alexander the great Flashcards
(145 cards)
1
Q
When was Alexander the Great born?
A
356BC in Pella (Macedonia)
2
Q
Who was the father of Alexander the Great?
A
Philip II
3
Q
Which country was Philip King of?
A
Macedon
4
Q
Who was the mother of Alexander?
A
Olympias
5
Q
Who was the main tutor of Alexander?
A
Aristotle
6
Q
Who wrote a biography of Alexander?
A
Plutarch
7
Q
What was the name of the author of the Anabasis (a military history of Alexander’s reign)?
A
Arrian
8
Q
Which Persian King was defeated by the Greeks in 480BC?
A
Xerxes
9
Q
How many wives did Philip have?
A
3
10
Q
When did Philip marry Olympias?
A
357BC
11
Q
Which battle did Philip win in 338BC, giving him control of Greece?
A
Chaeronea
12
Q
What was the name of the long Macedonian spear?
A
Sarissa
13
Q
What was the core of the Macedonian army?
A
Phalanx (tight formation of soldiers)
14
Q
How long was the Macedonian spear?
A
6m
15
Q
What part of the cavalry was made up of the noblest Macedonians?
A
Companion Cavalry
16
Q
What were the cavalry known for?
A
Shock tactics (pretending to retreat to lure enemy, then suddenly turning round?
17
Q
Who were the fastest cavalry?
A
Thessalian
18
Q
Name one type of light infantry unit.
A
Agrianes or peltast
19
Q
Why could the light infantry move quickly?
A
They didn’t wear armour
20
Q
Who were the elite force of Alexander’s army?
A
Hypaspists
21
Q
When the army was on campaign what were they expected to do?
A
Live of the land
22
Q
How many were in the Macedonian army when it invaded Persia?
A
50,000
23
Q
Who is supposed to be an ancestor of Alexander?
A
Herakles
24
Q
What is supposed to have struck Olympias when she was pregnant?
A
Lightning
25
What image did Philip dream was sealing Olympias' womb?
Lion
26
What animal did Philip see with Olympias?
Snake
27
Which God did Delphi suggest Philip should honour?
Ammon
28
Where was Olympias from?
Epirus in Greece
29
Who did Olympias claim Alexander was the son of?
Zeus
30
Which book did Alexander keep?
Homer's Iliad
31
Name the tutor of Alexander
Aristotle
32
What was the name of the horse Alexander tamed?
Bucephalus
33
What did Alexander say he would pay if he lost the bet about the horse?
The price of the horse
34
What did Alexander realise the horse was scared of?
Its shadow
35
At what age was Alexander entrusted with the Kings seal?
16
36
Where was there a revolt that he overcame?
Maedi
37
Who did he lead a charge against at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338BC?
Sacred Band of Thebes
38
What had Philip II become before he began planning his expedition against Persia?
Hegemon (leader)
39
What was the name of Philip's bodyguard?
Pausanias
40
Who had Philip failed to punish for abusing his bodyguard, leading to his assassination by his bodyguard?
Attalus
41
What weapon did he have hidden to kill Philip with?
Dagger
42
Who caught the murderer and killed him?
Perdiccas
43
Who was left as regent of Greece when Alexander went to Asia?
Antipater
44
Who helped develop the Macedonian army and commanded the left wing in battle?
Parmenio
45
Who was the close friend of Alexander?
Hephaestion
46
Who was appointed official historian by Alexander?
Callisthenes
47
Why did Persia have good communications?
The Royal Highway
48
How many men were available to Darius in the Persian army?
120,000
49
How many cavalry did Darius have?
30,000
50
Which conquest was Alexander keen to recreate?
Troy
51
One motive for attacking Persia was revenge for the invasion of Greece in ...?
480BC
52
Who were the Persian King's personal guard?
Immortals
53
How was the majority of the Persian army made up?
Conscripts
54
Name a historian who tells us about Alexander's campaigns
Arrian
55
Name a biographer who writes about Alexander's campaigns
Plutarch
56
What year did Alexander begin his invasion of Persia?
334BC
57
Who had Philip previously sent to Asia to prepare his campaign?
Parmenio and Attalus
58
Which water did Alexander cross to begin his campaign?
Hellespont
59
How many cavalry did Alexander take into Persia?
5000
60
Where was Alexander's first battle fought?
River Granicus
61
Who was the leader of the Persian forces at this battle?
Memnon of Rhodes
62
What had he advised Darius III to do?
Scorched earth policy
63
Why did the Persians not take his advice?
Because he was Greek
64
How did the Persians recognise Alexander at the battle?
Splendid armour
65
What does Alexander break at the battle of Granicus?
Spear
66
Who saves Alexander from death at the battle of Granicus?
Cleitus the Black
67
What does Alexander do to the foreign mercenaries (fighting for Persia) at the end of the battle?
Massacres them
68
Which goddess does Alexander send gifts to on the acropolis?
Athena
69
What is at Gordium?
