The Prophecy and Fall of Alexander the Great
By Kelsie H.
In 356 B.C, Alexander the Great was born to King Phillip II of Macedon and one of his wives, Olympias. An equally handsome and stubborn boy, Alexander grew up in the capital of Macedon, that is, Pella. Though not directly part of Greece, Macedon was very similar because of religion and language, and Phillip II soon was very eager to control Greece. Soon several city-states of Greece were under his rule.
Alexander's mother, Olympias, was a very big influence in his life, and although he probably loved his father as well, She seemed to have much more favor in the young prince's eye. When Phillip got married to a new queen, Alexander began defending his mother, getting mad at his father, and eventually throwing a cup of wine in his face. This earned him exile, and seriously threatened Alexander's shot at the throne. But in 336 B.C. , he was crowned king when his father was murdered by assassins. The reign of Alexander the Great had begun.
Having been tutored by Aristotle as a young boy, Alexander was fairly smart, if not a little impetuous. Alexander went with his troops and soldiers into many a battle, and was slowly conquering kingdoms around the Mediterranean sea. He captured many cities and towns, even small empires in his quest to rule. One of his greatest enemies was Darius III, the ruler of Persia. They had several battles, and the Persians were defeated three times. Still, Alexander pursued the retreating armies, determined to beat them. After the last battle, as Alexander was tracking them, he came upon the body of Darius, who had been stabbed to death by his own army on sight of Alexander's approach.
In the book of Daniel, there is a chapter that many historians believe to be about Alexander the Great. Daniel 8: 3-12 gives a vision that Daniel received from God, in which he sees a ram with one large horn, attack a ram with two horns. The one-horned goat defeated the other, and grew very great. But at the height of its power, the horn was broken and four others came up from it.
Many commentaries state that that the goat with two horns was Persia, and the one-horned ram was Alexander the great. But what did Alexander himself think of it? According to Josephus, a Jewish historian, Alexander came to Jerusalem and was shown the verses. Josephus later wrote that he was pleased and left Jerusalem unharmed. Many historians wonder, however, if he read the second part, prophesying his downfall.
In the prime of his reign, at the young age of thirty three, Alexander the Great suddenly died. He was struck ill by Malaria, a mosquito transferred disease that causes sudden bouts of fever and chill, and sometimes led to death. It was untreatable in that age, when they didn’t even know the cause. As in the prophecy, the ram's horn was broken.
Alexander had a young wife, Roxanne, who was with child at the time of his death. The child, should it be a boy, was to be the future ruler of the empire. Seeing as the child was too young to rule, a dim-witted half brother of Alexander, Phillip, was chosen to act as regent. For a while, things went as planned, with Phillip being controlled by four generals. But when young Alexander was nine, Phillip was murdered by Olympias, Alexander the Great's mother. Roxanne and Alexander IV were moved to a house by the officials, for "safe keeping". Three years later, a cup of poisoned wine killed both Roxanne and her son, leaving no evident heirs.
In a great political struggle, four generals came fourth and split the land. Ptolemy took Egypt; Demetrius took Macedonia; Seleucus the Seleucid empire; and Lysimachus with Thrace. Alexander's kingdom had been split in four. These empires reigned for quite a while after their forming, but never became as conquering as Alexander's nation had been. Alexander the great was forever preserved in history as a glorious leader: a man who set out to take over Asia, and very nearly succeeded. He is remembered as a strong military leader, never retreating from fights and battles, and seeing through his victories with his soldiers, instead of just directing them. He was truly worthy of his title: Alexander, the Great.
Bibliography
The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
The Holy Bible; Daniel, ch. 8
Josephus The Complete Works, translated by William Whiston
Mystery of History, by Linda Lacour Hobar
Alexander the Great, by Robert Green
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