Greatness is not something that is achieved overnight. Those who are great and were great will not and have not been forgotten. However, one particular man in history is arguably one of the greatest military leaders in history who had ever lived. Hell, he even has the word “great” in his name when people refer to him. That man would be no other than Alexander the Great. The determined leader that strikes fear and tremble into those who oppose him. Ruthless in nature yet still humbly stands with his men when times are tough. He is the unsung hero and the king of Macedon, conquerors of the almighty Persian empire. Alexander the Great is one of the greatest military leaders of all time demonstrated by the loyalty and respect shown forth by his …show more content…
Alexander was no different from the rest. Not only did he made sure none of his conquered Alexandrian nations were out of line but also “Terrif[ied] the rest of Greece into obedience.” He knew that if he was not merciless and unrelenting other nations would not fear him but also put him at risk of his own nation 's rising up against him. Given his reputation, the campaigns of Alexander were not as troublesome. Egypt for example showed no hesitation nor resistance when Alexander arrived. Egypt knew that they would lose it all rather then just lose their power if they had surrendered to Alexander. For those who opposed and resisted Alexander, he went out of the way to humiliate the preexisting leader and as well as kill him whoever he wanted just to assert dominance and strike fear into those who dare challenge …show more content…
Clitus who was appointed as a future satrap of Bactria, offended Alexander during a dinner party. Through the drunkenness of Alexander, he immediately ran “A lance through Clitus, who died on the spot.” Clitus was a very important figure under the command of Alexander and he was also extremely close to Philip during his reign. Even though Alexander was remorseful once he had sobered up, this showed his men not to mess with Alexander especially when it came to his pride. The fear of a leader is something that makes them that much stronger and respected. If people did not fear him, he would have never reached the greatest that he achieved in his
Alexander the III of Macedonia more commonly known as Alexander the Great might well be the greatest military leader of all history. “A great conqueror, in 13 short years he amassed the largest empire in the entire ancient world — an empire that covered 3,000 miles.” (“Alexander the Great”) (See Appendix D). His military feats were incredible. Alexander was able to accomplish these great military feats at such a young age is because he was brought up in a military family and led his group of soldiers at a young age, and because he was very passionate and full of courage in everything that he did.
The first matter to consider is what constitutes “greatness”. There are no set standards no checklist, to apply to a person, to determine it they are “great.” The simplest way that I could conceive to decide whether this title should apply to Alexander was to determine if he was, in some way, superior to the rulers that came before or after his reign. The most obvious place for me to start my consideration is with Alexander’s vast accomplishments as a conquerer.
...f the conquered territories to remain relatively unchanged, Alexander was able to subdue potential unrest before it occurred. However, Alexander’s rule was not without discord though. Many Machiavellian actions for the good of the empire were seen as unsavory to a select few. While this created some distrust, Alexander’s power and governing expertise were enough to overcome these adversities. Because of the characteristics mentioned above, Alexander the Great is as close to a true Machiavellian ruler as humanly possible.
Even though Alexander III of Macedonia, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, only lived to be 32 years old, his accomplishments were so vast it would be impossible to capture them all in a 3-hour Hollywood film. The well-known director, Oliver Stone, spent years studying Alexander and dreaming of making an epic film about his life. Stone's 2004 film, Alexander, was met with reviews that made it sound as if it was mediocre or disappointing, but the problem with it is that in the era of exciting action-driven Hollywood films, Alexander asks viewers to go deeper than they are accustomed. The length of the film was considered too long, but the history of Alexander is so huge that it is actually too short. Since Alexander lived more than 2300 years ago, and much of the information on Alexander's life has been lost over time, it seems to me that Alexander accurately depicts the historical era, Alexander's relationships, battle scenes and the different cultures involved in Alexander's conquests.
Alexander the Great was one of the greatest ruler’s and conquerors of all time. He conquered the mighty Persian Empire and most of the known world at that time.
Have you heard of a man named Alexander the Great, the famous historical figure? There are many amazing stories about him explaining the courageous things he had accomplished. However, if you learn more about him and his accomplishments you will soon realized the real person Alexander was. Alexander the Great, ruler of his empire was in fact not great as his title states. The definition of great is a person who shows concern for others, has leadership and shows intelligence. Alexander didn’t show any of these characteristics therefore he doesn’t deserve the title of “great”.
Alexander the Great (July 356BC – June 323BC) was King of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. By the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world. He remained undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful Military commanders. Historians’ have offered theories which could explain Alexander’s motivation to conquer so much of the known world. Some suggest that Alexander was an idealistic visionary who sought to unite the world, whereas others argued that he was a fascist whose hunger for power drove him. The Ancient Greeks were driven by love of honour (philotimaea) and their desire for greatness. They were competitive, always striving to better one another.
