1
00:00:29,246 --> 00:00:30,856
I won't lie to you.

2
00:00:30,986 --> 00:00:33,467
They are strong
and they are many,

3
00:00:34,207 --> 00:00:36,035
and we fight
on the ground of their choosing.

4
00:00:39,082 --> 00:00:40,953
The danger
we face is great.

5
00:00:43,042 --> 00:00:45,436
But they are Persian...

6
00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:48,003
and we are Greek!

7
00:00:53,618 --> 00:00:56,664
Alexander the Great is one
of the greatest conquerors

8
00:00:56,795 --> 00:00:58,231
in all of the world.

9
00:00:58,362 --> 00:00:59,537
- King Alexander!
- Alexander!

10
00:00:59,667 --> 00:01:01,278
- Alexander!
- Alexander!

11
00:01:01,408 --> 00:01:02,627
Successful general,

12
00:01:02,757 --> 00:01:04,324
going from victory
to victory,

13
00:01:04,455 --> 00:01:06,457
accomplishing seemingly
impossible feats.

14
00:01:07,849 --> 00:01:09,373
Alexander never lost.

15
00:01:12,506 --> 00:01:14,769
The sheer scale
of Alexander's accomplishments

16
00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:16,380
are impossible to ignore.

17
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,515
He built one of the largest
empires in human history,

18
00:01:22,342 --> 00:01:24,953
and he did so
in just 13 years.

19
00:01:26,433 --> 00:01:29,306
His craving inside
to succeed drives him,

20
00:01:29,436 --> 00:01:31,134
but there is
a dark side to Alexander.

21
00:01:32,483 --> 00:01:34,572
You are no king!

22
00:01:34,702 --> 00:01:37,227
He was ruthless,
he was a colonizer,

23
00:01:37,357 --> 00:01:39,229
he was an imperial,

24
00:01:39,359 --> 00:01:43,494
but he was a young man
who wanted to prove himself.

25
00:01:43,624 --> 00:01:45,148
What's left to fight for?

26
00:01:46,149 --> 00:01:47,150
Everything.

27
00:01:48,107 --> 00:01:49,891
His desire to be remembered

28
00:01:50,022 --> 00:01:53,852
is one of the things
that connects him to us.

29
00:01:53,982 --> 00:01:56,463
Alexander wanted
to rule the world,

30
00:01:56,594 --> 00:01:58,596
and the glamor
of his success

31
00:01:58,726 --> 00:02:01,251
shines on
even in the 21st century.

32
00:02:02,382 --> 00:02:05,385
There was the world
before Alexander,

33
00:02:05,516 --> 00:02:08,040
and the world
after Alexander.

34
00:02:09,172 --> 00:02:13,132
Alexander completely changed
human history.

35
00:02:32,978 --> 00:02:34,719
<i>It's 331 BC...</i>

36
00:02:36,895 --> 00:02:38,288
<i>and two empires
are clashing.</i>

37
00:02:41,421 --> 00:02:43,858
<i>Persia and Greece.</i>

38
00:02:47,384 --> 00:02:49,081
<i>I would not
lead us to battle.</i>

39
00:02:49,212 --> 00:02:50,865
<i>The Greek army
is launching</i>

40
00:02:50,996 --> 00:02:52,954
<i>a full scale invasion
of their enemy's lands.</i>

41
00:02:54,434 --> 00:02:57,568
A war between Persia
and Greece is a huge mismatch.

42
00:02:58,221 --> 00:03:01,920
Persia assembles an army
of more than 200,000 men.

43
00:03:03,487 --> 00:03:05,532
The Greeks
were hugely outnumbered.

44
00:03:06,272 --> 00:03:08,361
We're talking
about five to one.

45
00:03:08,492 --> 00:03:10,407
These are unthinkable odds.

46
00:03:11,451 --> 00:03:13,627
<i>Even so,</i>

47
00:03:13,758 --> 00:03:16,500
<i>they charge,
because leading the Greek army</i>

48
00:03:16,630 --> 00:03:18,241
<i>is their remarkable
young king...</i>

49
00:03:19,633 --> 00:03:20,808
<i>Alexander.</i>

50
00:03:30,688 --> 00:03:32,255
To glory!

51
00:03:32,385 --> 00:03:36,041
Alexander wants
to invade Persia

52
00:03:36,171 --> 00:03:39,044
because Persia
is the last frontier.

53
00:03:41,655 --> 00:03:43,004
The ancient world

54
00:03:43,135 --> 00:03:44,397
was dominated
by the Persian Empire,

55
00:03:47,008 --> 00:03:50,185
that stretches
from the borders of India,

56
00:03:50,316 --> 00:03:51,883
Pakistan today,

57
00:03:52,013 --> 00:03:54,538
all the way
to Egypt in the South

58
00:03:54,668 --> 00:03:56,975
and Greece in the north.

59
00:03:57,105 --> 00:03:59,456
It was a huge, successful,

60
00:03:59,586 --> 00:04:02,807
and seemingly invincible
world power.

61
00:04:02,937 --> 00:04:04,591
<i>Defeating Persia</i>

62
00:04:04,722 --> 00:04:07,159
<i>has long been
Alexander's consuming ambition.</i>

63
00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,293
When Alexander
looked at Persia,

64
00:04:10,423 --> 00:04:12,120
what he saw was a cause.

65
00:04:15,385 --> 00:04:17,256
But the deeper
he went into it,

66
00:04:17,387 --> 00:04:20,477
the more confirmed he became
that this was his mission.

67
00:04:23,436 --> 00:04:25,743
But if Alexander loses here,

68
00:04:25,873 --> 00:04:27,571
the war is lost.

69
00:04:30,574 --> 00:04:32,967
<i>Facing Alexander
is his nemesis,</i>

70
00:04:34,099 --> 00:04:36,493
<i>Darius, King of Persia.</i>

71
00:04:44,327 --> 00:04:46,981
If Alexander
can capture Darius

72
00:04:47,112 --> 00:04:49,462
or if he can kill Darius,

73
00:04:49,593 --> 00:04:53,248
then it will be
a tremendous psychological blow

74
00:04:53,379 --> 00:04:55,686
against the entire
Persian Empire.

75
00:05:00,473 --> 00:05:02,257
Hold the line!

76
00:05:02,388 --> 00:05:03,911
Everything
was shaped on this battle.

77
00:05:04,042 --> 00:05:06,479
Whoever won
the Battle of Gaugamela

78
00:05:06,610 --> 00:05:07,785
would win the Persian Empire.

79
00:05:23,583 --> 00:05:24,976
<i>Alexander's
training begins</i>

80
00:05:25,106 --> 00:05:27,544
<i>as a young prince
of Macedon,</i>

81
00:05:27,674 --> 00:05:31,243
<i>a minor province on the northern
fringes of Ancient Greece.</i>

82
00:05:32,026 --> 00:05:35,116
Macedon is just one
of a number of territories,

83
00:05:35,247 --> 00:05:38,119
city-states, regions,
that all comprise together

84
00:05:38,250 --> 00:05:40,121
what we think of
as ancient Greece.

85
00:05:41,688 --> 00:05:44,996
The main powers
in Greece include Athens,

86
00:05:45,126 --> 00:05:46,954
Sparta and Thebes.

87
00:05:47,085 --> 00:05:50,044
These are the centers
of political life,

88
00:05:50,175 --> 00:05:52,264
philosophy, and culture.

89
00:05:53,570 --> 00:05:55,136
For the Greek city-states,

90
00:05:55,267 --> 00:05:57,617
Macedon is very much uncultured,

91
00:05:57,748 --> 00:06:00,925
uncivilized,
and still is ruled by this,

92
00:06:01,055 --> 00:06:03,144
for them,
archaic form of government,

93
00:06:03,275 --> 00:06:04,711
which is the monarchy.

94
00:06:05,669 --> 00:06:07,671
Alexander's father, Philip II,

95
00:06:07,801 --> 00:06:09,368
is the King of Macedon,

96
00:06:09,499 --> 00:06:11,065
and he ascended
to the throne

97
00:06:11,196 --> 00:06:12,719
when his brother
was killed in battle

98
00:06:12,850 --> 00:06:13,851
against a rival kingdom.

99
00:06:15,679 --> 00:06:17,985
One of the things
that makes King Philip stand out

100
00:06:18,116 --> 00:06:20,988
is his familiarity
with violence

101
00:06:21,119 --> 00:06:23,817
and his willingness
to use it for his own ends.

102
00:06:23,948 --> 00:06:26,951
Move your feet.
Put your shoulder into it.

103
00:06:27,081 --> 00:06:28,648
Faster, harder!

104
00:06:28,779 --> 00:06:30,171
Physical prowess

105
00:06:30,302 --> 00:06:31,869
was incredibly important
to the Greeks.

106
00:06:31,999 --> 00:06:34,001
It was important
that they were educated,

107
00:06:34,132 --> 00:06:37,048
but it was nothing
unless they were able to run

108
00:06:37,178 --> 00:06:38,528
and jump and fight.

109
00:06:39,267 --> 00:06:40,704
I don't think
you're really trying, boy!

110
00:06:40,834 --> 00:06:42,706
Come on, harder, harder!

111
00:06:42,836 --> 00:06:45,317
From an early age,
Alexander's trained physically,

112
00:06:45,448 --> 00:06:47,537
he's given great opportunity,

113
00:06:47,667 --> 00:06:51,715
but it's also clear
that his father is the man

114
00:06:51,845 --> 00:06:53,194
and Alexander is not.

115
00:06:53,325 --> 00:06:54,457
Okay, stop.

116
00:06:56,371 --> 00:06:57,764
<i>Alexander has mentors
other than his father.</i>

117
00:06:57,895 --> 00:07:00,419
That bag, one hand, go.

118
00:07:00,550 --> 00:07:03,030
<i>Parmenion, his
father's most trusted general.</i>

119
00:07:03,161 --> 00:07:05,642
There must be fire
in your belly, boy!

120
00:07:05,772 --> 00:07:07,731
Good. Stop, stop, enough.

121
00:07:07,861 --> 00:07:09,646
<i>And Cleitus the Black,</i>

122
00:07:09,776 --> 00:07:11,256
<i>the brother
of Alexander's nurse.</i>

123
00:07:12,213 --> 00:07:14,259
We may have to keep an eye out
for this one, eh, Parmenion?

124
00:07:14,389 --> 00:07:15,739
Well done, well done.

125
00:07:15,869 --> 00:07:17,001
Well?

126
00:07:17,784 --> 00:07:19,612
How's the boy progressing?

127
00:07:20,483 --> 00:07:22,136
He may survive
a skirmish or two.

128
00:07:23,442 --> 00:07:26,227
<i>From the sidelines,
Alexander watches</i>

129
00:07:26,358 --> 00:07:29,013
<i>as his father transforms
Macedon's fortunes.</i>

130
00:07:29,883 --> 00:07:33,147
The other city-states,
particularly Athens,

131
00:07:33,278 --> 00:07:35,367
looked down on Macedon.

132
00:07:36,281 --> 00:07:39,023
The Athenians see Macedon

133
00:07:39,153 --> 00:07:43,244
as an upstart,
even as barbarian.

134
00:07:44,376 --> 00:07:48,598
The Macedonians don't see
themselves that way.

135
00:07:48,728 --> 00:07:52,166
They see themselves
as the future.

136
00:07:52,297 --> 00:07:54,647
Philip's top priority
when he takes the throne

137
00:07:54,778 --> 00:07:56,388
is to bring Macedon

138
00:07:56,519 --> 00:07:58,695
out of the barbarian status
that it has

139
00:07:58,825 --> 00:08:00,348
and turn it
into a world power.

140
00:08:00,479 --> 00:08:02,612
He wants
to build up the economy,

141
00:08:02,742 --> 00:08:04,265
build up the infrastructure
and the roads,

142
00:08:04,396 --> 00:08:06,703
but most especially,

143
00:08:06,833 --> 00:08:08,400
he wants
to build up the army.

144
00:08:09,444 --> 00:08:12,709
Transforming them from simply
a gaggle on the battlefield,

145
00:08:12,839 --> 00:08:15,102
who might throw sticks
or stones or whatever,

146
00:08:15,233 --> 00:08:18,410
into a fully trained
armed force.

147
00:08:19,803 --> 00:08:22,153
<i>Philip's
most significant change:</i>

148
00:08:22,283 --> 00:08:25,417
<i>transforming the use of a battle
formation called the phalanx.</i>

149
00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:28,986
The phalanx consists
of a tight formation

150
00:08:29,116 --> 00:08:30,640
of infantry men.

151
00:08:31,466 --> 00:08:34,557
Heavily armed,
standing toe to toe,

152
00:08:34,687 --> 00:08:37,647
shoulder to shoulder,
with shields interlocking.

153
00:08:38,909 --> 00:08:40,650
Philip changes
the nature of the phalanx

154
00:08:40,780 --> 00:08:43,217
from a defensive formation
to an offensive one.

155
00:08:43,957 --> 00:08:45,306
Philip adds the sarisa,

156
00:08:45,437 --> 00:08:47,744
a spear of about
20 feet in length.

157
00:08:47,874 --> 00:08:51,704
And by being about twice as long
as the spear of the opposition,

158
00:08:51,835 --> 00:08:54,272
you can hold the enemy
at a greater distance.

159
00:08:56,796 --> 00:08:59,756
If every one of your soldiers
in the phalanx is strong,

160
00:09:00,670 --> 00:09:02,149
your phalanx is unbeatable.

161
00:09:06,719 --> 00:09:08,416
<i>By 345 BC,</i>

162
00:09:10,157 --> 00:09:12,420
<i>Philip has used
his highly trained army</i>

163
00:09:12,551 --> 00:09:15,554
<i>to aggressively capture
territory from his neighbors.</i>

164
00:09:16,860 --> 00:09:19,384
Macedonia, at the start
of Philip's reign,

165
00:09:19,514 --> 00:09:21,386
is a very small kingdom.

166
00:09:22,996 --> 00:09:26,217
But what Philip does
is he expands Macedonian power

167
00:09:26,347 --> 00:09:29,046
north, south, east,
and west during his rule.

168
00:09:31,309 --> 00:09:33,964
His expansion continues
year after year.

169
00:09:38,490 --> 00:09:41,798
Philip does spend
nearly all of his reign at war.

170
00:09:45,976 --> 00:09:48,456
I leave tomorrow.
A new campaign.

171
00:09:48,587 --> 00:09:49,762
Can I come with you?

172
00:09:50,807 --> 00:09:51,938
Not this time.

173
00:09:54,288 --> 00:09:55,463
When?

174
00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:57,161
When the time
is right.

175
00:09:59,467 --> 00:10:00,643
I promise.

176
00:10:06,170 --> 00:10:08,302
<i>While Alexander
is trained physically,</i>

177
00:10:08,433 --> 00:10:10,348
<i>he also prepares intellectually.</i>

178
00:10:14,918 --> 00:10:17,964
<i>He is tutored by the great
philosopher, Aristotle.</i>

179
00:10:19,313 --> 00:10:21,272
Aristotle is
the Leonardo da Vinci

180
00:10:21,402 --> 00:10:22,621
of the ancient world.

181
00:10:22,752 --> 00:10:24,014
He did it all.

182
00:10:25,102 --> 00:10:27,104
Aristotle
provided Alexander

183
00:10:27,234 --> 00:10:29,410
with his foundations
for almost everything.

184
00:10:29,541 --> 00:10:32,718
His notions of justice,
of virtue, of manliness,

185
00:10:32,849 --> 00:10:34,981
his thirst for knowledge
and information.

186
00:10:36,591 --> 00:10:39,420
<i>Aristotle also fueled
Alexander's lifelong obsession</i>

187
00:10:39,551 --> 00:10:41,509
<i>with the epic poem,</i>
The Iliad,

188
00:10:43,033 --> 00:10:45,905
<i>and its central hero, Achilles.</i>

189
00:10:46,732 --> 00:10:48,952
Achilles, for Alexander
and for many Greeks,

190
00:10:49,082 --> 00:10:52,216
was a paradigm
of Greek masculinity.

191
00:10:52,346 --> 00:10:55,045
Good at war,
noble, courageous.

192
00:10:56,437 --> 00:10:59,440
For Alexander,
Achilles is not just a myth.

193
00:11:00,267 --> 00:11:03,314
It is somebody
that he can be.

194
00:11:03,444 --> 00:11:06,447
Achilles, for Alexander,
is his goal.

195
00:11:16,588 --> 00:11:18,851
<i>By the time
Alexander is 18 years old</i>

196
00:11:18,982 --> 00:11:20,940
<i>in 338 BC,</i>

197
00:11:21,071 --> 00:11:23,029
<i>the Southern
Greek states decide</i>

198
00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,249
<i>they can no longer
ignore Philip's expansion.</i>

199
00:11:26,380 --> 00:11:27,947
The Athenians and the Thebans

200
00:11:28,078 --> 00:11:31,081
create this confederation
of Greek states

201
00:11:31,211 --> 00:11:33,605
that will fight
against Philip in 338 BC

202
00:11:33,736 --> 00:11:35,563
at the Battle of Chaeronea,

203
00:11:35,694 --> 00:11:37,609
probably the biggest battle
that Philip ever fights.

204
00:11:47,445 --> 00:11:49,490
<i>Now,
Alexander will get a chance</i>

205
00:11:49,621 --> 00:11:51,014
<i>to show his skill.</i>

206
00:11:52,493 --> 00:11:55,105
<i>Philip's Macedonian army
prepares to meet</i>

207
00:11:55,235 --> 00:11:58,848
<i>the combined Greek forces
70 miles north of Athens.</i>

208
00:12:01,502 --> 00:12:04,679
Alexander,
I want you to lead the cavalry

209
00:12:04,810 --> 00:12:06,203
here on our left flank.

210
00:12:07,291 --> 00:12:08,945
This is where the soldiers
of the Sacred Band will be.

211
00:12:11,164 --> 00:12:12,949
Under the circumstances,

212
00:12:13,079 --> 00:12:15,690
Philip gave Alexander some
pretty heavy responsibility.

213
00:12:16,430 --> 00:12:19,694
Alexander is lined up
against the Thebans

214
00:12:19,825 --> 00:12:22,915
and their elite Sacred Band
of warriors,

215
00:12:23,046 --> 00:12:25,352
an extraordinarily
well trained

216
00:12:25,483 --> 00:12:28,094
and fierce and effective
fighting force.

