Alexander the Great was forced to fight for his position at the beginning of his reign. After his father Philip the II., had been assassinated he lacked universal aristocratic support. The situation was complicated by a dispute with his father and Alexander briefly lost the position of the crown prince which he had held since birth. The partial support he had received from the aristocrats enabled him to rise to power and in first years of his rule he disposed of rivals and the conspirators of his father's assassination. Due to his youth and inexperience, he was an easy target for the Greeks and the tribes bordering the Macedonian territory. He had to prove himself in order to maintain his Philip's achivements. He led a military campaign all the way to Danube to prevent invasions of the northern and western tribes. He supressed the Theban revolt, thereby preventing further Greek revolts, and gained the status of a Greek hegemon and position of commander of the joint military camapign against Persia.
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