Wester Civilization Blog Post #33

March 24th, 2020

Biographies

Philip II

Philip II, son of King Amyntas III, was the king of Macedon from 359 B.C. to 336 B.C. Philip III was the father of Alexander III and Philip III. During his reign, he reformed the Ancient Macedonian army. By doing this, Macedon rose and conquered much of Classical Greece by its battle victories. In 338 B.C., king Philip II defeated Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea. He was later assassinated in 336 B.C. by Pausanias of Orestis, a royal bodyguard.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III, was the king of Macedon for 12 years and 8 months. Up until he was 16, he was tutored by Aristotle. He succeeded the throne through his father Philip II in 336 B.C. at the young age of 20. During most of the years that he ruled, he dominated kingdoms throughout Asia and Northeast Africa. He had built one of ancient history's largest empire by 30 years old. The kingdom had stretched from Greece to northwestern India by the time he was defeated in battle.

Darius III

Darius III, also referred to as Artashata or Codomannus, ruled the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 B.C. to 330 B.C. He was the son of Arsames and Sisygambis. Darius III was crowned to be the king following the death of Artaxerxes and Arses in 336 B.C. A vizier named Bagoas had poisoned the king Artaxerxes III and his sons. At the time Darius III was 43 years old and inexperienced compared to his ancestors. Bagoas then attempted to poison Darius, but Darius forced Bagoas to drink the poison instead. Later on, Darius was killed by his cousin, Satrap Bessus, in July of 330 B.C.

Connection

These three rulers all are connected because they all lived in the same time period and had some sort of connection with each other through Alexander the Great.