Another march brought Alexander to the borders of Libya,
Here he received the submission of Cyrene, the most important Greek colony in
Africa. Alexander's dominions were thus extended to the border of the
Carthaginian possessions. It was at this time that Alexander visited a
celebrated temple of the god Amon, located in an oasis of the Libyan desert.
The priests were ready enough to hail him as a son of Amon, as one before whom
his Egyptian subjects might bow down and adore. But after Alexander's death his
worship spread widely over the world, and even the Roman Senate gave him a
place among the gods of Olympus.
BATTLE OF ARBELA, 331 B.C.
The time had now come to strike directly at the Persian king.
Following the ancient trade routes through northern Mesopotamia, Alexander
crossed the Euphrates and the Tigris and, on a broad plain not far from the
ruins of ancient Nineveh, found himself confronted by the Persian host.
Darius held an excellent position and hoped to crush his foe by sheer weight of
numbers. But nothing could stop the Macedonian onset; once more Darius fled
away, and once more the Persians, deserted by their king, broke up in hopeless
rout.
