History of ancient Egypt over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley. In 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon conquered Egypt with little resistance from the Persians. He was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. He visited Memphis, and went on a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion,
Fortifications of ancient Smyrna simply keep out bandits and keep in the animals. Such massive fortifications as seen at Smyrna were rare, and the sheer size of the walls (15 meters thick is extremely large) and the presence of bastions by one of the gates in the second phase of fortifications shows that these were more than just for show. As most armies at the time were not professional standing armies, the existence of such substantial fortifications demonstrates that the rulers of Smyrna expected a fight, and spent their resources in anticipation of that fight. Fortifications of ancient Smyrna Smyrna (modern day Izmir in