The knot
70
What does the Gordium prove?
The ruler of Asia
71
How does Alexander deal with the Gordium?
He cuts it
72
What was the second battle fought in Persia?
Issus
73
What happens to Darius in the second battle fought in Persia?
He flees the battlefield
74
Who is captured in second battle fought in Persia?
The family of Darius
75
Where does Alexander have to capture by siege in 332BC?
Tyre
76
Why was it so important to capture the city which was captured by siege in 332BC?
To control the coast
77
What did Alexander construct to achieve the siege?
A causeway
78
How long did the siege last?
7 months
79
Which temple protected people who were spared by Alexander?
Herakles
80
When Alexander enters Egypt where does he go?
The oracle at Siwa
81
What does he learn at the place he went when he enters Egypt?
He is the son of Ammon
82
The third Persian battle is fought at ..?
Gaugamela
83
What year did the third Persian battle take place?
331BC
84
Why did Darius choose this battlefield for the third Persian battle?
Flat open plain
85
Which Persian source mentions the third Persian battle?
Astronomical Diary
86
What omen was seen at the battle?
An eagle flew from Alexander straight to the enemy
87
What does Alexander let his men do before the battle?
Rest
88
Who suggests that they should not attack immediately?
Parmenio
89
How many Persians does Arrian suggest died?
300,000
90
Which city did Alexander advance to after the battle?
Babylon
91
Which of Alexander's companions is accused of conspiracy in 330BC?
Philotas (son of Parmenio)
92
Whose death does this also eventually lead to?
Parmenio
93
Alexander wanted to take the Persian capital which was..?
Persepolis
94
He had to pass through a narrow pass called ...
Persian Gate
95
Darius had left this man in charge and he tried to stop Alexander passing through.
Ariobarzanes
96
What year did Alexander capture the Persian capital and treasury?
330BC
97
What happens while Alexander and his troops are there?
They burn the city
98
Who encourages this to happen?
Thais (an Athenian woman)
99
Who urges him not to do this?
Parmenio
100
Who kills Darius after he flees the battle of Gaugamela?
Bessus
101
Where was he the satrap of?
Bactria
102
What name did he take after the death of Darius III?
Artaxerxes V
103
What happened to the person who kills Darius after he flees the battle of Gaugamela in 329BC
Executed
104
Who was killed by Alexander in 328BC?
Cleitus
105
What was the Persian custom that he objected to?
Proskynesis
106
What is blamed for the killing?
Alcohol
107
Where does Alexander begin a campaign in 326BC?
Indus Valley (India)
108
Which place does Alexander capture by siege during this campaign?
Aornos Rock
109
How does Alexander capture the rock?
Constructs a mound
110
Who was the Indian King Alexander fought?
Porus
111
What unusual type of forces were used by the Indian ruler?
War Elephants
112
What is the name of the battle fought with the Indian ruler?
Hydaspes River (Beas)
113
Which of Alexander's companions dies and has a city named after them?
Bucephalus
114
What does the silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy show Alexander wearing?
Elephant headdress
115
What happens at the Hyphasis?
Mutiny
116
Who led the Persian fleet home?
Nearchus
117
Which desert does Alexander cross on the way home?
Gedrosian
118
What else caused death on the journey home?
Monsoon
119
Which satrap is arrested and executed when Alexander returns to Susa?
Abulites
120
What did Alexander arrange at Susa in 324BC?
Mass marriages
121
Who had Alexander married previously?
Roxanne
122
What evidence is there of him becoming more paranoid?
Conspiracy of the Pages
123
Who is killed as a result of this conspiracy?
Callisthenes
124
Who does Alexander replace Antipater with at this point?
Craterus
125
Why did Alexander found so many cities?
To spread Hellenic culture
126
Which companion of Alexander died in 324BC?
Hephaestion
127
Where were they when Hephaestion died?
Ecbatana
128
How did Alexander honour him?
Funeral pyre costing 10,000 talents
129
What role had he had in the army?
Commander of the Companion Cavalry
130
In what year did Alexander die?
323BC
131
Which city had Alexander returned to?
Babylon
132
Why did he not enter the city?
A bad omen
133
What happened while Alexander was not sitting on his throne?
A stranger sat on it
134
What did Alexander do the night before he fell ill?
Drinking all night
135
What does he do each day despite being ill?
Bathes and sacrifices
136
Where do Arrian and Plutarch get the details of the death from?
Court journals
137
Which temple did Alexander's men suggest taking him to?
Serapis
138
Who does Alexander say he leaves his kingdom to?
'the strongest'
139
What do some people suggest killed him?
Poison
140
Who took control of Egypt?
Ptolemy
141
Who controlled Macedonia and Greece?
Cassander
142
How many cities did Plutarch say Alexander had founder?
70
143
How many cities did Alexander actually found?
20
144
Who revives the idea that Alexander was poisoned later?
Olympias
145
Who orders the execution of Roxane and her son?
Cassander