In the countries who believed Alexander was the son of the devil or the devil himself, will say he is not ‘great’ but a demon who did evil. The countries who were on his side would say he was the greatest conqueror to live. He began as a Macedonian cavalry commander at eighteen, king of Macedonia at twenty, conqueror of Persia at twenty-six and explorer of India at thirty [Foner and Garraty]. The amount of large scale accomplishments he managed to finish in a span of six years is astonishing. Alexander’s tomb was the largest tourist attraction in the ancient world. The tomb was even visited by Julius Caesar, Pompey, Caligula, and Augustus. Alexander the Great’s accomplishments set a bar in which provided a standard that all other leaders would match their careers too. Many leaders after Alexander could not reach the standard left by him [Foner and
Although several people may disagree, these achievements and intelligence lead to great success. For example, against Porus and his army, Alexander puzzled the elephants causing them to stampede and kill Porus’s army. Also, in eleven years Alexander conquered 2,200,000 square miles of land at the age of twenty. Nobody can do this any day and Alexander showed his ability to persevere through tough times. Ultimately, when thinking of great names in history, remember Alexander the Great and all his great accomplishments because nobody has been able to conquer so much land in such a short amount of time with little rest and so much confidence in any
Alexander the Great lived before Christ, but he was driven by a vision of global unity as modern as today. Alexander is seen in many roles in our culture. The most famous of these is being a great general and conqueror of the world. During his short life, Alexander conquered the known world and helped spread the culture of the Greeks. Much of what he accomplished must be viewed in the circumstances of his time and his upbringing. Without these we may not have had the spread of Greek culture or even heard of the man called Alexander. I will discuss how Alexander was able to accomplish all of this in such a short time and the events and strategies that helped him along the way. To understand the events of his life you need to know the man. Alexander's father, Philip II influenced the events in the military and political areas that eventually helped Alexander in his conquests. When Philip took power in 359 B.C., Macedonia was in turmoil and he immediately set out to put the people under his control. Philip developed the Macedonian army and formed alliances with the Balkan peoples. Philip established many political reforms that made his state a great power. He increased the size of the Royal Companions/heairoi, which gave more people positions of power and a sense of belonging to the kingdom. Also, the sons of the nobles were allowed to receive education in the court of the king. The reason for this was that the sons would develop a strong loyalty to the king; furthermore it allowed Philip, in a sense, to keep the sons hostage from their parents, from interfering with his authority. On the military side, the battle of Chaeronea, in August of 338 B.C., helped put Athenians and Thebans under Macedonia control, which left Sparta the only Greek state not under Philip's authority.
Alexander is punishing people who have escaped him because he had terrible laws. Alexander also punished civilizations for murdering his father, Phillip the 2, and he did not know what person killed his father, he punished anyone he could find just to show he had power. According to “Alexander at the Temple of Zeus-Ammon” “I punished all those who were the murders of my father or have some escaped me?” Villains make people suffer and punish or hurt them and that is exactly what Alexander is doing. Alexander took advantage of his power, he did not let his men retreat when his men were done with the battle. Alexander was destroying civilizations. Alexander did not care who he was hurting either he just wanted power. Also according to “Alexander the Not So Great” “By the age of 30, Alexander ruled over an empire spanning three continents and covering more two million square miles.” Alexander ruled a ton of kingdoms, he built and destroyed buildings and people in the civilization and their lives. Alexander is a villain because he had to kill a lot of
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that Alexander was only twenty years old when he became the king of Macedonia. “When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). “In, 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, but as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country. Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior gener...
But, in reality, his countless massacres of innocents quickly wash over that farcical statement; he was also the one that brought upon the fall of his own empire. Alexander murdered his most trusted general, Parmenio, after he suggested that Alexander focused on strengthening his empire instead of conquering more land. ( ). Alexander wouldn’t even take Parmenio’s suggestion, the very one that could save his empire, and killed him just because he didn’t favor it. A ruler that doesn’t accept negative feedback is a true tyrant. Although not a tyrant, Alexander was on the edge of becoming one. Alexander did not fortify his empire, thus, it fell apart shortly after his death. (Dr. Ellis L., Alexander the Great: After Alexander, europeanhistory.boisestate.edu/westciv/alexander/14.shtml). Although Alexander was renowned for his sophisticated military tactics, he lacked the diplomatic and political skills to actually rule his land. As Alexander’s empire was only held together by himself, and because he named no heir, he brought upon the end of his empire, launching its inhabitants into civil war. A ruler should not only be judged by his military power but also, if not mostly, their political and diplomatic
Few historical figures stand out in the same degree as that of Alexander the Great. He was a warrior by 16, a commander at age 18, and was crowned King of Macedon by the time he was 20 years old. He did things in his lifetime that others could only dream about. Alexander single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in just over a decade. There were many attributes that made Alexander “Great.” He was a brilliant strategist and an inspired leader; he led by example and was a conqueror at heart. In looking at his early childhood, accession to the throne, conquests, marriage, and death one can see why Alexander the Great is revered in historical contexts as one of the greatest figures of all time.
There are many leaders in the world, but a great ruler is passionate, honorable and one who can inspire even in the most hopeless circumstances. Alexander the Great was a great ruler. Alexander the Great was a ruler that was not only inspiring, but he was fearless, smart, bold and courageous. Alexander the Great inspired his soldiers to crave more. He has inspired people since the day he started ruling. What is inspirational about Alexander the Great is that he inspired his troops to the point that they did not question him when they were outnumbered three to one in a battle, they trusted him with their lives and were willing to die for him (Alexander the Great: man behind the legend).