217
00:12:30,009 --> 00:12:31,881
There are 300 of them

218
00:12:32,011 --> 00:12:35,145
and they are composed
of 150 pairs of male lovers.

219
00:12:37,538 --> 00:12:39,627
This was thought to make them
fight harder in battle,

220
00:12:39,758 --> 00:12:41,281
knowing that their beloved
was by their side.

221
00:12:42,892 --> 00:12:44,763
In the more than 30 years

222
00:12:44,894 --> 00:12:46,634
that the Sacred Band
was in existence,

223
00:12:46,765 --> 00:12:48,767
they never once
lost a battle,

224
00:12:48,898 --> 00:12:50,813
and they were seen
to be invincible.

225
00:12:52,162 --> 00:12:54,555
Alexander
is often represented

226
00:12:54,686 --> 00:12:56,688
as a man
who knows no fear.

227
00:12:57,384 --> 00:12:58,646
That's rubbish.

228
00:13:00,083 --> 00:13:02,041
Every man feels fear.

229
00:13:02,172 --> 00:13:06,437
For Alexander,
it is the fear of failure,

230
00:13:06,567 --> 00:13:10,528
it is the fear
of disappointing his father.

231
00:13:12,008 --> 00:13:13,183
We know they will fight
to the death...

232
00:13:15,141 --> 00:13:16,708
and you must be prepared
to do so as well.

233
00:13:20,407 --> 00:13:21,713
I won't let you down.

234
00:13:22,409 --> 00:13:23,497
Any of you.

235
00:13:28,024 --> 00:13:31,723
When your moment comes,
you must be ready.

236
00:13:33,116 --> 00:13:34,465
That's the fire.

237
00:13:38,338 --> 00:13:41,472
<i>Alexander is assigned
to lead Macedon's cavalry.</i>

238
00:13:42,734 --> 00:13:45,084
For Philip to give Alexander
command of the cavalry

239
00:13:45,215 --> 00:13:47,043
meant that he was giving
Alexander responsibility

240
00:13:47,173 --> 00:13:48,653
for the decisive blow

241
00:13:48,783 --> 00:13:50,220
that would decide
the outcome of the battle.

242
00:13:54,485 --> 00:13:56,356
It's an elite fighting force

243
00:13:56,487 --> 00:13:59,664
drawn from Macedonian nobles
who have the best weapons

244
00:13:59,794 --> 00:14:02,188
and the best equipment
and the best horses.

245
00:14:04,408 --> 00:14:06,062
And it's made up of,
at this point,

246
00:14:06,192 --> 00:14:07,890
also many
of Alexander's friends.

247
00:14:09,804 --> 00:14:11,894
The most important
is Hephaestion.

248
00:14:14,418 --> 00:14:17,334
Hephaestion
was his closest friend,

249
00:14:17,464 --> 00:14:18,770
his emotional rock.

250
00:14:18,901 --> 00:14:20,293
They were raised together,

251
00:14:20,424 --> 00:14:22,556
educated together,
under Aristotle.

252
00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:25,995
They may have been lovers,
at least when they were younger.

253
00:14:30,173 --> 00:14:32,088
But for Alexander
and Hephaestion,

254
00:14:32,218 --> 00:14:34,612
there's an even deeper
level to it.

255
00:14:34,742 --> 00:14:37,397
They are inextricably
linked together.

256
00:14:41,967 --> 00:14:43,534
The Battle of Chaeronea

257
00:14:43,664 --> 00:14:45,057
is a very important moment
for Alexander.

258
00:14:50,236 --> 00:14:51,934
You could raise someone

259
00:14:52,064 --> 00:14:53,892
and educate them
to be a prince and a warrior...

260
00:14:55,546 --> 00:14:58,331
but until they actually face
the enemy in the battle lines,

261
00:14:58,462 --> 00:14:59,637
they fight, and they win...

262
00:15:01,682 --> 00:15:03,380
they haven't shown that
they can really do the job.

263
00:15:17,350 --> 00:15:19,178
<i>At the Battle
of Chaeronea,</i>

264
00:15:19,309 --> 00:15:21,137
<i>Alexander proves his worth.</i>

265
00:15:22,442 --> 00:15:23,835
<i>He defeats the Sacred Band...</i>

266
00:15:26,055 --> 00:15:27,970
<i>the most elite fighting force
in all of Greece.</i>

267
00:15:30,537 --> 00:15:32,800
<i>And he leaves practically
no survivors.</i>

268
00:15:36,239 --> 00:15:38,719
The Battle of Chaeronea
establishes Alexander

269
00:15:38,850 --> 00:15:40,504
as a great war leader,

270
00:15:40,634 --> 00:15:41,679
as a leader of men.

271
00:15:44,812 --> 00:15:47,293
As a man who does not shrink
from danger.

272
00:15:50,601 --> 00:15:52,385
This is going to be

273
00:15:52,516 --> 00:15:54,822
one of the greatest
characteristics of Alexander

274
00:15:54,953 --> 00:15:56,041
for the rest of his life.

275
00:16:01,090 --> 00:16:04,006
It's also a way
for a very young Alexander

276
00:16:04,136 --> 00:16:06,965
to demonstrate
that he is a warrior

277
00:16:07,096 --> 00:16:09,707
and that he could
in fact be a future king.

278
00:16:12,536 --> 00:16:14,625
Leaders grow
and develop over time,

279
00:16:14,755 --> 00:16:16,931
and at some point, we start
to refer to that as wisdom,

280
00:16:17,062 --> 00:16:19,630
but Alexander seems almost
wise from the beginning.

281
00:16:21,284 --> 00:16:23,242
He was very pleased with his
performance on the battlefield

282
00:16:23,373 --> 00:16:26,506
because he had lived up to
the expectations of his father

283
00:16:26,637 --> 00:16:29,901
and he had played a key role
in this important victory.

284
00:16:33,035 --> 00:16:34,340
You're as fearless
as the gods.

285
00:16:35,689 --> 00:16:39,302
The victory at Chaeronea
makes one thing clear.

286
00:16:39,432 --> 00:16:41,260
Greece has been united

287
00:16:41,391 --> 00:16:44,002
and they've been united
under Macedonian rule.

288
00:16:46,831 --> 00:16:49,747
<i>Finally,
Alexander's father, Philip,</i>

289
00:16:49,877 --> 00:16:52,576
<i>is supreme leader of virtually
all the Greek states.</i>

290
00:16:57,189 --> 00:16:59,539
<i>He orders the defeated
to join him for a summit,</i>

291
00:17:00,758 --> 00:17:02,238
<i>at the coastal town
of Corinth.</i>

292
00:17:04,370 --> 00:17:06,024
What Philip decides to do

293
00:17:06,155 --> 00:17:08,244
is to create
the League of Corinth,

294
00:17:08,374 --> 00:17:12,291
and this is essentially
a Pan-Hellenic confederation,

295
00:17:12,422 --> 00:17:15,468
and the idea behind it
is that each member

296
00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:19,211
will contribute a number
of people to a regional army

297
00:17:19,342 --> 00:17:22,258
and that they will not go
to war with one another.

298
00:17:23,346 --> 00:17:25,261
They have no choice,
with their militaries defeated,

299
00:17:25,391 --> 00:17:29,221
but to make peace with Philip
and to follow his lead.

300
00:17:33,486 --> 00:17:35,532
The League of Corinth,
we might think of it

301
00:17:35,662 --> 00:17:39,753
as the Greek equivalent
of, say, NATO today.

302
00:17:40,537 --> 00:17:43,801
The Greeks coming together
as part of a common alliance,

303
00:17:43,931 --> 00:17:46,369
setting aside
centuries of warfare

304
00:17:46,499 --> 00:17:47,935
and competition
against each other

305
00:17:48,066 --> 00:17:50,677
to instead stand together,

306
00:17:50,808 --> 00:17:54,420
defend each other,
and fight for a common cause.

307
00:17:56,292 --> 00:17:58,294
But what Philip
very much has in mind

308
00:17:58,424 --> 00:18:01,427
is using the League of Corinth
as a uniting force

309
00:18:01,558 --> 00:18:03,125
against the Persian Empire.

310
00:18:04,561 --> 00:18:06,432
<i>150 years earlier,</i>

311
00:18:06,563 --> 00:18:09,435
<i>Persia twice attempted
to conquer Greece.</i>

312
00:18:10,523 --> 00:18:13,657
In 490 BC,
King Xerxes I

313
00:18:13,787 --> 00:18:15,746
had launched an invasion
of the Greek mainland

314
00:18:15,876 --> 00:18:17,965
and the Greeks win
a tremendous victory

315
00:18:18,096 --> 00:18:19,315
at the Battle of Marathon.

316
00:18:22,796 --> 00:18:24,015
Ten years later,

317
00:18:26,017 --> 00:18:29,716
the Persians had returned,
now with a massive army.

318
00:18:29,847 --> 00:18:32,893
This time, they were
eventually repulsed from Greece

319
00:18:33,024 --> 00:18:35,331
at the Battle of Plataea
in 479.

320
00:18:40,597 --> 00:18:41,815
To our new alliance.

321
00:18:41,946 --> 00:18:42,947
To our alliance!

322
00:18:44,166 --> 00:18:46,951
They want vengeance.
Philip understands this.

323
00:18:47,081 --> 00:18:49,867
He is a master of marketing,
as Alexander will be.

324
00:18:50,650 --> 00:18:53,218
And so, he uses this
as a campaign of vengeance

325
00:18:53,349 --> 00:18:55,089
on Persia
for their invasion of Greece.

326
00:19:08,233 --> 00:19:11,323
<i>Before Philip is able
to launch his Persian offensive,</i>

327
00:19:11,454 --> 00:19:13,760
<i>he brings his family together
for a celebration.</i>

328
00:19:14,979 --> 00:19:16,546
You go in first.
I'll be right behind you.

329
00:19:20,245 --> 00:19:22,595
Philip II
is at the height of his power

330
00:19:22,726 --> 00:19:25,468
as the year 336 BC
comes to its end.

331
00:19:25,598 --> 00:19:28,079
He's summoned envoys
from all the Greek states

332
00:19:28,210 --> 00:19:31,822
to witness the marriage
of his daughter.

333
00:19:32,692 --> 00:19:34,694
<i>The bride
is Alexander's sister.</i>

334
00:19:35,434 --> 00:19:38,263
<i>Their mother, Olympias,
is Philip's fourth wife.</i>

335
00:19:39,003 --> 00:19:41,919
She is from basically
modern day Albania

336
00:19:42,049 --> 00:19:44,748
and she claims descent
from Achilles,

337
00:19:44,878 --> 00:19:47,490
who is the great hero
of the Trojan War.

338
00:19:48,578 --> 00:19:50,710
Olympias does well
that she produces a son,

339
00:19:50,841 --> 00:19:53,017
and Alexander
is the most capable

340
00:19:53,147 --> 00:19:55,193
of Philip's legitimate Children,

341
00:19:55,324 --> 00:19:56,977
therefore the most likely heir,

342
00:19:57,108 --> 00:19:58,588
but certainly not
the inevitable heir.

343
00:19:59,937 --> 00:20:01,982
Olympias is
a fascinating character.

344
00:20:02,548 --> 00:20:05,464
She's masterful, she's majestic,

345
00:20:05,595 --> 00:20:08,250
she's suspicious,
she's dangerous,

346
00:20:08,380 --> 00:20:10,252
and she's ruthless.

347
00:20:10,382 --> 00:20:13,167
She's only interested
in protecting the future

348
00:20:13,298 --> 00:20:15,953
of herself and her son, Alexander.

349
00:20:25,876 --> 00:20:28,705
The king! Help, help!

350
00:20:29,445 --> 00:20:31,751
Just as Philip is walking
into this wedding feast,

351
00:20:31,882 --> 00:20:34,885
one of his own bodyguards
stabs him fatally.

352
00:20:35,015 --> 00:20:36,147
And Philip is dead
within seconds.

353
00:20:38,802 --> 00:20:40,630
Secure the walls, now!

354
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,198
In the immediate
aftermath of Philip's murder,

355
00:20:45,025 --> 00:20:46,113
it would have been
quite chaotic.

356
00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:48,333
Alexander is king!

357
00:20:48,464 --> 00:20:50,466
We're not told
a lot of details.

358
00:20:51,162 --> 00:20:53,077
Alexander is king!

359
00:20:54,121 --> 00:20:56,254
King Alexander!

360
00:20:56,385 --> 00:20:58,648
But it does seem that
Alexander was acclaimed king

361
00:20:58,778 --> 00:20:59,953
more or less on the spot.

362
00:21:00,954 --> 00:21:03,783
King Alexander! King Alexander!

363
00:21:03,914 --> 00:21:07,744
King Alexander! King Alexander!

364
00:21:27,198 --> 00:21:30,767
You did more for Macedonia
than any king before.

365
00:21:32,334 --> 00:21:33,335
You were a lion.

366
00:21:34,814 --> 00:21:35,859
No, he was a king.

367
00:21:36,860 --> 00:21:37,991
A good king.

368
00:21:39,166 --> 00:21:42,344
But you, Alexander,
you are the lion.

369
00:21:44,433 --> 00:21:47,566
Olympias tells Alexander that
on the night before her wedding,

370
00:21:47,697 --> 00:21:49,960
she is struck in her womb
by a thunderbolt.

371
00:21:55,182 --> 00:21:57,010
The thunderbolt is the symbol...

372
00:21:59,056 --> 00:22:01,406
...of the god, Zeus,
who was the king of the gods

373
00:22:01,537 --> 00:22:04,366
and really imbues Alexander
with this idea

374
00:22:04,496 --> 00:22:06,759
that he is somehow
of divine birth.

375
00:22:06,890 --> 00:22:09,371
This is a prophecy
come true for Olympias.

376
00:22:09,501 --> 00:22:12,112
She has always believed that
her son will do great things

377
00:22:12,243 --> 00:22:14,767
and reach great heights
of glory, and now he can.

378
00:22:16,334 --> 00:22:18,292
<i>Alexander inherits his father's kingdom</i>

379
00:22:18,423 --> 00:22:20,382
<i>at just 20 years old.</i>

380
00:22:28,433 --> 00:22:31,349
In many ways,
he was ready to become king,

381
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,134
but he's following
this giant.

382
00:22:34,265 --> 00:22:37,268
And to be able to walk
in Philip's shoes

383
00:22:37,399 --> 00:22:39,792
would have been very difficult,

384
00:22:39,923 --> 00:22:42,665
and Alexander has
to figure out how to do this.

385
00:22:43,579 --> 00:22:45,668
He's just
Philip's young son

386
00:22:45,798 --> 00:22:48,279
and nobody really knows
what he's capable of yet.

387
00:22:50,150 --> 00:22:52,065
<i>Alexander makes the decision</i>

388
00:22:52,196 --> 00:22:53,719
<i>to follow through
with his father's plan...</i>

389
00:22:54,981 --> 00:22:56,200
<i>to invade Persia.</i>

390
00:22:59,682 --> 00:23:01,118
Alexander thinks,

391
00:23:02,249 --> 00:23:08,604
"Imagine if I am the one
who can bring 'civilization'

392
00:23:09,518 --> 00:23:12,608
"to the barbaric Persians."

393
00:23:15,654 --> 00:23:17,700
<i>But Alexander wants
more than simply to invade.</i>

394
00:23:18,570 --> 00:23:20,267
<i>He wants to defeat Persia,</i>

395
00:23:21,094 --> 00:23:22,531
<i>and then rule it.</i>

396
00:23:23,923 --> 00:23:27,449
<i>To do so, he gathers
an army of 40,000 men.</i>

397
00:23:28,537 --> 00:23:30,626
In the spring of 334 BC,

398
00:23:30,756 --> 00:23:32,671
Alexander invokes
the League of Corinth,

399
00:23:32,802 --> 00:23:34,673
marches them
from the Macedonian capital

400
00:23:34,804 --> 00:23:36,588
to the Hellespont
to cross over

401
00:23:36,719 --> 00:23:38,721
and begin his campaign
against the Persians.

402
00:23:39,809 --> 00:23:41,375
Alexander has
a main force

403
00:23:41,506 --> 00:23:45,945
of about 32,000 infantry
and 5,000 cavalry.

404
00:23:47,033 --> 00:23:49,993
So, this is a hardened,
battle-ready,

405
00:23:50,123 --> 00:23:51,951
core group of soldiers.

406
00:23:56,869 --> 00:23:59,481
And he's blessed
by having

407
00:23:59,611 --> 00:24:01,526
experienced commanders
of men in battle

408
00:24:01,657 --> 00:24:03,180
who understood
how to run a war.

409
00:24:07,532 --> 00:24:11,144
Alexander makes Parmenion
his second in command.

410
00:24:11,275 --> 00:24:14,104
Parmenion,
who was the friend

411
00:24:14,234 --> 00:24:17,194
and close ally
of his father, Philip.

412
00:24:19,109 --> 00:24:23,461
Cleitus the Black is one of
the leading cavalry commanders.

413
00:24:23,592 --> 00:24:25,768
He's a member
of the bodyguard of Alexander.

414
00:24:27,770 --> 00:24:29,902
Ptolemy is one
of Alexander's oldest friends.

415
00:24:30,033 --> 00:24:32,035
They would have studied
together with Aristotle.

416
00:24:33,863 --> 00:24:37,562
Hephaestion is tasked
with logistics.

417
00:24:37,693 --> 00:24:39,912
He is responsible
for making sure

418
00:24:40,043 --> 00:24:42,959
that the army has food,
has supplies.

419
00:24:43,089 --> 00:24:46,092
Alexander and his companions,
at least in the early era,

420
00:24:46,223 --> 00:24:48,486
would not have acted
as a king and subjects,

421
00:24:48,617 --> 00:24:49,879
but rather,
Alexander would have acted

422
00:24:50,009 --> 00:24:51,358
as the first amongst equals.

423
00:24:54,448 --> 00:24:56,189
<i>Alexander ferries
his vast army</i>

424
00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:57,843
<i>across the Hellespont...</i>

425
00:25:00,585 --> 00:25:02,065
<i>and onto Persian soil.</i>

426
00:25:20,039 --> 00:25:22,694
Alexander begins his invasion
of the Persian Empire

427
00:25:22,825 --> 00:25:24,696
in a wonderfully
symbolic way.

