The first two centuries of the Macedonian monarchy, covered by the reigns of six kings, were a period shrouded in obscurity, during which the rising kingdom had enlarged itself at the expense of its neighbors, and crossing the Axios had even reached the Strymon. This career of conquest had been scarcely arrested by the Persian invasions of Europe. Indeed Alexander I, son of Amyntas, was cunning enough to bow to the storm, and while cautiously doing his utmost to befriend the Greeks, affected to fall in with Persian ideas as to Macedon being the centre of a great vassal state, and thankfully accepted any extension of territory which the Great King might be pleased to give him. By these means he gained a footing among the Thracian tribes as far as Mount Haemus, while he attained an object by which he set even greater store as a true-blooded Hellene; for his claims to that title were publicly acknowledged at Olympia, and his victories in the Stadium celebrated by the Hellenic Pindar. Yet the difficulties of Alexander did not cease, but rather increased when danger no longer threatened Greece from the side of Persia. He had removed his capital from Aigai to Pydna, a step nearer to the Hellenes whom he admired so much. But close to Pydna lay Methone, an independent Greek city; while to the eastward in Chalcidice, and as far as the Strymon, were numerous Hellenic colonies whose sympathies drew them naturally to the south rather than the west - to Hellas, not to Macedon - and which, after the Persian wars, recognized in the maritime Athens their natural leader and protectress...

A unique military and cultural history that chronicles the reigns of Philip and Alexander the Great in one sweeping narrative.

In Greek mythology, Makedon is the eponymous hero of Macedonia and is mentioned in Hesiod's Catalogue of Women. The first historical mention of the Macedonians occurs in the works of Herodotus during the mid-5th century BC. The book's seventeen chapters cover the history of Macedonia from pre-Philip II (Alexander's father), until Alexander's death. Highlights include the many battles of Alexander with Persia, the sack of Persepolis and the death of Darius, the founding of Alexandria, and Alexander's conquest of India.

Excerpt from Rise of the Macedonian Empire Greek freedom destroyed. Because the Greeks hardly deserved to be free Salutary influence of Alexander' 5 conquest upon Asia. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.