Malli Alexander was in the frontline of the men fighting and was wounded by an arrow to the chest. His soldiers thought he died and stormed the fortress and slaughtered the Malli.

Death
Alexander continued his march to Babylon. However on his way there, his best friend Hephaestion died of in illness and Alexander was devestated. It is possible that Alexander began drinking so heavily that his immune system faltered, which would lead to his ultimate death, possibly of typhoid, malaria or some other sickness. It is also possible that he was poisoned by Cassander or even Aristotle. While it is not unlikely that Cassander (or one of his peers) planned the assassination of Alexander, if they had executed it they would probably have used a sword rather than poison since this was macedonian tradition.

On his deathbed, Alexander was asked who he wanted to succeede him. Alexanders reply was either To the strongest or To Craterus. The two sound very close to each other in ancient greek. Craterus had been a very good friend of Alexander for a long time and he also commanded a large part of the army (the infantry) so he would have been an ideal choice for Alexander. Craterus was assassinated shorty afterwards, however and Alexander's empire was split up between satraps. Seleucus was given the east, Perdiccas was given Babylon, Lysimachus was given Thrace, Ptolemy I was given Egypt, Antigonus was given Asia Minor and Polyperchon was given Macedonia and Greece. Polyperchon was soon disposed off by force when the other Diadochi and Cassander rallied against him. Cassander took up the role of regent of Macedon. They were all to act as regents until Alexander IV, the son of Alexander with his wife Roxana, had reached an age fit to rule.

Following Alexanders death many wars were fought over his empire. But in 308 BC, the starting year for Empire of Ashes, the situation has stabilized and the successors that remain are: Cassander, Lysimachus and Seleucus. Perdiccas was killed by Seleucus. Ptolemy I died of age and was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy II. Antigonus also died and was succeeded by his son Demetrius.

Recently a young teen has surfaced and claims to be the true heir of Alexander the Great. If this is true or not remains to be seen.