428
00:25:26,959 --> 00:25:28,265
He takes his spear...

429
00:25:30,572 --> 00:25:32,748
and he says,
"I claim Asia...

430
00:25:34,663 --> 00:25:38,405
"as won by the spear
for myself and for my empire."

431
00:25:43,193 --> 00:25:45,238
He has not won
anything yet,

432
00:25:45,369 --> 00:25:48,764
but this is a declaration
of what he intends.

433
00:25:50,679 --> 00:25:53,507
Alexander had
an almost electric charisma.

434
00:25:53,638 --> 00:25:56,032
He understood
the power of words

435
00:25:56,162 --> 00:25:58,295
and the ability
to inspire people.

436
00:26:04,170 --> 00:26:05,998
For him,
it's the start of a journey.

437
00:26:07,086 --> 00:26:09,654
For Greece,
it's the start of a campaign.

438
00:26:09,785 --> 00:26:12,004
For world history,
it's the start

439
00:26:12,135 --> 00:26:14,616
of an epic change,
and Alexander knows it.

440
00:26:16,618 --> 00:26:19,577
He's going to be
greater than Achilles.

441
00:26:38,161 --> 00:26:40,119
<i>At the time
of Alexander's invasion</i>

442
00:26:40,250 --> 00:26:43,079
<i>in the spring of 334 BC,</i>

443
00:26:43,209 --> 00:26:45,821
<i>Darius III
is the King of Persia.</i>

444
00:26:47,561 --> 00:26:51,391
Darius III was a successful
and experienced commander,

445
00:26:51,522 --> 00:26:53,785
a skillful
and shrewd politician.

446
00:26:53,916 --> 00:26:57,571
He's restored stability
in the Persian Empire.

447
00:26:57,702 --> 00:26:59,486
He is deeply respected.

448
00:27:01,750 --> 00:27:04,535
When Alexander
arrives in Asia,

449
00:27:05,449 --> 00:27:08,278
Darius is well over
1,000 miles away

450
00:27:08,408 --> 00:27:10,715
on the other side of the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers.

451
00:27:10,846 --> 00:27:14,110
Philip had been alarming
for the Persians.

452
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:15,285
Alexander, not so much.

453
00:27:16,068 --> 00:27:18,070
He's a 22-year-old kid.

454
00:27:18,201 --> 00:27:20,856
Alexander has invaded with a few
tens of thousands of troops.

455
00:27:22,031 --> 00:27:23,946
Darius says,
"I'm going to let

456
00:27:24,076 --> 00:27:26,383
"my governors in Asia Minor
take care of this."

457
00:27:29,255 --> 00:27:32,476
The local governors
collect together their forces

458
00:27:32,606 --> 00:27:36,045
and face Alexander at a place
called the Granicus River.

459
00:27:37,829 --> 00:27:39,831
And they have
every confidence

460
00:27:39,962 --> 00:27:43,182
that they are going to wipe
the Macedonian army off the map.

461
00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:57,414
<i>Alexander brings 32,000 men</i>

462
00:27:57,544 --> 00:27:58,720
<i>to the banks
of the River Granicus.</i>

463
00:28:00,591 --> 00:28:03,376
<i>The Persian governors
have around 10,000 more.</i>

464
00:28:07,380 --> 00:28:08,686
So?

465
00:28:09,469 --> 00:28:11,254
They will be upon us
as soon as we cross the river.

466
00:28:19,741 --> 00:28:21,873
Alexander was a man
who had a mission,

467
00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:24,920
and he knew
that mission entailed risk.

468
00:28:28,575 --> 00:28:30,752
Ready the troops.
Be quick.

469
00:28:33,885 --> 00:28:36,932
Parmenion, the leading
general of Alexander,

470
00:28:37,062 --> 00:28:38,934
advises him not to do it.

471
00:28:39,064 --> 00:28:41,414
It's late in the day,
the army is weary,

472
00:28:41,545 --> 00:28:43,677
the Persians may have
an unusual advantage

473
00:28:43,808 --> 00:28:45,288
with defensive position.

474
00:28:48,204 --> 00:28:50,510
But Alexander knows
that he has to join the battle

475
00:28:50,641 --> 00:28:51,816
for a number of reasons.

476
00:28:51,947 --> 00:28:52,948
The first one
is psychological.

477
00:28:56,168 --> 00:28:57,866
"What would it look like

478
00:28:57,996 --> 00:29:00,912
"if the first time
we engaged with the enemy,

479
00:29:01,043 --> 00:29:02,653
"we withdrew,
we ran away?"

480
00:29:06,526 --> 00:29:08,833
The second
pressing reason is logistical.

481
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,664
If Alexander does not fight
and win a victory early on,

482
00:29:13,795 --> 00:29:15,622
he is going to be
shut out of the cities

483
00:29:15,753 --> 00:29:17,494
that he needs
to provide supplies.

484
00:29:22,368 --> 00:29:25,023
He's commanding
the most powerful force

485
00:29:25,154 --> 00:29:27,809
ever assembled
from the Greek city-states.

486
00:29:32,552 --> 00:29:34,685
He's got them
unified under his command.

487
00:29:39,211 --> 00:29:42,345
And he knows
that he has to produce results.

488
00:29:47,393 --> 00:29:50,005
Fording a river
and then engaging the enemy

489
00:29:50,135 --> 00:29:52,181
with some
of your force still left

490
00:29:52,311 --> 00:29:56,141
is a very difficult
military problem

491
00:29:56,272 --> 00:29:58,013
and, tactically,
most people don't want to do it.

492
00:30:02,278 --> 00:30:06,238
Alexander understands
the Persian mentality.

493
00:30:06,369 --> 00:30:08,153
He understands
why the Persians

494
00:30:08,284 --> 00:30:11,113
have set up the battlefield
the way that they have.

495
00:30:13,202 --> 00:30:15,421
The Persians think
they are dealing

496
00:30:15,552 --> 00:30:18,642
with an older version
of the Greek army

497
00:30:18,772 --> 00:30:22,559
who would be heavily armored,
who would be weighed down.

498
00:30:24,691 --> 00:30:26,955
Alexander's forces are lighter,

499
00:30:27,085 --> 00:30:29,566
meaning the river
isn't the obstacle

500
00:30:29,696 --> 00:30:30,872
that the Persians
think it is.

501
00:30:35,485 --> 00:30:37,226
<i>Emerging into the shallows,</i>

502
00:30:37,966 --> 00:30:40,577
<i>Alexander's men face
their enemy at close range.</i>

503
00:30:41,534 --> 00:30:43,058
Trying to ford a river,

504
00:30:43,188 --> 00:30:44,973
people are shooting
things at them.

505
00:30:50,369 --> 00:30:52,154
They are exposed,

506
00:30:52,284 --> 00:30:54,765
so this
is a very terrifying moment.

507
00:31:03,295 --> 00:31:04,427
<i>From the eastern
bank of the Granicus,</i>

508
00:31:06,385 --> 00:31:08,387
<i>Alexander releases
his most potent force.</i>

509
00:31:11,260 --> 00:31:15,742
Alexander has the phalanxes
that his father had created.

510
00:31:16,961 --> 00:31:20,225
This incredibly hardened

511
00:31:20,356 --> 00:31:23,794
and experienced battle force
that is at his disposal.

512
00:31:30,801 --> 00:31:32,150
I don't believe the Persians

513
00:31:32,281 --> 00:31:34,022
had any idea
of what they faced.

514
00:31:35,110 --> 00:31:37,416
They have now run
into a force

515
00:31:37,547 --> 00:31:39,549
that has innovated
in ways they have not seen.

516
00:31:46,773 --> 00:31:48,950
Plutarch talks
about this as frenzy.

517
00:31:50,255 --> 00:31:53,215
The clash,
the close order nature of it,

518
00:31:54,738 --> 00:31:57,306
the idea that every
killing blow is a personal one.

519
00:31:58,916 --> 00:32:00,831
To look someone
in the eyes as that happens.

520
00:32:06,663 --> 00:32:09,927
Alexander finds himself involved
in cavalry melee,

521
00:32:10,058 --> 00:32:12,277
spears and swords
going in every direction.

522
00:32:14,932 --> 00:32:18,109
<i>The Persians know,
if they kill Alexander,</i>

523
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:19,502
<i>the Greek army
will collapse.</i>

524
00:32:20,546 --> 00:32:23,332
This is what warfare is.

525
00:32:23,462 --> 00:32:26,248
It is kill or be killed.

526
00:32:34,082 --> 00:32:37,259
Alexander is knocked
to the ground from his horse.

527
00:32:42,438 --> 00:32:44,831
He receives a blow
to the head

528
00:32:44,962 --> 00:32:47,182
that takes off
one of the plumes on his helmet.

529
00:32:49,271 --> 00:32:52,361
If Alexander is killed here,
the war is over.

530
00:32:52,491 --> 00:32:54,493
The League of Corinth
breaks up.

531
00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:00,456
The future of Macedon
is at stake.

532
00:33:15,427 --> 00:33:17,125
He's saved by the speed

533
00:33:17,255 --> 00:33:19,127
of the sword arm
of Cleitus the Black.

534
00:33:20,171 --> 00:33:22,826
Had he been a few seconds later,
fractions of a second,

535
00:33:22,956 --> 00:33:24,349
then Alexander might
have been killed or crippled.

536
00:33:27,265 --> 00:33:30,051
That encounter wins
the first stage of the battle.

537
00:33:31,095 --> 00:33:32,836
The Persian cavalry
is routed.

538
00:33:32,966 --> 00:33:35,534
The Persian infantry
are abandoned by their leaders.

539
00:33:37,406 --> 00:33:39,973
Once the Persian commanders
have scattered,

540
00:33:40,104 --> 00:33:42,367
the rest
of the Persian lines flee.

541
00:33:46,197 --> 00:33:50,636
Alexander has won an incredible
battle against the odds

542
00:33:50,767 --> 00:33:53,509
and Alexander's decision
to fight this battle

543
00:33:53,639 --> 00:33:55,206
has paid off.

544
00:33:58,905 --> 00:34:00,820
The Battle
of the Granicus shows us

545
00:34:00,951 --> 00:34:03,432
Alexander's qualities
as a leader in many ways.

546
00:34:04,868 --> 00:34:06,391
He builds his confidence.

547
00:34:07,566 --> 00:34:10,221
He becomes more
and more assured,

548
00:34:10,352 --> 00:34:13,920
his troops become more loyal,
they strengthen him.

549
00:34:14,051 --> 00:34:16,097
Everything follows him,

550
00:34:16,227 --> 00:34:18,925
cementing his purpose
and mission.

551
00:34:20,971 --> 00:34:24,888
Alexander's victory
sends a very strong message

552
00:34:25,018 --> 00:34:26,716
to the rest
of the Persians.

553
00:34:26,846 --> 00:34:29,762
They may think
this is a young general,

554
00:34:29,893 --> 00:34:32,200
an upstart,
a child, a boy.

555
00:34:32,896 --> 00:34:34,332
He's a force
to be reckoned with.

556
00:34:34,463 --> 00:34:36,247
Alexander!

557
00:34:40,599 --> 00:34:42,471
Alexander!

558
00:34:43,602 --> 00:34:45,822
Alexander!

559
00:35:10,499 --> 00:35:11,891
<i>Victory at the Granicus</i>

560
00:35:12,022 --> 00:35:13,850
<i>fuels Alexander's ambition.</i>

561
00:35:15,417 --> 00:35:17,897
He starts to think about
the world as a whole

562
00:35:18,028 --> 00:35:20,291
being an empire
of the entire earth

563
00:35:20,422 --> 00:35:22,293
for which
he is the ruler.

564
00:35:22,424 --> 00:35:26,254
Alexander's ability to visualize
an empire without end

565
00:35:26,384 --> 00:35:28,038
I think far exceeded

566
00:35:28,169 --> 00:35:30,040
what anyone thought
was possible in his time.

567
00:35:36,525 --> 00:35:38,091
During his travels,
Alexander keeps

568
00:35:38,222 --> 00:35:40,572
in constant communication
with those back home.

569
00:35:42,008 --> 00:35:44,837
Alexander leaves one
of his generals, Antipater,

570
00:35:44,968 --> 00:35:47,318
in charge in Macedonia,

571
00:35:47,449 --> 00:35:49,625
but Olympias
is also there.

572
00:35:50,756 --> 00:35:53,498
Olympias is installed
as co-regent,

573
00:35:53,629 --> 00:35:55,544
so very,
very important in terms

574
00:35:55,674 --> 00:35:57,110
of the day-to-day
runnings of Macedon

575
00:35:57,241 --> 00:35:58,547
when Alexander was away.

576
00:36:00,679 --> 00:36:01,985
<i>Through letters
from his mother,</i>

577
00:36:02,899 --> 00:36:04,683
<i>Alexander learns of a threat</i>

578
00:36:04,814 --> 00:36:06,685
<i>that could bring
his campaign to an early end.</i>

579
00:36:09,645 --> 00:36:12,169
<i>Darius has sent
400 warships</i>

580
00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:14,084
<i>to attack Alexander's allies
in the Aegean Sea.</i>

581
00:36:16,260 --> 00:36:18,044
<i>It leaves Alexander
with a dilemma.</i>

582
00:36:19,568 --> 00:36:23,136
If Alexander goes back to aid
the islands of Southern Greece,

583
00:36:23,267 --> 00:36:26,270
then he risks losing
any initiative that he had.

584
00:36:26,401 --> 00:36:28,054
Exactly what Darius wants.

585
00:36:28,185 --> 00:36:30,143
Attention!

586
00:36:30,274 --> 00:36:32,276
But if he doesn't
go back and help,

587
00:36:32,407 --> 00:36:34,452
then he risks
losing the support

588
00:36:34,583 --> 00:36:36,759
of all
of those Greek city-states.

589
00:36:38,326 --> 00:36:40,589
It's an impossible decision.

590
00:36:48,336 --> 00:36:50,642
<i>In the fall
of 334 BC...</i>

591
00:36:54,037 --> 00:36:55,865
<i>...Alexander
begins his response</i>

592
00:36:55,995 --> 00:36:57,083
<i>to the Persian fleet.</i>

593
00:37:00,173 --> 00:37:02,263
Alexander's primary means

594
00:37:02,393 --> 00:37:05,091
of countering
Darius's naval threat

595
00:37:05,222 --> 00:37:08,573
is to remove
the coastal cities from play,

596
00:37:08,704 --> 00:37:12,621
to conquer them, to deny
Darius's fleet safe harbor.

597
00:37:14,318 --> 00:37:17,452
<i>By laying siege
to Darius' ports,</i>

598
00:37:17,582 --> 00:37:20,803
<i>Alexander ensures the Persian
Navy will be stranded at sea.</i>

599
00:37:23,153 --> 00:37:25,373
Because they can't
restock and resupply,

600
00:37:25,503 --> 00:37:27,679
they can't threaten
Greece any further.

601
00:37:28,550 --> 00:37:29,986
<i>Alexander can now push onward.</i>

602
00:37:31,292 --> 00:37:32,728
He is reaching away

603
00:37:32,858 --> 00:37:35,252
from the fringes
of the Persian Empire

604
00:37:35,383 --> 00:37:37,254
into the heart of a world
that's unfamiliar to him.

605
00:37:37,385 --> 00:37:39,038
There's very little resistance

606
00:37:39,169 --> 00:37:41,824
and indeed, many people
hail him as a liberator.

607
00:37:49,614 --> 00:37:52,269
<i>In April, 333 BC,</i>

608
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,577
<i>Alexander reaches
the city of Gordion,</i>

609
00:37:55,707 --> 00:37:58,493
<i>where the temple of Zeus is
the site of an ancient prophecy.</i>

610
00:38:06,675 --> 00:38:09,591
In Gordion,
there is an ox cart.

611
00:38:09,721 --> 00:38:12,898
According to legend,
Zeus had given King Gordias,

612
00:38:13,029 --> 00:38:14,944
the father
of King Midas himself,

613
00:38:15,074 --> 00:38:16,859
this ox cart as a gift.

614
00:38:19,122 --> 00:38:21,603
<i>The cart is tethered
with a complex knot</i>

615
00:38:22,430 --> 00:38:24,432
<i>that only
a future king can untie.</i>

616
00:38:31,787 --> 00:38:34,659
Whoever unties this knot
becomes king of all Asia.

617
00:38:35,834 --> 00:38:36,879
"I have to do this."

618
00:38:37,836 --> 00:38:39,708
This is catnip
to Alexander.

619
00:38:45,714 --> 00:38:50,109
If Alexander fails
to untie the Gordian knot,

620
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:52,982
he risks his reputation,

621
00:38:53,112 --> 00:38:56,594
he risks the story
that he has told his men,

622
00:38:56,725 --> 00:38:58,640
that the gods
are on their side.

623
00:39:16,875 --> 00:39:18,268
He looks at it carefully,

624
00:39:18,399 --> 00:39:21,053
but it's so intricate
that he sees

625
00:39:21,184 --> 00:39:24,100
there is no way
that he can simply untie it.

626
00:39:35,285 --> 00:39:36,939
<i>So, Alexander
changes his approach.</i>

627
00:39:39,202 --> 00:39:42,423
"It doesn't matter how I undo it
as long as I undo it."

628
00:39:52,041 --> 00:39:53,434
There.

629
00:39:55,044 --> 00:39:55,958
The knot is undone.

630
00:39:57,612 --> 00:39:59,614
Today, we talk about
cutting the Gordian knot,

631
00:39:59,744 --> 00:40:02,573
the seemingly impossible task

632
00:40:02,704 --> 00:40:05,750
that is solved in a way
that nobody had thought of.

633
00:40:08,013 --> 00:40:11,539
It took somebody
with Alexander's ability

634
00:40:11,669 --> 00:40:15,630
to see alternative solutions,
to think outside the box,

635
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,501
in order to solve it
in the way that he did.

636
00:40:18,459 --> 00:40:21,853
Tell the troops
we march south.

637
00:40:21,984 --> 00:40:23,855
But not only that,
this is the idea

638
00:40:23,986 --> 00:40:26,771
that the universe itself
is on Alexander's side.

