1. The Greek homeland was in the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the islands in the Aegean Sea. The northernmost point where the Greeks had territory was Mount Olympus. The location of the Greek homeland about the surrounding area comes to be in the central-western part of the Mediterranean Sea. It is still not clear from where did the Greeks come to this area, but it was from Asia Minor, with their ancestors being known as Doric people.
*note: Macedonia was not part of the Greek city-states. The Macedonians had a different ethnic background, different culture, and different language than the Greeks.
2. There’s a common misconception that Alexander gained control of Greece, but that is not true. It was Alexander’s father, Philip II of Macedon who conquered the Greek city-states, while Alexander inherited them and just strengthened the control over them as the Greeks hated the Macedonians who they considered as barbarians, so it was the biggest humiliation to be ruled by them. Also, it was not all Greek city-states that were conquered, with Sparta being left alone and independent.
3. Soon after he succeeded the empire, Alexander organized military campaigns. He started with the Balkans and strengthened his positions in Thrace, southern Illyria, as well as Greece. Then he moved toward the east, having many battles with the Persians, and pushing them toward the east. By the year of 332 BCE, the Macedonian Empire included the southern half of the Balkans, Asia Minor, the western part of the Middle East, and Egypt.
4. The Macedonian army and the Persian army had a lot of battles until the outcome was decided. The Macedonian army, despite being smaller, won a battle by battle, causing a lot of damage to the Persians. Darius got very mad about how things were going, so he gathered an enormous army, helped even by thousands of Greek soldiers who fought alongside the Persians despite having wars with them, but they hated the Macedonians more. Alexander showed his tactical abilities on the battlefield, by outmaneuvering the Persian army and destroying it at Gaugamela, with Darius having to flee from the scene so that he doesn’t end up dead. With the emperor of Persia out of the way, this battle turned out to be decisive, and Alexander marched through Persia, claiming it as part of Macedonia.
5. After the win of Gaugamela, Alexander had the Persian Empire under his feet. He marched through it with his army, claiming the Persian lands to himself. The first stop that Alexander made was in the capital of Persia, Babylon, where he presented himself to the Persians as their new king. He then continued east to Susa, the former capital of Persepolis, before turning northwards to Pasargadae. The final major Persian city which was visited by Alexander was the capital of Bactria, Bactra, after which he moved toward the southeast and reached the Indian subcontinent.
6. Alexander’s empire stretched from the western Balkan as far east as the northwestern part of India, making it the largest empire the world had seen until then, and it is still one of the largest empires to have ever existed. When compared the maximum size that the empire reached with the maps before the final conquests, it is easily noticeable that the Macedonian Empire has increased significantly, and on top of it, in a very short time. The empire became so large in such a short time because most of the territory conquered by Alexander was controlled by Persia, so once Persia was defeated, the empire gained enormous territory overnight.
