Question

He was the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire. He defeated King Porus (Pururava) in Northern India. His weary soldiers refused to go any further. Leaving some of his generals behind, he turned his homeward. He died of malaria and typhoid fever at the age of 32. Who was he?
A) Alexander the Great
B) Herman Cortes
C) Hannibal Barca
D) Mahmud of Ghazni

Answer 1

Hint: He was born in an ancient Greek city called Pella. He ruled from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C. He belonged to the Argead Dynasty, which was the founder and the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Macedonia. After sacking the city of Thebes, he was awarded the generalship of Greece.

Complete answer:
Now let us look into the given options:
Option (A) Alexander the Great - The King of Macedonia, who defeated King Porus in India was Alexander the Great. He ascended to the throne at the age of 20, when his father Phillip II was assassinated in 336 B.C.

He invaded India in 326 B.C. defeated King Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes. His aim was to reach all the ends of the Earth and the Greater Outer Sea, but his weary and homesick troops refused to go any further. Eventually, Alexander had to turn back with them. He then decided that he would make Babylon his next capital and hence, headed in that direction. There he fell sick with malaria and typhoid, and died at the age of 32.

Option (B) Hernan Cortez - He was a Spanish conquistador and he led an expedition to cause the fall of the Aztec empire in the Conquest of Mexico (1519 - 21). He was not a ruler in the Persian Empire. This option is incorrect.

Option (C) Hannibal Barca - He was a carthaginian General who lived during the emergence of the Roman Republic and he commanded forces against them. Thus, he was not one of those rulers who invaded India. Hence, it is the incorrect option.

Option (D) Mahmud of Ghazni - He is the most infamous ruler to have invaded India. He did not conquer any part of India, but he did invade, raided, and sacked numerous kingdoms and temples across the country. He was finally defeated by Seljuk Turks in 1029. This option is also wrong.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (A) i..e, Alexander the Great.

Note: Till the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by the great Greek philosopher and polymath, Aristotle. Alexander’s father, Phillip had asked Aristotle to educate his son, and in return Phillip would rebuild and repopulate Aristotle’s hometown, Stageira, by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were enslaved or exiled. Alexander and other children of the Macedonian nobles went to the village of Mieza, which was very similar to a present-day boarding school.