639
00:40:27,816 --> 00:40:30,471
He cannot help
but be victorious.

640
00:40:32,342 --> 00:40:35,214
Gordion is a huge
turning point for Alexander.

641
00:40:35,345 --> 00:40:37,652
After this, he's all in.

642
00:40:37,782 --> 00:40:40,350
He's going to stay
and challenge Darius.

643
00:40:59,064 --> 00:41:01,502
<i>Darius realizes he has no other option</i>

644
00:41:01,632 --> 00:41:03,155
<i>than confronting
Alexander on land.</i>

645
00:41:07,464 --> 00:41:09,771
He knows now
that the only way

646
00:41:09,901 --> 00:41:11,990
he's going to beat Alexander

647
00:41:12,121 --> 00:41:14,123
in the western part
of his kingdom

648
00:41:14,253 --> 00:41:16,517
is to face him
in a great battle.

649
00:41:18,519 --> 00:41:19,694
<i>Over the next six months,</i>

650
00:41:20,869 --> 00:41:22,566
<i>Darius assembles fighting men</i>

651
00:41:22,697 --> 00:41:24,525
<i>from across
the Persian Empire</i>

652
00:41:25,787 --> 00:41:28,267
<i>to form an army double
the size of Alexander's.</i>

653
00:41:35,971 --> 00:41:38,321
Darius' solution to Alexander

654
00:41:38,451 --> 00:41:41,237
is to simply
overwhelm him with numbers.

655
00:41:43,761 --> 00:41:47,243
So, Darius leads his grand army
into Syria

656
00:41:47,373 --> 00:41:49,724
as Alexander comes south
along the coast.

657
00:41:52,291 --> 00:41:53,728
And almost by chance,

658
00:41:53,858 --> 00:41:55,860
Darius ends up
behind Alexander's army.

659
00:42:05,914 --> 00:42:07,916
<i>In November, 333 BC,</i>

660
00:42:09,613 --> 00:42:11,441
<i>Alexander considers
his options.</i>

661
00:42:12,964 --> 00:42:13,922
How many?

662
00:42:14,836 --> 00:42:16,098
Many more than us.

663
00:42:16,968 --> 00:42:20,450
We don't fight him yet.
We take more cities,

664
00:42:20,581 --> 00:42:23,061
send for more men,
boost our numbers,

665
00:42:23,975 --> 00:42:26,587
then we fight them
on our terms.

666
00:42:28,545 --> 00:42:29,764
No.

667
00:42:31,374 --> 00:42:32,854
He has made a mistake
chasing us into this valley.

668
00:42:33,463 --> 00:42:35,900
We fight him here. Now.

669
00:42:36,945 --> 00:42:39,338
The problem
that Darius faces

670
00:42:39,469 --> 00:42:42,907
is that he is forced
into a narrow coastal plain

671
00:42:43,038 --> 00:42:46,650
and he is facing
Alexander in a place

672
00:42:46,781 --> 00:42:49,871
where he is not able to use
all of his soldiers at once

673
00:42:50,001 --> 00:42:52,830
to surround
and overwhelm Alexander.

674
00:42:53,614 --> 00:42:55,311
We have yet
to be defeated.

675
00:42:56,704 --> 00:43:01,360
They will run
whilst we stand united.

676
00:43:01,491 --> 00:43:04,320
For Greece! For Greece!

677
00:43:04,450 --> 00:43:06,539
If he wins,
he will have proven

678
00:43:06,670 --> 00:43:08,672
the prophecy
of the Gordian knot correct.

679
00:43:08,803 --> 00:43:11,414
He will become
the master of Asia.

680
00:43:11,544 --> 00:43:13,851
Eat and sleep well tonight.

681
00:43:13,982 --> 00:43:16,898
Tomorrow, we march at dawn.

682
00:43:52,194 --> 00:43:55,240
<i>By dawn, the Persians
should have been advancing.</i>

683
00:43:56,241 --> 00:43:59,375
<i>Instead, for the most part,
they are standing still.</i>

684
00:44:00,115 --> 00:44:02,639
Darius'
favorite position

685
00:44:02,770 --> 00:44:05,947
is to wait
for an enemy to come to him.

686
00:44:06,643 --> 00:44:08,993
I think that is a mistake.

687
00:44:09,646 --> 00:44:13,737
You give up
a lot of flexibility.

688
00:44:13,868 --> 00:44:17,480
You basically have
a plan A and no plan B.

689
00:44:18,568 --> 00:44:20,222
In warfare,
timing is everything.

690
00:44:26,141 --> 00:44:27,229
Alexander has the initiative.

691
00:44:29,318 --> 00:44:30,667
"I can take all the time in
the world I need to set this up

692
00:44:30,798 --> 00:44:32,277
"and I will do it
on my good time."

693
00:44:42,548 --> 00:44:45,290
It must have been
incredibly unnerving

694
00:44:45,421 --> 00:44:47,249
for the Persians
sitting and watching this.

695
00:44:53,777 --> 00:44:56,780
To have this foreign enemy
coming along

696
00:44:56,911 --> 00:44:59,304
so eerily quiet
in the way they do it

697
00:44:59,435 --> 00:45:00,436
and so organized...

698
00:45:03,091 --> 00:45:05,920
moving as groups,
not individuals.

699
00:45:08,357 --> 00:45:10,446
It's not only
tactical genius,

700
00:45:10,576 --> 00:45:12,883
it's also psychological warfare.

701
00:45:15,146 --> 00:45:18,628
When he was about 200 yards
away from the Persians,

702
00:45:18,759 --> 00:45:21,022
just out of range
of their arrows,

703
00:45:21,152 --> 00:45:23,111
he does something
really quite unexpected.

704
00:45:29,639 --> 00:45:32,468
He has all of
his army stop and wait.

705
00:45:37,603 --> 00:45:39,388
The Persians
on the other side

706
00:45:39,518 --> 00:45:42,783
simply left to await
the inevitable attack.

707
00:45:45,829 --> 00:45:51,139
That pressure built up
over that long, slow march...

708
00:45:52,749 --> 00:45:55,056
Alexander lets it sink in.

709
00:46:09,592 --> 00:46:11,463
Because Darius
simply waits there

710
00:46:11,594 --> 00:46:13,422
with his superior army,

711
00:46:13,552 --> 00:46:17,730
Alexander concludes
that Darius is afraid of him,

712
00:46:17,861 --> 00:46:18,819
that he is a beaten man.

713
00:46:32,223 --> 00:46:34,704
<i>Discovered in the ashes of Pompeii,</i>

714
00:46:34,835 --> 00:46:37,750
<i>the nine-foot wide
Alexander mosaic</i>

715
00:46:37,881 --> 00:46:40,014
<i>is the closest thing we have
to an eyewitness account</i>

716
00:46:40,144 --> 00:46:42,059
<i>of the battle's climax.</i>

717
00:46:47,499 --> 00:46:49,284
The Alexander mosaic shows

718
00:46:49,414 --> 00:46:51,503
a very particular moment
in the Battle of Issus,

719
00:46:54,071 --> 00:46:56,508
which is when Alexander,
leading from the front,

720
00:46:58,293 --> 00:47:00,251
charges straight at Darius.

721
00:47:05,996 --> 00:47:07,911
So, there's that moment,

722
00:47:08,042 --> 00:47:09,347
there must have been
that moment...

723
00:47:11,784 --> 00:47:13,221
where their eyes connect.

724
00:47:17,703 --> 00:47:19,705
This is no longer
an ethereal idea of,

725
00:47:19,836 --> 00:47:21,403
"Alexander wants me dead,"

726
00:47:21,533 --> 00:47:24,014
this is reality,
"He's coming for me."

727
00:47:24,145 --> 00:47:26,974
Darius has gone from,
"I need to defend my empire"

728
00:47:27,104 --> 00:47:28,236
to, "I need
to save my own life."

729
00:47:32,283 --> 00:47:35,808
The great king turns and runs,
and once he turns,

730
00:47:35,939 --> 00:47:38,028
the rest of the army
quickly follows him.

731
00:47:40,161 --> 00:47:43,904
Alexander pursues Darius roughly
25 miles after the battle

732
00:47:44,034 --> 00:47:46,036
with Darius
throwing off insignia,

733
00:47:46,167 --> 00:47:49,170
throwing off signs of
his royal status as he goes,

734
00:47:50,562 --> 00:47:53,435
looking to disappear
into the countryside,

735
00:47:53,565 --> 00:47:56,220
become simply another soldier
running from the battlefield.

736
00:47:57,178 --> 00:47:58,222
He's defeated.

737
00:48:01,878 --> 00:48:04,228
- The empire is yours.
- No.

738
00:48:06,927 --> 00:48:09,233
Not while he's still alive.

739
00:48:10,495 --> 00:48:12,497
And now that
he's seen what we can do,

740
00:48:12,628 --> 00:48:14,064
he'll be better prepared
next time.

741
00:48:15,718 --> 00:48:16,806
More dangerous.

742
00:48:32,474 --> 00:48:34,650
<i>By the end
of 333 BC...</i>

743
00:48:36,608 --> 00:48:39,307
<i>Alexander's army has traveled
1,000 miles from home.</i>

744
00:48:42,310 --> 00:48:44,399
<i>Victory at Issus
means he now controls</i>

745
00:48:44,529 --> 00:48:46,749
<i>the entire western part
of the Persian Empire.</i>

746
00:48:47,968 --> 00:48:49,752
Hiding
in the servant's quarters.

747
00:48:50,448 --> 00:48:52,755
When Alexander captures
the camp of Darius,

748
00:48:52,885 --> 00:48:56,150
he finds there the wife
and the daughter of Darius.

749
00:48:57,412 --> 00:49:01,459
Having been told that Alexander,
as a foreign barbarian king,

750
00:49:01,590 --> 00:49:03,548
will have them executed,

751
00:49:03,679 --> 00:49:06,247
and now they find themselves
completely at his mercy.

752
00:49:10,686 --> 00:49:12,427
You need not mourn
for your husband.

753
00:49:13,036 --> 00:49:14,342
He's alive and free.

754
00:49:14,951 --> 00:49:16,561
You're coming with us.

755
00:49:16,692 --> 00:49:19,651
You have my word as guests,
not slaves.

756
00:49:20,913 --> 00:49:22,002
Make sure they understand.

757
00:49:22,959 --> 00:49:24,091
You want us
to treat them as equals?

758
00:49:25,353 --> 00:49:26,484
Yes, Ptolemy.

759
00:49:28,617 --> 00:49:31,620
Alexander's officers,
particularly the old guard,

760
00:49:31,750 --> 00:49:34,101
would feel betrayed by this.

761
00:49:34,231 --> 00:49:35,711
They're there for vengeance.

762
00:49:37,104 --> 00:49:39,758
But he makes
a very deliberate decision

763
00:49:39,889 --> 00:49:41,673
to treat them well,

764
00:49:41,804 --> 00:49:45,721
and he does this in order
to show the Persian world

765
00:49:45,851 --> 00:49:49,377
that he will treat them well
if they will only yield to him.

766
00:49:51,118 --> 00:49:53,511
It's part
of his innate compassion.

767
00:49:54,251 --> 00:49:55,818
It's also a part
of his leadership,

768
00:49:55,948 --> 00:49:58,255
because Alexander
is now a political leader

769
00:49:58,386 --> 00:49:59,952
as well as
a military figure.

770
00:50:00,605 --> 00:50:03,347
And he's got
to rule politically.

771
00:50:07,786 --> 00:50:09,179
<i>News of Alexander's victory</i>

772
00:50:09,310 --> 00:50:10,572
<i>at Issus spreads rapidly.</i>

773
00:50:11,703 --> 00:50:13,705
Soon after
the Battle of Issus,

774
00:50:13,836 --> 00:50:15,707
Alexander works his way
down the Mediterranean coast

775
00:50:15,838 --> 00:50:18,232
in order to capture the cities
under Persian control.

776
00:50:19,755 --> 00:50:22,758
Nearly all
of the coastal cities in Persia

777
00:50:22,888 --> 00:50:24,325
surrender without a fight.

778
00:50:24,455 --> 00:50:25,587
However,

779
00:50:26,544 --> 00:50:28,807
when Alexander reaches Tyre,

780
00:50:28,938 --> 00:50:30,809
his progress is halted.

781
00:50:42,647 --> 00:50:44,562
<i>Founded over 2,000 years earlier,</i>

782
00:50:46,390 --> 00:50:49,350
<i>Tyre is one of the oldest
fortified island cities</i>

783
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:50,438
<i>in the world.</i>

784
00:50:52,004 --> 00:50:54,355
It was immensely powerful,
immensely rich.

785
00:50:54,485 --> 00:50:57,880
It was also
the most important naval base

786
00:50:58,010 --> 00:51:00,187
for the Persians
in the Mediterranean.

787
00:51:00,317 --> 00:51:03,015
And if he didn't take it,
it could become a source

788
00:51:03,146 --> 00:51:05,366
of counter offensives
against his invasion.

789
00:51:12,721 --> 00:51:14,723
Very often,
Alexander would send envoys

790
00:51:14,853 --> 00:51:17,160
to fortresses and cities

791
00:51:17,291 --> 00:51:18,857
that would carry
his message that,

792
00:51:18,988 --> 00:51:20,511
"You will be allowed to live

793
00:51:20,642 --> 00:51:22,252
"if you pay allegiance
to Alexander."

794
00:51:24,602 --> 00:51:26,517
So, when Alexander
comes to Tyre,

795
00:51:26,648 --> 00:51:28,911
he does the usual thing
and sends envoys in

796
00:51:29,041 --> 00:51:30,652
to some of the Tyrians
to surrender.

797
00:51:37,267 --> 00:51:41,141
Help, help! Help!

798
00:51:43,665 --> 00:51:44,666
The Tryians
murder them,

799
00:51:45,797 --> 00:51:47,712
violating all the rules

800
00:51:47,843 --> 00:51:50,150
of civilized behavior
by any state.

801
00:51:53,675 --> 00:51:55,677
This is an absolute outrage.

802
00:51:57,461 --> 00:51:59,420
Alexander
has learned from his father

803
00:51:59,550 --> 00:52:01,465
the value of diplomacy.

804
00:52:01,596 --> 00:52:03,163
At least start there,

805
00:52:03,293 --> 00:52:05,339
but if that doesn't work,
use shock and awe.

806
00:52:08,298 --> 00:52:10,257
So, for Alexander,
this now becomes,

807
00:52:10,387 --> 00:52:12,346
you might say,
almost a religious duty

808
00:52:12,476 --> 00:52:14,565
to avenge the killing
of these ambassadors.

809
00:52:22,921 --> 00:52:25,185
The city of Tyre
is very well protected.

810
00:52:25,315 --> 00:52:28,013
It is at least
half a mile off shore.

811
00:52:28,144 --> 00:52:30,364
There is no way
to reach it

812
00:52:30,494 --> 00:52:34,585
and Alexander has no real navy
and no way to attack it.

813
00:52:34,716 --> 00:52:37,327
And so, the citizens there
believed they were safe.

814
00:52:37,458 --> 00:52:39,286
<i>Scouting the area,</i>

815
00:52:39,416 --> 00:52:41,549
<i>Alexander discovers
a natural sand bridge</i>

816
00:52:41,679 --> 00:52:43,203
<i>that connects Tyre
to the mainland.</i>

817
00:52:45,727 --> 00:52:47,381
<i>It's around
six feet under water.</i>

818
00:52:48,947 --> 00:52:50,906
It's not enough for him
to get his army across,

819
00:52:51,036 --> 00:52:54,562
but he could build
a causeway on top of it.

820
00:52:54,692 --> 00:52:57,086
We can use the stones
from the old city ruins.

821
00:52:57,217 --> 00:52:58,740
This forest
has plenty of timber.

822
00:52:59,915 --> 00:53:01,221
Here the sea
is shallowest.

823
00:53:03,310 --> 00:53:04,746
- So--
- A bridge?

824
00:53:05,355 --> 00:53:06,748
It will take months
to build.

825
00:53:08,750 --> 00:53:10,404
Water will not hand us
our first defeat.

826
00:53:12,928 --> 00:53:14,408
Alexander, it won't be easy.

827
00:53:17,367 --> 00:53:18,760
The gods
have assured us of victory.

828
00:53:21,066 --> 00:53:22,329
Leave me.

829
00:53:28,465 --> 00:53:30,206
What he does
at Tyre shows

830
00:53:30,337 --> 00:53:33,253
a strategic ability
to see the big picture.

831
00:53:36,256 --> 00:53:37,822
So, no matter
how much effort

832
00:53:37,953 --> 00:53:41,043
that this was going
to take to capture Tyre,

833
00:53:41,173 --> 00:53:43,828
in the long run, this was
going to make it possible

834
00:53:43,959 --> 00:53:46,222
to deliver the death stroke
to the Persian Empire.

835
00:53:48,920 --> 00:53:50,531
They bring in rocks,

836
00:53:50,661 --> 00:53:53,229
they bring in rubble
to form a solid surface

837
00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:56,188
stretching from the mainland
to the island of Tyre.

838
00:53:59,017 --> 00:54:00,889
There are attempts
to kill the workers,

839
00:54:01,019 --> 00:54:02,717
to kill the engineers,

840
00:54:02,847 --> 00:54:05,328
but Alexander
remains determined.

841
00:54:07,504 --> 00:54:11,247
And even when sections of
the land bridge are destroyed,

842
00:54:11,378 --> 00:54:14,032
Alexander's forces
simply keep building.

843
00:54:18,385 --> 00:54:21,344
After seven grueling months,

844
00:54:21,475 --> 00:54:24,216
Alexander and his troops
finally reached

845
00:54:24,347 --> 00:54:26,349
the city walls of Tyre,

846
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:29,570
and this time,
he sends no messengers.

847
00:54:31,789 --> 00:54:35,010
He is going
to destroy this city.

848
00:55:08,173 --> 00:55:10,132
Alexander slaughters

849
00:55:10,262 --> 00:55:13,875
the civilian population
for defying him

850
00:55:14,005 --> 00:55:16,399
and he does so
in a humiliating fashion.

851
00:55:16,530 --> 00:55:19,707
Alexander wants
to send a message

852
00:55:19,837 --> 00:55:22,405
to the entire world
at the city of Tyre.

