Alexander Seizes Power

Alexander did not attack Persia immediately, as your set sources suggest.

First he had to establish his power in Macedon and Greece (mouseover the links to find examples of ALEXANDER'S MILITARY GENIUS):

October 336bc: Macedon    

* Alexander of Lycentis IMMEDIATELY proclaimed him king
* Alexander went before the Army, who elected him king
* Alexander called a trial of the assassins – Pausanias’s body was crucified, Heromenes and Arrhabaeus executed immediately, Amyntas and Attalus soon after.

Autumn 336bc: Greece    

* Alexander invaded and received the submission of Thessaly.
* He called the Delphic Council and made them proclaim him leader; Athens made him a citizen
* He marched to Corinth, where the League accepted as him as Hegemon
* On the way back to Macedon, he stopped off at the Oracle at Delphi; when the Pythia refused to grant an oracle, he dragged her into the cave and forced her to declare that he was ‘invincible’.

Spring/Summer 335bc: the Balkans    

* He invaded Thrace, and brilliantly defeated the Triballians at the Lyginus River
* He floated his men across the Danube and defeated and defeated the tribesmen with a classic sarissa-charge; seeing this, the Triballians surrendered and the Celtic tribes of Dalmatia paid him homage
* He marched west to attack King Cleitus, and destroyed the Illyrian army at the battle of Pelion
* He then defeated Thebes (which had rebelled when he left to go north); as an example to other cities, Thebes was looted, razed to the ground, and 30,000 men, women and children taken into slavery
* Seeing what happened to Thebes, the Athenians (who had been considering rebellion – the Persians had sent 300 talents to them) sued for peace and exiled their chief general Charidemus.

October 335bc: Macedon    

* Alexander returned to Macedon where he:
   - distributed gifts
   - held a lavish festival to Zeus
   - held a mass-wedding of highland & lowland nobles, and the daughters of his leading advisers.