Ambition

Alexander the Great's big ambition is to conquer the Persian Empire, and thus punish the Persian king Darius for his ancestors' attempts at conquering Greece. He especially wants to make him pay for the sacking of Athens. The ambition seems a bit overblown at first. He can muster only so many Greeks into his army, and in the first battle with the Persians, he almost loses. Redeeming failing military tactics, however, he turns around by fiercely attacking and using his cavalry as if infantry. Through brute force he wins the day. Had he lost this first battle to liberate former Greek cities from Persia, history would have been quite different.

However, emboldened with his early successes and with a strengthening army of allies and mercenaries, Alexander moves right along the Mediterranean coast, conquering city after city. Some willingly give up without a fight. Others are more difficult. His...