853
00:55:26,366 --> 00:55:28,542
30,000 women
sold into slavery.

854
00:55:31,414 --> 00:55:33,155
8,000 men killed.

855
00:55:34,722 --> 00:55:36,419
2,000 executed.

856
00:55:37,855 --> 00:55:40,989
Modern historians
sometimes call this a genocide.

857
00:55:45,776 --> 00:55:49,084
Alexander wants his new subjects
to understand...

858
00:55:51,391 --> 00:55:54,655
defiance will not
be tolerated.

859
00:56:03,881 --> 00:56:06,449
When Darius hears
about the fall of Tyre,

860
00:56:06,580 --> 00:56:09,104
he decides to cut
a deal with Alexander.

861
00:56:09,234 --> 00:56:11,498
- A message from Darius.
- What?

862
00:56:17,242 --> 00:56:20,637
He will give up all claims
to land west of the Euphrates.

863
00:56:20,768 --> 00:56:23,466
This is about half
of the Persian Empire.

864
00:56:23,597 --> 00:56:26,208
In addition,
Darius will offer gold

865
00:56:26,338 --> 00:56:30,691
roughly equivalent to about
$10 billion in modern currency.

866
00:56:30,821 --> 00:56:33,476
What's it say?

867
00:56:33,607 --> 00:56:35,870
It is good news,
my friends.

868
00:56:42,833 --> 00:56:44,356
Tell the messenger
I do not accept.

869
00:56:44,487 --> 00:56:45,575
What?

870
00:56:45,706 --> 00:56:47,621
Alexander...

871
00:56:47,751 --> 00:56:50,406
...he's offering us
more than we ever wanted.

872
00:56:50,537 --> 00:56:51,973
- Yeah.
- What's left to fight for?

873
00:56:52,756 --> 00:56:54,410
Everything, Parmenion.

874
00:56:55,324 --> 00:56:57,369
Parmenion
gets to speak

875
00:56:57,500 --> 00:56:59,937
sort of as
the conventional wisdom.

876
00:57:00,068 --> 00:57:01,548
And we are starting
to see

877
00:57:01,678 --> 00:57:03,375
as Alexander is more
and more successful,

878
00:57:03,506 --> 00:57:05,160
he wants
to do it his way.

879
00:57:05,290 --> 00:57:06,727
And so,
you do start to see

880
00:57:06,857 --> 00:57:08,816
a little bit
of tension growing here

881
00:57:08,946 --> 00:57:12,254
with this old guard that
he had inherited from Philip,

882
00:57:12,384 --> 00:57:13,951
headed, more or less,
by Parmenion.

883
00:57:18,956 --> 00:57:20,436
Alexander is compelling because

884
00:57:20,567 --> 00:57:22,307
of the scope and scale
at which he operates

885
00:57:22,438 --> 00:57:24,527
at a time when nobody operates
at that scope and scale.

886
00:57:29,140 --> 00:57:31,099
And so,
nothing is left for him

887
00:57:31,229 --> 00:57:34,145
except for the jewel in
the crown of the Persian Empire.

888
00:57:34,798 --> 00:57:37,366
That is the vassal state
of Egypt

889
00:57:37,497 --> 00:57:39,281
and that's where
he sets his sights next.

890
00:57:56,428 --> 00:57:58,866
By the time Alexander
had reached Egypt

891
00:57:58,996 --> 00:58:00,650
in November of 332,

892
00:58:00,781 --> 00:58:03,914
he had been on the road,
campaigning in Asia

893
00:58:04,045 --> 00:58:05,829
for about
two and a half years.

894
00:58:05,960 --> 00:58:08,528
He had covered
1,800 miles.

895
00:58:10,051 --> 00:58:12,619
Egypt is one of
the most developed territories

896
00:58:12,749 --> 00:58:14,446
in the Mediterranean.

897
00:58:14,577 --> 00:58:17,537
And so, Egypt
is absolutely a vital prize

898
00:58:17,667 --> 00:58:19,930
for Alexander to capture
as part of his conflict.

899
00:58:27,372 --> 00:58:30,288
It's been
over 3,000 years

900
00:58:30,419 --> 00:58:32,247
since the great pharaohs
built the pyramids.

901
00:58:33,814 --> 00:58:35,729
And since then,
Egypt's seen

902
00:58:35,859 --> 00:58:38,253
30 dynasties of pharaohs
coming through.

903
00:58:40,124 --> 00:58:43,345
But in the more recent history,
Egypt's power has waned

904
00:58:43,475 --> 00:58:44,999
and it's been controlled
by the Persians

905
00:58:45,129 --> 00:58:46,609
since the sixth century.

906
00:58:48,524 --> 00:58:51,875
The Egyptians had never
accepted Persian rule.

907
00:58:52,006 --> 00:58:55,923
Just about every single
generation had tried to rebel,

908
00:58:56,053 --> 00:58:57,968
tried to throw
the Persians out.

909
00:58:58,099 --> 00:59:00,275
So, with Alexander
having defeated

910
00:59:00,405 --> 00:59:02,494
the Persian king himself
at Issus,

911
00:59:02,625 --> 00:59:06,237
he is already a celebrity
upon arriving in Egypt.

912
00:59:07,325 --> 00:59:08,588
Our envoy returns.

913
00:59:09,632 --> 00:59:11,765
Still alive? Good sign.

914
00:59:14,071 --> 00:59:14,942
What do they say?

915
00:59:17,161 --> 00:59:18,293
They will welcome you.

916
00:59:19,555 --> 00:59:20,600
And?

917
00:59:22,036 --> 00:59:23,124
They want
to crown you pharaoh.

918
00:59:28,564 --> 00:59:29,521
A god on earth.

919
00:59:37,747 --> 00:59:40,054
<i>In January, 331 BC,</i>

920
00:59:41,359 --> 00:59:43,318
<i>Alexander becomes
pharaoh of Egypt.</i>

921
00:59:46,887 --> 00:59:48,584
<i>It's the fulfillment
of a supposed destiny</i>

922
00:59:48,715 --> 00:59:49,890
<i>as a divine being.</i>

923
01:00:02,946 --> 01:00:05,166
Now, a pharaoh
is a king, of course,

924
01:00:05,296 --> 01:00:08,386
but the pharaoh is actually
equated with the god, Osiris.

925
01:00:08,517 --> 01:00:10,650
Alexander is in effect
being acclaimed as a god.

926
01:00:14,871 --> 01:00:17,700
So, all of this seems
to be playing together,

927
01:00:17,831 --> 01:00:20,268
the stories that
his mother has told him,

928
01:00:20,398 --> 01:00:22,400
that he has
this divine background,

929
01:00:22,531 --> 01:00:24,359
this divine ancestry.

930
01:00:28,580 --> 01:00:30,713
And, of course,
he believed, increasingly,

931
01:00:30,844 --> 01:00:34,891
his own propaganda, his own myth
that presented him as divine

932
01:00:35,022 --> 01:00:37,589
and as unstoppable,
as invincible.

933
01:00:37,720 --> 01:00:39,591
And once you believe that
about yourself,

934
01:00:39,722 --> 01:00:41,463
there are no boundaries.

935
01:00:46,947 --> 01:00:49,863
<i>Before resuming
his campaign against Darius,</i>

936
01:00:49,993 --> 01:00:52,169
<i>Alexander demonstrates his power</i>

937
01:00:52,300 --> 01:00:54,519
<i>by building
a new capital city for Egypt.</i>

938
01:00:55,738 --> 01:00:58,306
Alexander decides
that he wants to build

939
01:00:58,436 --> 01:01:01,613
a permanent Greek colony
on the Egyptian coast.

940
01:01:01,744 --> 01:01:04,747
He's going to name
this city after himself:

941
01:01:04,878 --> 01:01:06,053
Alexandria.

942
01:01:10,013 --> 01:01:13,756
Alexandria will someday become
a center for science

943
01:01:13,887 --> 01:01:16,411
and learning,
the trade capital

944
01:01:16,541 --> 01:01:18,718
of the entirety
of the Mediterranean Sea.

945
01:01:20,023 --> 01:01:21,459
A place
where all sorts of

946
01:01:21,590 --> 01:01:23,070
different people
can come together.

947
01:01:23,200 --> 01:01:25,333
Egyptians, Greeks,
Jews, everybody.

948
01:01:25,463 --> 01:01:26,987
It will be home to two

949
01:01:27,117 --> 01:01:28,249
of the seven wonders
of the world...

950
01:01:30,425 --> 01:01:31,600
the Lighthouse at Pharos...

951
01:01:33,167 --> 01:01:34,908
and the Library of Alexandria.

952
01:01:36,953 --> 01:01:39,956
Alexander only stays
in Egypt for a few months,

953
01:01:40,087 --> 01:01:44,656
but his effect will be felt
over the next few centuries

954
01:01:44,787 --> 01:01:48,965
as Egypt becomes
a true cosmopolitan nation

955
01:01:49,096 --> 01:01:50,837
because of its introduction

956
01:01:50,967 --> 01:01:53,448
to the greater empire
that Alexander will found.

957
01:02:00,281 --> 01:02:03,545
It's now the summer
of the year 331 BC

958
01:02:03,675 --> 01:02:07,244
and Alexander is heading east,
deeper and deeper into Persia.

959
01:02:08,506 --> 01:02:10,117
<i>In just
over three years,</i>

960
01:02:10,247 --> 01:02:11,945
<i>he has conquered an area</i>

961
01:02:12,075 --> 01:02:13,773
<i>over 10 times
the size of Greece,</i>

962
01:02:15,644 --> 01:02:18,865
<i>and his army will soon have
15,000 new soldiers.</i>

963
01:02:19,996 --> 01:02:21,955
He's heading
for the city of Babylon,

964
01:02:22,085 --> 01:02:24,522
this ancient wealthy city

965
01:02:24,653 --> 01:02:26,916
which has existed
for thousands of years.

966
01:02:27,047 --> 01:02:29,527
Babylon is the perfect place
for Alexander,

967
01:02:29,658 --> 01:02:31,747
who has already
declared himself king of Persia,

968
01:02:31,878 --> 01:02:33,314
to establish his rule.

969
01:02:38,362 --> 01:02:39,537
<i>Alexander's route
takes him</i>

970
01:02:39,668 --> 01:02:41,235
<i>by the town of Gaugamela,</i>

971
01:02:41,365 --> 01:02:43,150
<i>in modern-day Iraq.</i>

972
01:02:47,458 --> 01:02:49,809
<i>Here, his scouts spot
the Persian army</i>

973
01:02:49,939 --> 01:02:51,332
<i>is blocking the path forward.</i>

974
01:02:53,203 --> 01:02:56,990
<i>The enemy has returned,
this time better prepared.</i>

975
01:03:00,080 --> 01:03:02,343
I have never seen
so many men in my life.

976
01:03:04,432 --> 01:03:07,130
Darius has assembled
a large army.

977
01:03:07,261 --> 01:03:09,089
The ancient sources give us

978
01:03:09,219 --> 01:03:11,831
wildly large numbers
of a million.

979
01:03:11,961 --> 01:03:13,571
It probably is somewhere
in the order

980
01:03:13,702 --> 01:03:16,444
of 200 to 250,000.

981
01:03:16,574 --> 01:03:20,100
It's at least five times larger
than Alexander's army.

982
01:03:21,753 --> 01:03:24,060
Darius
chooses the place of Gaugamela

983
01:03:24,191 --> 01:03:26,193
very carefully.

984
01:03:26,323 --> 01:03:30,066
It is utterly flat and stretches
for miles in every direction

985
01:03:30,197 --> 01:03:32,199
so he can line up
all of his men,

986
01:03:32,329 --> 01:03:33,940
he can line them up deep,

987
01:03:34,070 --> 01:03:36,116
and he can strike
against Alexander

988
01:03:36,246 --> 01:03:39,815
without worrying about
being constricted on the sides.

989
01:03:40,598 --> 01:03:44,298
Darius is determined to use
his numbers to an advantage.

990
01:03:46,256 --> 01:03:48,868
Alexander's cavalry
is his strongest asset,

991
01:03:48,998 --> 01:03:51,783
but his 7,000 horsemen
are outnumbered,

992
01:03:51,914 --> 01:03:55,178
possibly two,
maybe even five to one.

993
01:03:55,309 --> 01:03:57,615
These are unthinkable odds,

994
01:03:57,746 --> 01:03:59,269
so Alexander
is going to have to come up

995
01:03:59,400 --> 01:04:01,054
with a really good strategy.

996
01:04:03,839 --> 01:04:06,320
He has fought the Persians
on multiple occasions.

997
01:04:06,450 --> 01:04:09,018
He has observed
their cavalry and infantry.

998
01:04:09,149 --> 01:04:11,586
He has seen their strengths
and their weaknesses.

999
01:04:13,544 --> 01:04:15,068
These are all patterns
that are now

1000
01:04:15,198 --> 01:04:16,852
part of his
decision-making matrix.

1001
01:04:17,722 --> 01:04:20,421
He has vast patterns
that he can draw upon

1002
01:04:20,551 --> 01:04:22,597
to decide
how to best employ his army.

1003
01:04:26,035 --> 01:04:29,299
Alexander believed
that the center of gravity

1004
01:04:29,430 --> 01:04:31,606
at Gaugamela
was Darius himself,

1005
01:04:31,736 --> 01:04:33,477
and he felt that
if he could kill,

1006
01:04:33,608 --> 01:04:36,916
or capture Darius,
that the army would fragment.

1007
01:04:37,046 --> 01:04:38,830
There's simply
no other way to do it.

1008
01:04:38,961 --> 01:04:41,877
And so, he has to find a way
through the lines

1009
01:04:42,008 --> 01:04:43,270
to the great king.

1010
01:04:46,186 --> 01:04:47,100
Just in time.

1011
01:04:48,797 --> 01:04:50,799
Come, take a look.

1012
01:04:52,192 --> 01:04:53,541
You will hold the left flank--

1013
01:04:53,671 --> 01:04:55,630
Alexander, a request.

1014
01:04:56,848 --> 01:04:58,154
For the sake of the men,

1015
01:04:58,285 --> 01:04:59,939
think what
you are asking of them.

1016
01:05:01,592 --> 01:05:02,767
The same as I always ask.

1017
01:05:03,377 --> 01:05:04,682
Everything.

1018
01:05:04,813 --> 01:05:06,771
The same as I ask of myself.

1019
01:05:06,902 --> 01:05:09,557
Yes, but we have never faced
numbers like this before.

1020
01:05:10,688 --> 01:05:13,126
At least at night,
we might surprise them.

1021
01:05:16,607 --> 01:05:18,609
I will not steal
victory like that.

1022
01:05:22,657 --> 01:05:23,832
Come take a look at the plan.

1023
01:05:25,225 --> 01:05:27,314
You will hold
the left flank and the line

1024
01:05:27,444 --> 01:05:29,142
The phalanx is strong...

1025
01:05:29,272 --> 01:05:31,448
And so, everything
was staked on this battle.

1026
01:05:38,586 --> 01:05:41,937
If Alexander wins,
the Persian capitals are his,

1027
01:05:42,068 --> 01:05:45,332
and with it, the legitimacy
to claim the Persian throne.

1028
01:05:51,642 --> 01:05:54,254
If Persia wins, it is likely

1029
01:05:54,384 --> 01:05:56,560
Alexander and his army
will be annihilated.

1030
01:06:23,674 --> 01:06:25,720
<i>In the final moments
before the battle,</i>

1031
01:06:25,850 --> 01:06:27,939
<i>Alexander gives
one of the most inspiring</i>

1032
01:06:28,070 --> 01:06:29,376
<i>speeches of all time.</i>

1033
01:06:31,639 --> 01:06:32,509
I won't lie to you.

1034
01:06:33,597 --> 01:06:36,513
They are strong
and they are many,

1035
01:06:36,644 --> 01:06:38,385
and we fight on the ground
of their choosing.

1036
01:06:40,213 --> 01:06:43,172
But I would not
lead us to battle

1037
01:06:43,303 --> 01:06:44,956
if the gods were not with us!

1038
01:06:46,915 --> 01:06:50,049
Today, we not only
defeat an enemy,

1039
01:06:50,179 --> 01:06:51,702
but we conquer an empire!

1040
01:06:54,270 --> 01:06:56,011
For Greece!

1041
01:06:56,142 --> 01:06:58,970
For glory!

1042
01:06:59,101 --> 01:07:02,887
The Macedonian king,
young Alexander, is launching

1043
01:07:03,018 --> 01:07:05,499
a battle that's gonna decide
not only their lives,

1044
01:07:05,629 --> 01:07:08,676
their reigns, their destinies,
their dynasties,

1045
01:07:08,806 --> 01:07:11,983
but also the greatest empire
in the world.

1046
01:07:12,114 --> 01:07:13,507
That's the promise.

1047
01:07:29,436 --> 01:07:31,786
<i>In October, 331 BC...</i>

1048
01:07:34,789 --> 01:07:36,921
<i>though vastly outnumbered,</i>

1049
01:07:37,052 --> 01:07:39,446
<i>Alexander enacts
his battle plan.</i>

1050
01:07:48,977 --> 01:07:50,500
Now!

1051
01:07:53,982 --> 01:07:56,071
At the start
of the battle,

1052
01:07:56,202 --> 01:07:59,466
Alexander does something
that Darius and the Persians

1053
01:07:59,596 --> 01:08:01,685
did not expect at all.

1054
01:08:01,816 --> 01:08:04,558
He himself leads his cavalry

1055
01:08:04,688 --> 01:08:09,345
and he begins to lead them
to the right of his own lines.

1056
01:08:09,476 --> 01:08:11,782
He is trying to create
a window of opportunity.

1057
01:08:11,913 --> 01:08:14,742
By riding to the right,
I force them to maneuver.

1058
01:08:14,872 --> 01:08:17,266
They have to make decisions,
they have to start to move.

1059
01:08:17,397 --> 01:08:19,834
<i>Alexander predicts
the Persian cavalry</i>

1060
01:08:19,964 --> 01:08:22,880
<i>will take up the chase
and follow him,</i>

1061
01:08:23,011 --> 01:08:25,144
<i>stretching their own
defensive line too thin.</i>

1062
01:08:27,276 --> 01:08:31,150
<i>And if the line breaks,
it will leave Darius exposed.</i>

1063
01:08:37,591 --> 01:08:41,769
Alexander keeps going much
farther than anyone would expect

1064
01:08:41,899 --> 01:08:44,511
in order that the Persians
would follow him.

1065
01:08:45,816 --> 01:08:48,689
<i>The success
of Alexander's daring strategy</i>

1066
01:08:48,819 --> 01:08:51,126
<i>depends upon the actions
of his most trusted general.</i>

1067
01:08:56,871 --> 01:08:59,526
Parmenion is the commander
on Alexander's left.

1068
01:08:59,656 --> 01:09:02,485
His job is to hold.

1069
01:09:02,616 --> 01:09:05,314
We need Parmenion
to hold his own on the left.

1070
01:09:08,970 --> 01:09:10,798
Alexander's movement
to the right

1071
01:09:10,928 --> 01:09:13,017
means that Parmenion
on the left flank

1072
01:09:13,148 --> 01:09:15,150
is left entirely on his own.

1073
01:09:15,281 --> 01:09:17,500
Hold the line!

1074
01:09:23,985 --> 01:09:26,161
He has no support.

1075
01:09:26,292 --> 01:09:28,903
He has no reserves.
He is entirely isolated.

1076
01:09:31,122 --> 01:09:34,082
If he doesn't hold,
the plan doesn't work.

1077
01:09:34,213 --> 01:09:36,780
<i>Darius sees
an opportunity</i>

1078
01:09:36,911 --> 01:09:38,391
<i>to further weaken Parmenion.</i>

1079
01:09:40,219 --> 01:09:42,917
Darius unleashes his terror.

1080
01:09:46,050 --> 01:09:48,357
Side chariots.

1081
01:09:48,488 --> 01:09:53,797
Chariots with long spiked blades
coming out of the wheels

1082
01:09:53,928 --> 01:09:56,235
designed to chop up

1083
01:09:56,365 --> 01:09:59,107
the Macedonian soldiers
that might get in his way.

1084
01:10:01,109 --> 01:10:03,677
They're a powerful
shock weapon

1085
01:10:03,807 --> 01:10:05,983
and Darius has
not just a couple--

1086
01:10:06,114 --> 01:10:07,420
he's got 200 of them.

1087
01:10:13,164 --> 01:10:15,602
The phalanx has seen
this trick before.

1088
01:10:15,732 --> 01:10:18,082
As the chariots thunder in,

1089
01:10:18,213 --> 01:10:20,607
the phalanx parts

1090
01:10:20,737 --> 01:10:23,740
and the chariots
roar through the gap.

1091
01:10:32,532 --> 01:10:34,925
<i>At the same time,
Alexander weighs up</i>

1092
01:10:35,056 --> 01:10:36,623
<i>his enemy's positions.</i>

1093
01:10:42,759 --> 01:10:44,500
As he draws them out,
he's watching,

1094
01:10:44,631 --> 01:10:45,806
he's waiting for the moment.

1095
01:11:03,040 --> 01:11:07,306
It's a 30-second opening
and, like a snake,

1096
01:11:07,436 --> 01:11:09,786
he pivots that cavalry
and he's gone.

1097
01:11:16,793 --> 01:11:21,363
Alexander's plan is
to now outrun the Persian ranks

1098
01:11:21,494 --> 01:11:23,322
to cut them off entirely...

1099
01:11:25,889 --> 01:11:28,501
and beat them back
to the Persian king.

1100
01:11:29,545 --> 01:11:30,981
For glory!

1101
01:11:33,723 --> 01:11:36,552
Once that cavalry
is on the charge,

1102
01:11:36,683 --> 01:11:39,512
Darius realizes,
"I am in trouble."

1103
01:11:40,904 --> 01:11:43,690
<i>Darius' options
are to fight or flee.</i>

1104
01:11:44,778 --> 01:11:46,519
<i>He makes
a last ditch attempt</i>

1105
01:11:46,649 --> 01:11:48,390
<i>to wipe out
the outnumbered Greek army.</i>

1106
01:11:49,217 --> 01:11:52,568
Darius launches
some of his best cavalry forces

1107
01:11:52,699 --> 01:11:56,398
against Parmenion,
and that left wing

1108
01:11:56,529 --> 01:11:57,878
is in the fight of its life.

1109
01:12:01,925 --> 01:12:03,231
These Greeks
are far from home.

1110
01:12:04,232 --> 01:12:06,147
They know
there's no surrender,

1111
01:12:06,277 --> 01:12:09,890
this is victory or death,
and that's the way they fight.

1112
01:12:11,065 --> 01:12:14,373
Hold the line!
Hold the line!

1113
01:12:21,858 --> 01:12:25,384
As Alexander gets closer,
he can see the king.

1114
01:12:25,514 --> 01:12:27,560
He can end this war
in just a moment.

1115
01:12:29,649 --> 01:12:33,392
Alexander, Parmenion's line.
It's been broken. He needs help!

1116
01:12:33,522 --> 01:12:35,742
In the midst
of his decisive attack,

1117
01:12:35,872 --> 01:12:37,918
Alexander gets bad news.

1118
01:12:39,267 --> 01:12:41,530
Alexander.
- ...

1119
01:12:41,661 --> 01:12:44,359
If we don't stop now,
we'll lose the entire army.

1120
01:12:45,752 --> 01:12:47,580
Parmenion says,
"Don't leave me, boss.

1121
01:12:48,929 --> 01:12:51,758
"These cavalry
have surrounded me.

1122
01:12:51,888 --> 01:12:53,412
"You gotta come save us."

1123
01:12:58,286 --> 01:13:00,419
If Alexander
chases after Darius,

1124
01:13:00,549 --> 01:13:04,031
which is what he wants to do,
he might lose half of his men.

1125
01:13:04,161 --> 01:13:06,425
But if he goes back
to Parmenion,

1126
01:13:06,555 --> 01:13:07,774
then Darius will get away.

1127
01:13:09,819 --> 01:13:11,778
And Alexander makes
a critical decision

1128
01:13:11,908 --> 01:13:15,956
to save his army rather
than kill and capture the king.

1129
01:13:17,610 --> 01:13:19,786
The Persian king,
having fled the battle,

1130
01:13:19,916 --> 01:13:21,788
many in his army flee as well.

1131
01:13:23,833 --> 01:13:25,574
<i>After defeating
the Persians,</i>

1132
01:13:25,705 --> 01:13:29,186
<i>Alexander achieves his mission,
but it's not enough.</i>

1133
01:13:29,317 --> 01:13:31,841
I had him. By the Gods, I--

1134
01:13:31,972 --> 01:13:33,974
I had him in my sight
and I let him go.

1135
01:13:34,757 --> 01:13:36,803
We routed his army.

1136
01:13:36,933 --> 01:13:38,587
The empire is yours--

1137
01:13:38,718 --> 01:13:40,502
So long as Darius draws breath,

1138
01:13:40,633 --> 01:13:42,417
he will rally men against me.

1139
01:13:42,548 --> 01:13:43,810
We have won nothing.

1140
01:13:43,940 --> 01:13:45,159
His army has nothing left.

1141
01:13:48,771 --> 01:13:50,991
What will ever be enough?

1142
01:13:58,215 --> 01:14:01,218
Alexander has all of Persia
within his grasp,

1143
01:14:01,349 --> 01:14:03,569
but not the one thing
that he wants most of all:

1144
01:14:03,699 --> 01:14:04,831
Darius.

1145
01:14:16,016 --> 01:14:17,670
<i>Alexander's
victory at Gaugamela</i>

1146
01:14:19,280 --> 01:14:20,542
<i>puts Darius on the run.</i>

1147
01:14:21,891 --> 01:14:24,285
Gaugamela wins
the war for Alexander.

1148
01:14:24,415 --> 01:14:26,592
This completes
the conquest of Persia.

1149
01:14:27,636 --> 01:14:30,247
But Alexander will not
give up the pursuit of Darius.

1150
01:14:30,987 --> 01:14:33,686
He pushes on into the heartland
of the empire.

1151
01:14:33,816 --> 01:14:36,079
He overruns
the famous cities,

1152
01:14:36,210 --> 01:14:40,431
Babylon, Susa, Persepolis,
and he keeps on going.

1153
01:14:41,432 --> 01:14:43,913
But there's a changed mood
in the army

1154
01:14:44,044 --> 01:14:47,177
because everyone can sense
that they've won.

1155
01:14:47,308 --> 01:14:48,614
So, they're starting to think,

1156
01:14:48,744 --> 01:14:50,180
"Well, why are we
still fighting?

1157
01:14:50,311 --> 01:14:51,530
"Why are we still chasing?

1158
01:14:53,923 --> 01:14:55,664
"Can't we enjoy the glory,

1159
01:14:55,795 --> 01:14:57,536
"but also the rest,
but also the spoils?"

1160
01:15:07,415 --> 01:15:09,243
<i>By June, 330 BC...</i>

1161
01:15:11,332 --> 01:15:13,073
<i>after five years away,</i>

1162
01:15:13,203 --> 01:15:15,423
<i>there's dissent
in Alexander's camp.</i>

1163
01:15:18,165 --> 01:15:20,602
Cleitus, his foster brother,

1164
01:15:20,733 --> 01:15:24,127
and another
childhood friend, Ptolemy,

1165
01:15:24,258 --> 01:15:27,740
do not like the change
that they see in Alexander.

1166
01:15:28,523 --> 01:15:31,352
Once he conquers Persia,

1167
01:15:31,482 --> 01:15:35,095
they feel
Persia has conquered him.

1168
01:15:37,793 --> 01:15:40,840
Alexander learns
of a possible conspiracy

1169
01:15:40,970 --> 01:15:42,102
brewing in the ranks.

1170
01:15:43,016 --> 01:15:44,583
Talk of assassination.

1171
01:15:57,508 --> 01:16:02,296
My king. I must warn you.
There is talk among the troops.

1172
01:16:03,993 --> 01:16:04,951
Go on.

1173
01:16:06,648 --> 01:16:09,129
They complain that--

1174
01:16:10,565 --> 01:16:12,872
They complain? Of what?

1175
01:16:13,786 --> 01:16:15,570
The details
are quite murky,

1176
01:16:15,701 --> 01:16:18,573
but what we do know
is that there was a connection

1177
01:16:18,704 --> 01:16:20,575
between talk of conspiracy

1178
01:16:20,706 --> 01:16:23,317
and Philotas,
Parmenion's son.

1179
01:16:32,021 --> 01:16:33,153
Get me more wine.

1180
01:16:39,681 --> 01:16:42,031
Alexander takes the rumors

1181
01:16:42,162 --> 01:16:45,208
as a chance
to move against Parmenion's son,

1182
01:16:45,339 --> 01:16:48,516
to have him tried
before the entire army,

1183
01:16:48,647 --> 01:16:50,997
and to have him
executed for treason.

1184
01:16:52,302 --> 01:16:54,870
It's not clear
whether Parmenion ever had

1185
01:16:55,001 --> 01:16:57,743
any part of this plot,
or knew about it at all,

1186
01:16:57,873 --> 01:16:59,962
but what is clear
is that after Alexander

1187
01:17:00,093 --> 01:17:01,529
has his son put to death,

1188
01:17:01,660 --> 01:17:03,052
any chance of the two of them

1189
01:17:03,183 --> 01:17:05,315
being friends
and allies after that

1190
01:17:05,446 --> 01:17:07,100
is pretty much gone forever.

1191
01:17:08,579 --> 01:17:10,625
<i>Alexander acts
to prevent retaliation</i>

1192
01:17:10,756 --> 01:17:12,496
<i>from a grieving Parmenion.</i>

1193
01:17:14,020 --> 01:17:15,630
<i>He sends him
on a scouting mission.</i>

1194
01:17:16,631 --> 01:17:17,806
Send a message
when you arrive.

1195
01:17:17,937 --> 01:17:18,807
Let me know what you've learned.

1196
01:17:39,872 --> 01:17:41,177
Travel safe.

1197
01:17:45,355 --> 01:17:46,574
You as well, Alexander.

1198
01:17:48,619 --> 01:17:49,577
You as well.

1199
01:17:51,622 --> 01:17:54,582
After fighting in battle
after battle with Philip first

1200
01:17:54,713 --> 01:17:56,192
and then with Alexander...

1201
01:17:57,890 --> 01:18:00,544
Parmenion's fate
is to be stabbed to death

1202
01:18:00,675 --> 01:18:03,722
by one of Alexander's soldiers
on Alexander's orders.

1203
01:18:05,419 --> 01:18:06,986
Onward.

1204
01:18:07,116 --> 01:18:08,988
This is a very sad ending
for Parmenion.

1205
01:18:09,815 --> 01:18:11,904
Parmenion had been
a very loyal retainer.

1206
01:18:12,034 --> 01:18:13,601
He had been
a very effective general.

1207
01:18:15,298 --> 01:18:16,560
We understand,
on the other hand,

1208
01:18:16,691 --> 01:18:18,519
Alexander's point of view.

1209
01:18:18,649 --> 01:18:19,999
Once he had killed his son,

1210
01:18:20,129 --> 01:18:21,870
he really didn't have
much of a choice

1211
01:18:22,001 --> 01:18:23,829
except to kill the father.

1212
01:18:45,111 --> 01:18:46,939
In the aftermath
of the Battle of Gaugamela,

1213
01:18:47,069 --> 01:18:50,551
Alexander becomes
more lonely, more isolated,

1214
01:18:50,681 --> 01:18:52,248
more paranoid,
ever more obsessed

1215
01:18:52,379 --> 01:18:54,511
with challenges to his power,
to his crown.

1216
01:18:55,425 --> 01:18:58,298
Alexander is trying
to build himself up

1217
01:18:58,428 --> 01:19:01,649
into what he thinks
he needs to be

1218
01:19:01,780 --> 01:19:03,956
to rule
over this vast empire,

1219
01:19:04,086 --> 01:19:08,177
but he is increasingly finding
that he is losing his friends,

1220
01:19:08,308 --> 01:19:10,701
that he is losing what it is

1221
01:19:10,832 --> 01:19:12,660
that made him great
in the first place.

1222
01:19:14,270 --> 01:19:15,881
It is getting
more and more tense,

1223
01:19:16,011 --> 01:19:17,621
more and more difficult.

1224
01:19:17,752 --> 01:19:19,798
And Alexander's solution
is to keep campaigning.

1225
01:19:22,104 --> 01:19:25,368
<i>Alexander doubles
down on his singular obsession:</i>

1226
01:19:25,499 --> 01:19:26,979
<i>capturing Darius.</i>

1227
01:19:28,328 --> 01:19:30,721
Alexander learns
that Darius has been sighted

1228
01:19:30,852 --> 01:19:31,810
in Northern Iran.

1229
01:19:33,768 --> 01:19:36,118
Heading into the regions

1230
01:19:36,249 --> 01:19:39,513
of Bactria and Sogdiana
in modern-day Afghanistan.

1231
01:19:39,643 --> 01:19:40,775
So, to catch up
with him,

1232
01:19:40,906 --> 01:19:43,299
Alexander drives his men
450 miles

1233
01:19:43,430 --> 01:19:45,040
over a three-week march,

1234
01:19:45,171 --> 01:19:47,521
including a brutal
200-mile stretch

1235
01:19:47,651 --> 01:19:49,175
in just 11 days.

1236
01:19:51,307 --> 01:19:53,222
Alexander doesn't rest.

1237
01:19:53,353 --> 01:19:56,312
He keeps pushing his men
farther and farther

1238
01:19:56,443 --> 01:19:57,836
beyond their physical limits.

1239
01:20:01,013 --> 01:20:03,406
Again and again,
he demands more from them

1240
01:20:03,537 --> 01:20:05,104
than could reasonably
be expected.

1241
01:20:05,234 --> 01:20:07,106
And again and again,
they deliver.

1242
01:20:14,765 --> 01:20:16,680
We found something.
- What?

1243
01:20:16,811 --> 01:20:17,856
Come and see for yourself.

1244
01:20:18,595 --> 01:20:19,683
Come on.

1245
01:20:21,468 --> 01:20:26,342
Alexander and his men
have traveled 5,000 miles

1246
01:20:26,473 --> 01:20:30,172
and haven't set foot in Greece
for four years

1247
01:20:30,303 --> 01:20:32,871
when they finally find Darius.

1248
01:20:38,441 --> 01:20:40,052
Where are they?
Fled.

1249
01:20:40,574 --> 01:20:41,575
And Darius?

1250
01:20:45,579 --> 01:20:48,408
Pursued by Alexander's troops
with no respite,

1251
01:20:48,538 --> 01:20:50,845
Darius' nobles
make the terrible decision

1252
01:20:50,976 --> 01:20:52,412
to essentially betray him.

1253
01:20:59,201 --> 01:21:01,029
They stab Darius
and leave him bleeding

1254
01:21:01,160 --> 01:21:02,074
by the side of the road.

1255
01:21:07,775 --> 01:21:10,299
For Alexander, the death
of Darius means he's won.

1256
01:21:11,126 --> 01:21:14,564
He has avenged
the Persian invasions of Greece.

1257
01:21:14,695 --> 01:21:17,872
His whole reason
for having begun this invasion

1258
01:21:18,003 --> 01:21:19,918
in the first place
has been achieved.

1259
01:21:27,621 --> 01:21:29,666
You are now truly
the Lord of Persia.

1260
01:21:29,797 --> 01:21:32,104
The king of kings.
- He'll have a king's burial.

1261
01:21:33,061 --> 01:21:34,628
Take him back to rest
alongside his ancestors.

1262
01:21:35,194 --> 01:21:36,369
Leave him
where he fell, surely--

1263
01:21:36,499 --> 01:21:37,457
We shall do as he said.

1264
01:21:39,763 --> 01:21:42,592
Alexander was very sad
at Darius' fate.

1265
01:21:42,723 --> 01:21:44,116
He was outraged, in fact.

1266
01:21:45,073 --> 01:21:46,945
Alexander,
by all accounts, treats Darius

1267
01:21:47,075 --> 01:21:49,034
as his legitimate predecessor

1268
01:21:49,164 --> 01:21:51,427
and indeed tries
to defend his memory

1269
01:21:51,558 --> 01:21:54,474
by chasing and killing
the assassins of Darius.

1270
01:21:57,912 --> 01:22:01,394
The Macedonian soldiers
begin to discuss going home,

1271
01:22:01,524 --> 01:22:03,352
returning to their families,
and what it is

1272
01:22:03,483 --> 01:22:04,963
they're going to do
once they get back.

1273
01:22:06,573 --> 01:22:07,487
To the Lord of Asia.

1274
01:22:09,489 --> 01:22:10,446
To the fallen.

1275
01:22:15,408 --> 01:22:16,322
Look here.

1276
01:22:17,323 --> 01:22:18,889
We need
to go north and east.

1277
01:22:19,020 --> 01:22:20,500
That is where
Darius' men are hiding.

1278
01:22:24,721 --> 01:22:26,506
The men are celebrating,
Alexander, let's join them.

1279
01:22:32,773 --> 01:22:34,993
Ask Cleitus when
the men will be ready to travel.

1280
01:22:41,869 --> 01:22:45,351
Ask Cleitus when the men
will be ready to travel!

1281
01:22:48,354 --> 01:22:51,270
Alexander's goal
all along

1282
01:22:51,400 --> 01:22:53,924
was to conquer Persia,

1283
01:22:54,055 --> 01:22:57,276
to bring Greek culture
into Persia.

1284
01:22:57,406 --> 01:22:58,886
He does that.

1285
01:23:00,888 --> 01:23:01,889
Stop?

1286
01:23:04,892 --> 01:23:06,198
He can't stop.

1287
01:23:07,155 --> 01:23:12,726
This has now become
almost a primal urge,

1288
01:23:12,856 --> 01:23:15,555
to go as far as he can go.

1289
01:23:19,602 --> 01:23:23,041
Alexander is both a conqueror
and an explorer.

1290
01:23:23,171 --> 01:23:25,217
For him, there never is an end.

1291
01:23:25,347 --> 01:23:27,610
There's always
another land to conquer,

1292
01:23:27,741 --> 01:23:29,569
another feat of glory
to achieve.

1293
01:23:45,889 --> 01:23:49,197
<i>In March, 327 BC,</i>

1294
01:23:49,328 --> 01:23:53,158
<i>three years after the death
of his old enemy, Darius,</i>

1295
01:23:53,288 --> 01:23:55,203
<i>Alexander and his men
are still on the move.</i>

1296
01:23:56,770 --> 01:24:00,295
His army cuts through
Afghanistan, Pakistan,

1297
01:24:00,426 --> 01:24:04,169
Uzbekistan,
the Western Himalayas,

1298
01:24:04,299 --> 01:24:06,388
and even a part
of the Hindu Kush.

1299
01:24:06,519 --> 01:24:10,131
I mean, this is undiscovered
territory for a Greek.

1300
01:24:10,262 --> 01:24:12,002
These areas
rebel very quickly.

1301
01:24:12,133 --> 01:24:14,179
They've been difficult
for the Persians to control

1302
01:24:14,309 --> 01:24:16,094
because the people
there are fiercely independent.

1303
01:24:16,224 --> 01:24:19,445
So, Alexander fights some
of the most vicious campaigns

1304
01:24:19,575 --> 01:24:22,274
without the dramatic battles,
without the Gaugamelas,

1305
01:24:22,404 --> 01:24:25,103
without the Issus
or Granicus in these years.

1306
01:24:26,930 --> 01:24:28,715
He realizes
he's got to manage,

1307
01:24:28,845 --> 01:24:31,674
not just lead in war.

1308
01:24:31,805 --> 01:24:34,851
He's not
an instrument of chaos.

1309
01:24:34,982 --> 01:24:37,027
He's a foreign element

1310
01:24:37,158 --> 01:24:40,161
injected into
an existing civilization,

1311
01:24:40,292 --> 01:24:41,858
and he takes
from that civilization

1312
01:24:41,989 --> 01:24:43,599
and learns from it
and gives to it.

1313
01:24:44,861 --> 01:24:47,299
Through his travel,
Alexander retains

1314
01:24:47,429 --> 01:24:49,388
his relationship
with his former tutor

1315
01:24:49,518 --> 01:24:51,477
and great philosopher, Aristotle.

1316
01:24:51,607 --> 01:24:54,349
Alexander writes
regularly to Aristotle,

1317
01:24:54,480 --> 01:24:56,221
sends him samples of plants

1318
01:24:56,351 --> 01:24:58,440
and animals,
clothing and artifacts.

1319
01:24:59,572 --> 01:25:02,052
And it is likely
that many of these subjects

1320
01:25:02,183 --> 01:25:04,707
and insights made it
into what we now know

1321
01:25:04,838 --> 01:25:06,753
as the founding moment
of biology,

1322
01:25:06,883 --> 01:25:09,582
the idea of classifying
nature systematically

1323
01:25:09,712 --> 01:25:11,149
and thinking
about it scientifically.

1324
01:25:13,281 --> 01:25:16,589
There's this word that
got attached to him, <i>pothos.</i>

1325
01:25:17,329 --> 01:25:20,027
It's like a longing
to see something new.

1326
01:25:21,028 --> 01:25:22,377
He was fascinated

1327
01:25:22,508 --> 01:25:24,336
by other cultures,
other peoples.

1328
01:25:29,645 --> 01:25:30,907
That range there.

1329
01:25:32,039 --> 01:25:33,562
How long do you think
it would take to cross?

1330
01:25:33,693 --> 01:25:36,304
Alexander,
what are we still doing here?

1331
01:25:37,305 --> 01:25:38,872
There's nothing left
except rocks.

1332
01:25:39,002 --> 01:25:40,961
You are a Macedonian king,

1333
01:25:41,091 --> 01:25:43,050
and a Macedonian king
must return to Greece.

1334
01:25:45,052 --> 01:25:47,968
We have come further
than any Macedonians before us.

1335
01:25:48,621 --> 01:25:49,535
Look at these people.

1336
01:25:51,754 --> 01:25:52,712
These people need us.

1337
01:25:58,370 --> 01:26:01,982
Now deep within the mountainous
region of modern-day Uzbekistan,

1338
01:26:02,112 --> 01:26:04,463
Alexander has taken
a mighty fortress

1339
01:26:04,593 --> 01:26:06,204
known as Sogdian Rock.

1340
01:26:09,032 --> 01:26:10,469
<i>Alexander welcomes those</i>

1341
01:26:10,599 --> 01:26:11,905
<i>who surrendered to him
without a fight.</i>

1342
01:26:18,520 --> 01:26:19,391
What's your name?

1343
01:26:28,051 --> 01:26:29,227
Well, that's very impressive.

1344
01:26:30,271 --> 01:26:31,229
What's your name?

1345
01:26:35,885 --> 01:26:37,496
Because out of
all of you here,

1346
01:26:37,626 --> 01:26:38,932
you're the only one
who's not afraid of me.

1347
01:26:40,803 --> 01:26:41,761
I'm Alexander.

1348
01:26:45,765 --> 01:26:48,594
Roxanne is a woman
of unparalleled beauty,

1349
01:26:48,724 --> 01:26:50,465
but she's also
potentially the source

1350
01:26:50,596 --> 01:26:53,381
of what Alexander needs
more than anything, an heir.

1351
01:26:53,512 --> 01:26:55,862
And he thinks that having
an heir with Persian blood

1352
01:26:55,992 --> 01:26:58,081
will really solidify
the connections

1353
01:26:58,212 --> 01:26:59,692
between the two kingdoms.

1354
01:26:59,822 --> 01:27:03,348
Alexander's decision
to marry Roxanne

1355
01:27:03,478 --> 01:27:07,830
was not out of some
romantic urging.

1356
01:27:07,961 --> 01:27:09,615
It's pure policy.

1357
01:27:12,139 --> 01:27:14,272
His advisors,
particularly some

1358
01:27:14,402 --> 01:27:15,882
of the older guard, are like,

1359
01:27:16,012 --> 01:27:17,362
"No, what do you think
you're doing?"

1360
01:27:18,276 --> 01:27:20,278
But Alexander
understands he's doing

1361
01:27:20,408 --> 01:27:23,890
what Philip, his father,
had done before him seven times.

1362
01:27:24,020 --> 01:27:25,631
Marry your way to peace.

1363
01:27:25,761 --> 01:27:29,809
But that decision reveals

1364
01:27:29,939 --> 01:27:33,378
that he didn't
necessarily understand

1365
01:27:33,508 --> 01:27:36,032
the strength of feeling

1366
01:27:36,163 --> 01:27:39,209
that men
in his inner circle had

1367
01:27:39,340 --> 01:27:44,563
in terms of their own
ethnic values and beliefs.

1368
01:27:44,693 --> 01:27:48,871
In particular, Cleitus,
who gets very upset.

1369
01:28:06,628 --> 01:28:08,021
His relationship
with his general

1370
01:28:08,151 --> 01:28:11,329
goes from
one of the first amongst equals,

1371
01:28:11,459 --> 01:28:13,940
essentially a group of men
deciding the future together,

1372
01:28:14,070 --> 01:28:16,290
to a more tyrannical
model of rule,

1373
01:28:16,421 --> 01:28:18,248
where Alexander
is ever more the great king.

1374
01:28:28,563 --> 01:28:30,086
By this point in time,

1375
01:28:30,217 --> 01:28:33,307
Alexander is drinking
a huge amount.

1376
01:28:33,438 --> 01:28:36,223
The Macedonians already have
an established drinking culture,

1377
01:28:36,354 --> 01:28:40,270
but Alexander's so-called
insatiable fondness for wine

1378
01:28:40,401 --> 01:28:42,360
really seems to go
to a different level.

1379
01:28:42,490 --> 01:28:45,188
And his patience
begins to thin.

1380
01:28:45,319 --> 01:28:49,976
His allowance of people
questioning his authority

1381
01:28:50,106 --> 01:28:52,108
begins to get
a little bit tight.

1382
01:29:03,946 --> 01:29:07,254
We don't exactly know
what happened at this feast

1383
01:29:07,385 --> 01:29:09,082
and it's not really surprising,

1384
01:29:09,212 --> 01:29:11,519
given the general level
of intoxication.

1385
01:29:11,650 --> 01:29:14,392
What we do know
is that Cleitus,

1386
01:29:14,522 --> 01:29:17,438
always hot tempered,
was stirred up,

1387
01:29:17,569 --> 01:29:19,353
probably because of
all of the Persians

1388
01:29:19,484 --> 01:29:20,746
that were at this feast.

1389
01:29:21,834 --> 01:29:25,098
I must ask you, Alexander...

1390
01:29:27,100 --> 01:29:29,929
are you a Greek or a Persian?

1391
01:29:31,974 --> 01:29:33,715
Are you a man...

1392
01:29:35,456 --> 01:29:36,501
or a god?

1393
01:29:37,197 --> 01:29:38,590
Why don't you find out, Cleitus?

1394
01:29:42,028 --> 01:29:42,942
You're not a god.

1395
01:29:45,118 --> 01:29:48,164
You're not even
half the man your father was.

1396
01:29:54,127 --> 01:29:58,784
You dare to strike me?
Your dare to fight me?

1397
01:29:58,914 --> 01:30:01,221
Come on.
Leave it!

1398
01:30:01,351 --> 01:30:03,179
You are nothing.

1399
01:30:03,310 --> 01:30:05,051
Cleitus, leave!
You are no king!

1400
01:30:05,181 --> 01:30:07,575
You are--

1401
01:30:31,338 --> 01:30:32,992
Killing Cleitus
is all the more tragic

1402
01:30:33,122 --> 01:30:34,689
because Cleitus
hasn't just been loyal,

1403
01:30:34,820 --> 01:30:37,910
Cleitus has been fighting
literally side by side

1404
01:30:38,040 --> 01:30:40,565
with Alexander and has
saved his life several times,

1405
01:30:40,695 --> 01:30:42,436
including at the Battle
of the Granicus.

1406
01:30:45,613 --> 01:30:48,181
He's broken
the sacred bonds of trust

1407
01:30:48,311 --> 01:30:49,835
that built the army together.

1408
01:30:52,925 --> 01:30:54,709
Still-- still, he's Alexander.

1409
01:30:54,840 --> 01:30:57,233
He's unvanquished.
He's the leader.

1410
01:30:57,364 --> 01:31:00,280
You can't abandon him,
but he's not the same person.

1411
01:31:00,410 --> 01:31:02,325
He's wearing
these Persian robes,

1412
01:31:02,456 --> 01:31:04,110
he's not our man anymore.

1413
01:31:04,240 --> 01:31:05,241
Who is he?

1414
01:31:17,689 --> 01:31:19,952
<i>By the fall
of 327 BC,</i>

1415
01:31:21,257 --> 01:31:23,521
<i>Alexander has traveled
more than 6,000 miles.</i>

1416
01:31:24,652 --> 01:31:25,784
You are no king!

1417
01:31:28,438 --> 01:31:30,963
<i>His campaign
is taking its toll.</i>

1418
01:31:31,093 --> 01:31:33,705
You're not even
half the man your father was.

1419
01:31:35,794 --> 01:31:38,579
After Alexander kills Cleitus,

1420
01:31:38,710 --> 01:31:40,929
there is a change
in his behavior.

1421
01:31:41,800 --> 01:31:44,280
There's a depression,
I guess you could say,

1422
01:31:44,411 --> 01:31:47,240
that just doesn't leave
Alexander at this point.

1423
01:31:49,721 --> 01:31:50,809
How are the men?

1424
01:31:51,723 --> 01:31:52,724
In mourning.

1425
01:31:54,769 --> 01:31:55,727
They want to go home.

1426
01:31:57,424 --> 01:31:58,556
And you?

1427
01:32:04,736 --> 01:32:06,520
Wherever Alexander is,
that's my home.

1428
01:32:08,391 --> 01:32:11,569
Alexander seems to start
changing, psychologically.

1429
01:32:11,699 --> 01:32:15,094
He hides from everyone
for days on end.

1430
01:32:15,224 --> 01:32:16,965
And at this point,
seems to suffer

1431
01:32:17,096 --> 01:32:19,533
ever more the tragedy
of his distance from Greece,

1432
01:32:19,664 --> 01:32:22,188
the original world
that is slipping from his hands.

1433
01:32:27,802 --> 01:32:30,718
<i>Still, Alexander's
desire for conquest</i>

1434
01:32:30,849 --> 01:32:32,111
<i>drives him on.</i>

1435
01:32:33,025 --> 01:32:34,635
Alexander heads South,

1436
01:32:34,766 --> 01:32:36,768
following the Hindu Kush
mountain range,

1437
01:32:36,898 --> 01:32:39,161
going through
the Khyber Pass,

1438
01:32:39,292 --> 01:32:41,511
and ultimately
into the Indus River valley

1439
01:32:41,642 --> 01:32:42,904
in modern-day Pakistan.

1440
01:32:43,905 --> 01:32:47,082
Upon entering India,

1441
01:32:47,213 --> 01:32:51,870
Alexander has officially
gone off the Greek map,

1442
01:32:52,000 --> 01:32:56,352
but Alexander believes
that there is an end point,

1443
01:32:56,483 --> 01:32:59,312
there is a point
where the world stops.

1444
01:33:03,925 --> 01:33:06,275
Alexander finds
that what lies next

1445
01:33:06,406 --> 01:33:08,582
is not the end of the world
at all, but is, in fact,

1446
01:33:08,713 --> 01:33:10,671
the Nanda Empire,
an empire that has

1447
01:33:10,802 --> 01:33:14,153
a massive standing army
of 200,000 strong,

1448
01:33:14,283 --> 01:33:18,287
4,000 war elephants,
6,000 chariots,

1449
01:33:18,418 --> 01:33:22,814
40,000 cavalry, all of which
are highly trained

1450
01:33:22,944 --> 01:33:26,078
and mobilized and ready
for Alexander's forces.

1451
01:33:30,517 --> 01:33:32,693
He learns
that the world is so much bigger

1452
01:33:32,824 --> 01:33:36,218
than he ever thought it was
and it makes him determined

1453
01:33:36,349 --> 01:33:38,830
to keep pressing on
in order to conquer the world.

1454
01:33:44,270 --> 01:33:46,446
<i>In 326 BC,</i>

1455
01:33:46,576 --> 01:33:50,668
<i>Alexander has marched
his army 11,000 miles,</i>

1456
01:33:50,798 --> 01:33:53,409
<i>nearly half
the circumference of Earth.</i>

1457
01:33:54,280 --> 01:33:57,022
By the time they arrive
at the Hyphasis River in India,

1458
01:33:57,152 --> 01:34:00,286
the morale of Alexander's men
is borderline mutinous.

1459
01:34:01,461 --> 01:34:03,245
They don't know
when they're going to stop

1460
01:34:03,376 --> 01:34:04,769
and they're essentially
waiting for geography

1461
01:34:04,899 --> 01:34:06,031
to stop Alexander.

1462
01:34:06,161 --> 01:34:07,772
If the world does not end,

1463
01:34:07,902 --> 01:34:09,643
then they might be
fighting forever.

1464
01:34:16,781 --> 01:34:17,782
My king...

1465
01:34:20,349 --> 01:34:21,524
we cannot continue.

1466
01:34:30,272 --> 01:34:33,667
This is the line
in the sand for his men.

1467
01:34:33,798 --> 01:34:36,235
He cannot push them any further.

1468
01:34:52,642 --> 01:34:55,820
Alexander's troops demand
to turn around and go home.

1469
01:34:57,125 --> 01:34:58,910
He tries to get
a handle on the situation,

1470
01:34:59,040 --> 01:35:00,825
but this is too big for him.

1471
01:35:00,955 --> 01:35:03,001
His charisma
that had driven his army

1472
01:35:03,131 --> 01:35:05,351
for 10 years across
all of the known world

1473
01:35:05,481 --> 01:35:07,048
had essentially run out
at this point.

1474
01:35:07,919 --> 01:35:09,050
Stand!

1475
01:35:10,443 --> 01:35:11,444
Take it.

1476
01:35:13,315 --> 01:35:14,273
Take it!

1477
01:35:15,970 --> 01:35:16,928
Coward.

1478
01:35:19,017 --> 01:35:21,846
He hasn't been
defeated in India,

1479
01:35:21,976 --> 01:35:24,544
he's been defeated
only by his own soldiers

1480
01:35:24,674 --> 01:35:26,415
that insist
that he turns around.

1481
01:35:26,546 --> 01:35:28,896
<i>Alexander relents,</i>

1482
01:35:29,027 --> 01:35:32,813
<i>and in August, 326 BC,
begins to lead his army home.</i>

1483
01:35:34,554 --> 01:35:36,774
<i>But he does not intend to take
his men back the way he came.</i>

1484
01:35:37,905 --> 01:35:39,646
<i>He seeks a new route.</i>

1485
01:35:40,734 --> 01:35:42,344
Alexander discovers
that the Indus River

1486
01:35:42,475 --> 01:35:44,259
connects with the Persian Gulf.

1487
01:35:44,390 --> 01:35:47,480
It holds the possibility
of a quicker route to Persia.

1488
01:35:48,263 --> 01:35:50,483
<i>He splits
his army into separate units.</i>

1489
01:35:51,353 --> 01:35:52,833
One that would return by sea,

1490
01:35:52,964 --> 01:35:54,966
and the other half,
led by himself,

1491
01:35:55,096 --> 01:35:56,358
that would cross
the Makran Desert.

1492
01:36:11,983 --> 01:36:14,072
The route
that Alexander takes

1493
01:36:14,202 --> 01:36:18,119
is one of the most
inhospitable places on Earth.

1494
01:36:20,643 --> 01:36:23,951
It was a horrific desert
with no features,

1495
01:36:24,082 --> 01:36:26,824
unmapped and unknown
at the time, with no cities,

1496
01:36:26,954 --> 01:36:28,303
oases, or stopping points.

1497
01:36:33,091 --> 01:36:34,483
But because he suffers
all the dangers

1498
01:36:34,614 --> 01:36:36,877
and deprivations
from his troops,

1499
01:36:37,008 --> 01:36:39,097
he marches when they march,
he's hungry when they're hungry,

1500
01:36:39,227 --> 01:36:40,968
he's thirsty
when they're thirsty,

1501
01:36:41,099 --> 01:36:42,840
he makes them feel like
they are part of things

1502
01:36:42,970 --> 01:36:44,058
bigger than themselves.

1503
01:36:44,929 --> 01:36:46,278
This is
all there is, my king.

1504
01:36:52,240 --> 01:36:53,198
A brave warrior...

1505
01:36:54,590 --> 01:36:55,548
has handed me a helmet...

1506
01:36:57,071 --> 01:36:58,203
half filled with water.

1507
01:36:59,987 --> 01:37:01,293
All that he could find.

1508
01:37:04,949 --> 01:37:06,385
But the king drinks...

1509
01:37:08,082 --> 01:37:09,214
when his men drink.

1510
01:37:10,171 --> 01:37:11,216
If his men don't drink...

1511
01:37:16,612 --> 01:37:17,875
no one drinks.

1512
01:37:19,572 --> 01:37:23,228
This one simple gesture
inspires the men.

1513
01:37:24,620 --> 01:37:26,927
Whatever thoughts
they had about Alexander,

1514
01:37:27,058 --> 01:37:31,149
whatever doubts, disappear
in this moment of sacrifice.

1515
01:37:48,122 --> 01:37:49,558
<i>It takes
Alexander's armies</i>

1516
01:37:49,689 --> 01:37:51,821
<i>the best part of six months</i>

1517
01:37:51,952 --> 01:37:53,911
<i>to travel back
to Persia's heartlands.</i>

1518
01:37:54,999 --> 01:37:57,088
<i>They arrive in the city of Susa</i>

1519
01:37:57,218 --> 01:37:59,829
<i>in the spring of 324 BC.</i>

1520
01:37:59,960 --> 01:38:03,050
It becomes clear that Alexander
has no intention

1521
01:38:03,181 --> 01:38:04,878
of ever returning to Macedon,

1522
01:38:05,009 --> 01:38:07,141
that he will be
sending his soldiers home,

1523
01:38:07,272 --> 01:38:09,100
he will be
sending veterans home,

1524
01:38:09,230 --> 01:38:12,712
but Alexander himself
will be staying

1525
01:38:12,842 --> 01:38:14,932
in the new domains
that he has conquered.

1526
01:38:17,325 --> 01:38:19,110
He's now spent
about 10 years there.

1527
01:38:19,240 --> 01:38:21,416
That's nearly
a third of his life.

1528
01:38:21,547 --> 01:38:24,811
He's adopted Persian customs,
he's adopted Persian dress.

1529
01:38:24,942 --> 01:38:26,595
And why not stay in Persia?

1530
01:38:26,726 --> 01:38:28,075
It's the center of the world.

1531
01:38:29,685 --> 01:38:32,427
<i>For Alexander,
it's time to consolidate power.</i>

1532
01:38:34,038 --> 01:38:36,388
If you're going to administrate,
well, you have to stay put

1533
01:38:36,518 --> 01:38:38,259
and figure out
how to make this empire work.

1534
01:38:39,608 --> 01:38:42,263
He ends up picking somebody
to do that for him,

1535
01:38:42,394 --> 01:38:44,091
and that's Hephaestion's role.

1536
01:38:46,006 --> 01:38:47,965
<i>Then Alexander
arranges the marriages</i>

1537
01:38:48,095 --> 01:38:51,490
<i>of his Macedonian generals
to Persian princesses.</i>

1538
01:38:53,796 --> 01:38:55,581
Alexander is trying
to fuse together

1539
01:38:55,711 --> 01:38:58,932
the elites of Macedonia
and the Persian Empire

1540
01:38:59,063 --> 01:39:01,674
by creating them
into married networks

1541
01:39:01,804 --> 01:39:03,371
that would owe loyalty
to one another,

1542
01:39:03,502 --> 01:39:06,418
that this is not so much
a change of identity

1543
01:39:06,548 --> 01:39:08,855
as much as a change
in political commitment.

1544
01:39:08,986 --> 01:39:11,292
Alexander is moving
from King of Macedon

1545
01:39:11,423 --> 01:39:12,859
to King of the World.

1546
01:39:13,816 --> 01:39:14,861
Ptolemy...

1547
01:39:16,602 --> 01:39:17,516
this one's for you.

1548
01:39:19,518 --> 01:39:21,041
The only way
to truly rule Persia

1549
01:39:21,172 --> 01:39:23,000
is to establish
Macedonian blood.

1550
01:39:23,652 --> 01:39:25,567
Enjoy it.

1551
01:39:25,698 --> 01:39:27,526
Alexander takes
two more wives for himself,

1552
01:39:27,656 --> 01:39:30,616
the youngest daughter
of one of the Persian generals,

1553
01:39:30,746 --> 01:39:34,359
and also, he marries
the oldest daughter of Darius,

1554
01:39:34,489 --> 01:39:36,752
so he's going to become
a polygamist like his father.

1555
01:39:36,883 --> 01:39:38,015
Hephaestion...

1556
01:39:39,929 --> 01:39:41,148
meet your new wife.

1557
01:39:43,020 --> 01:39:44,760
For his best friend
and loyal retainer, Hephaestion,

1558
01:39:44,891 --> 01:39:46,762
Alexander arranges a marriage

1559
01:39:46,893 --> 01:39:49,678
with the best bride
available in Persia,

1560
01:39:49,809 --> 01:39:51,898
one of Darius' other daughters.

1561
01:39:52,029 --> 01:39:53,769
This makes
Hephaestion essentially

1562
01:39:53,900 --> 01:39:55,380
Alexander's brother-in-law.

1563
01:39:56,511 --> 01:39:57,469
This is for us.

1564
01:39:58,426 --> 01:39:59,906
Our children
will grow up together...

1565
01:40:01,212 --> 01:40:02,213
like we did.

1566
01:40:03,649 --> 01:40:04,737
They will share the same blood.

1567
01:40:05,651 --> 01:40:08,349
It is possible
that Alexander hoped

1568
01:40:08,480 --> 01:40:12,179
and planned to grow old
with Hephaestion in Persia,

1569
01:40:12,310 --> 01:40:16,227
to raise their children together
as Hellenic Persians,

1570
01:40:16,357 --> 01:40:19,186
essentially to establish
himself, Hephaestion,

1571
01:40:19,317 --> 01:40:21,406
their families,
for the future.

1572
01:40:24,800 --> 01:40:26,802
<i>Just seven months later</i>

1573
01:40:26,933 --> 01:40:28,717
<i>in the fall of 324 BC,</i>

1574
01:40:30,023 --> 01:40:31,590
<i>Alexander's plans are derailed.</i>

1575
01:40:41,382 --> 01:40:43,080
<i>He receives devastating news.</i>

1576
01:40:44,559 --> 01:40:46,822
The culture of drinking
in Alexander's army

1577
01:40:46,953 --> 01:40:48,737
seems to get even stronger.

1578
01:40:49,695 --> 01:40:52,828
Lots of parties,
lots of celebrations.

1579
01:40:52,959 --> 01:40:54,656
And Hephaestion becomes ill

1580
01:40:54,787 --> 01:40:56,267
after one of these
drinking bouts.

1581
01:41:02,142 --> 01:41:04,666
Alexander,
hearing that the health

1582
01:41:04,797 --> 01:41:07,626
of his closest friend
is declining,

1583
01:41:07,756 --> 01:41:10,890
makes his way
to Hephaestion's side,

1584
01:41:11,020 --> 01:41:12,109
but doesn't arrive in time.

1585
01:41:12,935 --> 01:41:13,980
Sleep well.

1586
01:41:20,378 --> 01:41:24,425
Hephaestion is really
his emotional touchstone.

1587
01:41:25,731 --> 01:41:27,994
His bedrock is gone.

1588
01:41:28,125 --> 01:41:29,952
The man
who he had hoped would help

1589
01:41:30,083 --> 01:41:31,954
administrate his empire is gone.

1590
01:41:32,694 --> 01:41:33,565
What is he going to do?

1591
01:41:43,662 --> 01:41:46,317
When Hephaestion dies,
Alexander loses his mind.

1592
01:41:48,884 --> 01:41:51,931
Alexander is so distraught
that he blames the doctors

1593
01:41:52,061 --> 01:41:54,194
that failed
to save Hephaestion's life

1594
01:41:54,325 --> 01:41:55,674
and has them all crucified.

1595
01:42:00,157 --> 01:42:03,856
He withdraws in agonizing pain
and mourning and sadness.

1596
01:42:08,034 --> 01:42:10,689
<i>In the spring
of 323 BC,</i>

1597
01:42:10,819 --> 01:42:12,865
<i>Alexander emerges from mourning</i>

1598
01:42:12,995 --> 01:42:14,823
<i>with a new vision
for his future.</i>

1599
01:42:17,304 --> 01:42:19,741
Alexander decides
it's time for another conquest.

1600
01:42:19,872 --> 01:42:22,309
This time,
he sets his sights on Arabia,

1601
01:42:22,440 --> 01:42:24,790
another land
that's associated with opulence,

1602
01:42:24,920 --> 01:42:27,184
riches, and exoticism.

1603
01:42:30,099 --> 01:42:32,058
Alexander knows
what he's good at.

1604
01:42:32,189 --> 01:42:34,974
I think he fears
that if he stops,

1605
01:42:35,104 --> 01:42:36,193
the music will stop.

1606
01:42:38,891 --> 01:42:40,197
And so, he sends out
some troops

1607
01:42:40,327 --> 01:42:42,024
on a kind of
exploratory mission.

1608
01:42:43,287 --> 01:42:45,854
But he himself
will never make that trip.

1609
01:43:03,829 --> 01:43:05,483
<i>In 323 BC,</i>

1610
01:43:06,962 --> 01:43:10,227
<i>Alexander arrives in the Persian
ceremonial capital of Babylon.</i>

1611
01:43:11,750 --> 01:43:13,317
<i>His health declines rapidly.</i>

1612
01:43:16,668 --> 01:43:19,323
He is struck
with severe stomach problems.

1613
01:43:19,453 --> 01:43:21,499
He begins passing blood.

1614
01:43:24,850 --> 01:43:26,460
His fevers begin to spike

1615
01:43:26,591 --> 01:43:28,506
and he passes
in and out of consciousness.

1616
01:43:28,636 --> 01:43:30,595
Was it a poisoning,
which was very common

1617
01:43:30,725 --> 01:43:31,987
in the Macedonian circles?

1618
01:43:32,118 --> 01:43:33,337
Was it an illness?

1619
01:43:33,467 --> 01:43:34,555
It could be malaria,

1620
01:43:34,686 --> 01:43:36,514
it could be typhus,

1621
01:43:36,644 --> 01:43:39,168
it could simply be all
of the accumulated injuries

1622
01:43:39,299 --> 01:43:40,779
of his long campaign.

1623
01:43:43,129 --> 01:43:46,437
What we do know is this is a man
that lived hard.

1624
01:43:48,700 --> 01:43:52,269
The mood of his inner
circle is desperate.

1625
01:43:52,399 --> 01:43:55,054
They're very concerned.

1626
01:43:55,184 --> 01:43:59,276
What is going to happen
to Alexander's vast empire?

1627
01:44:05,151 --> 01:44:06,631
There must be
provisions for the future.

1628
01:44:08,763 --> 01:44:09,721
Name a successor.

1629
01:44:10,939 --> 01:44:11,984
Go.
- An heir.

1630
01:44:13,028 --> 01:44:14,378
- That's all I ask of you.
- Go.

1631
01:44:15,857 --> 01:44:17,816
- Stop.
- I will rule.

1632
01:44:18,469 --> 01:44:19,644
I will rule!

1633
01:44:20,471 --> 01:44:21,559
Think of Greece.

1634
01:44:22,647 --> 01:44:23,952
Think of all
we have fought for.

1635
01:44:28,392 --> 01:44:31,264
To the strongest,
to the best.

1636
01:44:44,016 --> 01:44:47,628
He says,
"To the strongest, to the best."

1637
01:44:51,023 --> 01:44:53,025
<i>In June of 323 BC...</i>

1638
01:44:54,635 --> 01:44:56,158
<i>Alexander dies.</i>

1639
01:44:57,812 --> 01:45:00,206
<i>He is just 32,</i>

1640
01:45:00,337 --> 01:45:03,383
<i>and his refusal to acknowledge
any of his companions</i>

1641
01:45:03,514 --> 01:45:05,603
<i>as a worthy successor
is a disaster,</i>

1642
01:45:06,995 --> 01:45:09,171
<i>seeding the collapse
of his entire empire.</i>

1643
01:45:11,652 --> 01:45:14,133
Alexander dies too soon,
too young.

1644
01:45:15,134 --> 01:45:18,224
He leaves an empire
that's conquered

1645
01:45:18,355 --> 01:45:20,313
and just about established,

1646
01:45:20,444 --> 01:45:23,664
but hasn't yet settled
into a system of government,

1647
01:45:23,795 --> 01:45:25,536
so everything is to play for.

1648
01:45:28,016 --> 01:45:30,497
His wife, Roxanne, is pregnant,

1649
01:45:30,628 --> 01:45:33,631
and the child in the womb
is proclaimed king

1650
01:45:33,761 --> 01:45:35,981
if it turns out to be a boy,
as, in fact, it does.

1651
01:45:36,111 --> 01:45:38,549
But this young child,
of course,

1652
01:45:38,679 --> 01:45:40,551
is in no position
to rule the kingdom.

1653
01:45:44,250 --> 01:45:45,512
By the time
of Alexander's death,

1654
01:45:45,643 --> 01:45:47,862
his empire stretches from Greece

1655
01:45:47,993 --> 01:45:51,736
to modern-day Pakistan
and down into Egypt.

1656
01:45:52,519 --> 01:45:54,434
It's around
two million square miles

1657
01:45:54,565 --> 01:45:56,436
in terms of territory,
which is bigger

1658
01:45:56,567 --> 01:45:58,525
than the Roman Empire
will ever become.

1659
01:45:58,656 --> 01:46:00,179
As for the rest of the empire,

1660
01:46:00,309 --> 01:46:03,835
various generals
begin a war for supremacy

1661
01:46:03,965 --> 01:46:05,532
and control
over the entire thing.

1662
01:46:06,272 --> 01:46:08,274
Alexander's vast empire

1663
01:46:08,405 --> 01:46:10,537
breaks up
into several different kingdoms,

1664
01:46:10,668 --> 01:46:12,496
never to be united again.

1665
01:46:18,676 --> 01:46:20,286
<i>Ptolemy takes
the biggest gamble.</i>

1666
01:46:21,026 --> 01:46:23,420
<i>He claims Egypt,</i>

1667
01:46:23,550 --> 01:46:25,596
<i>the jewel in the crown
of the Persian Empire.</i>

1668
01:46:28,555 --> 01:46:30,427
Ptolemy is actually
able to carve out

1669
01:46:30,557 --> 01:46:32,864
a stable
and successful kingdom in Egypt.

1670
01:46:33,517 --> 01:46:36,607
More than 200 years later,
his direct descendant,

1671
01:46:36,737 --> 01:46:38,913
Cleopatra, comes to the throne.

1672
01:46:40,959 --> 01:46:43,744
Histories look back
on Alexander traditionally

1673
01:46:43,875 --> 01:46:46,878
as a romantic figure
of immense glamor and success.

1674
01:46:48,053 --> 01:46:50,185
In battle,
he proved capable

1675
01:46:50,316 --> 01:46:53,232
of original and bold tactics,

1676
01:46:53,362 --> 01:46:58,542
incredible personal courage,
quick decision-making,

1677
01:46:58,672 --> 01:47:00,239
and limitless ambition.

1678
01:47:00,848 --> 01:47:02,546
And, of course,
success breeds success.

1679
01:47:02,676 --> 01:47:04,330
We are Greeks!

1680
01:47:07,159 --> 01:47:10,162
Alexander's story shapes
the centuries that follow

1681
01:47:10,292 --> 01:47:12,512
because he becomes a model

1682
01:47:12,643 --> 01:47:16,037
for every ruler,
every potential general,

1683
01:47:16,168 --> 01:47:19,780
every want-to-be-king
for centuries thereafter.

1684
01:47:20,955 --> 01:47:25,438
There are few, if any,
human beings in history...

1685
01:47:27,179 --> 01:47:31,052
that have as great
an impact as Alexander does.