Alexander The “Great” Alexander The Great, son of Philip of Macedon, was born 356 B.C. He was deemed “The Great” by society calling him Great. So why was he idolized by so many people? He successfully united all of Greece, Egypt, Macedonia and the Persian Empire. Nobody had ever completed these tasks before him and he was able to do all of this before the age of 30! His father believed he was destined for greatness when he tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus. Legend states that no one was able to touch or ride the horse but Alexander was able to at the age of thirteen. Alexander The Great conquered many countries and he left his mark by establishing cities named “Alexandria” in these places. One of the more popular cities is located in Alexandria,
From a young age he was tutored by the great scholar: Aristotle. He had amazing battle tactics which never let him down in war considering he never lost a battle. Famous leaders like; Napoleon Bonaparte, and many other war generals worshiped his fighting styles and tactics. He was determined to his cause and would stop at nothing until he fulfilled it. In Alexandria, Egypt, there was “the Great Library”. In this library, it held over 700,000 papyrus scrolls by its peak in 1 B.C.E. Unfortunately, it burned down in the 4th century
He was successfully able to conquer from Asia Minor to Egypt. His largest achievement was his ability to destroy the Persian Empire, a task no one was able to complete yet. Even though he created many cities, he assigned the city of Babylon as the capital of his united empire. He established almost seventy cities dedicated to himself. He named each one of these cities “Alexandria” and he named one after his horse. To every country he took over, he installed an athenian-style democracy. This was a new form of government created by the Athenians, a form in which the people ruled in government. Any free male citizen could vote on a decision regarding the country. Possibly his most influential achievement was his idea of a complete monarchy. This form of government meant that he, and he alone, ruled over his large territory. This form of government was used later in most countries; most popularly in England around the 16th through the 17th
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”.
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
Lastly, Alexander was an incredibly poor sport when it came to his victories over other cities and/or countries. There are multitudes of people who think of Alexander the great as an outstanding leader and respectful
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 was Great because of his leadership. When Alexander went into battle, he used lots of complicated strategies to win. Due to the teachings of Aristotle, he was a force to reckoned with. One example comes from Doc B.The battle was set in India, against a king named Porus. He had more than 30 elephants under his control. The one thing that separated them was a shallow river. The document tells us that he would “Take his cavalry to various positions along the river bank where he would create a clamor… This went on for quite a time until Porus no longer reacted” Alexander used great strategy to outsmart his enemy.
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...
Alexander was met by Egypt 's Persian governor Mazaces. With little to no army, and very little help from others with in the city, the Persian governor handed everything over to Alexander. As part of the deal Mazaces was kept on as part of the new administration system. “The Egyptians hailed him as their deliverer from Persian hegemony.”(1)
Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon, on July 20, 356 B.C. He was the son of King Philip II and his fourth wife Olympias, an Epirote princess. Alexander was bred to be a warrior; his father was a great commander and king, and his mom’s second cousin, Pyrrhus of Epirus, was a celebrated general. So there were noteworthy examples of military genius on both sides of his family. As a child, Alexander’s mother would tell him stories of how he was a descendant to Achilles and Hercules. Achilles was his favorite hero growing up, as he read of his adventures in Homer’s Iliad. From an early age Alexander was practically raised by everyone but his parents. He was originally educated by a strict teacher named Leonidas. Alexander’s father wanted Alexander to become a great man, so he acquired the famous philosopher Aristotle to become his tutor. Aristotle trained him in rhetoric and literature, and stimulated his interest in medicine, science, and philosophy. Aristotle is credited for Alexander’s fasci...
Alexander is now recognized as one of the greatest leaders to ever live. Alexander took the throne at the age of twenty. Alexander’s leadership is one that many leaders try to imitate. The key component in his ability to lead was having the trust of his men . His men trusted in him that he had the best interest not only for them but also for his kingdom as a whole. With this trust in place, Alexander was able to take his men into any city without. Alexander was also not shy of battles. During battles he would mostly lead from the front where he was easily recognizable and a target for the enemies . His bravery set an example for his men, and in return Alexander was always rewarded with a victory. His ruthlessness matched with his tolerance is one of the most ironic yet admirable trait he had. Alexander was known for his ruthless behavior when it came to battles with other kingdoms. He held nothing back and punished all who fought against him . That being said, Alexander rarely would hur...
Alexander the Great was an unmatched General and Strategist. In a battle of the minds he would somewhat always prevail. There are even countries and empires which Alexander the Great has conquered and beat, where he did not lose a single battle or suffer a single defeat. Talk about flawless victory, battles in places such as Syria and Egypt were a mismatch for the infallible Alexander the Great. Like a chess master, Alexander the Great is capable of thinking several steps ahead of his opponents. At the battles of Gaugamela and Hydaspes, “He foresaw precisely the sequence of moves by his own units and the compulsion it would place on his enemies” Even when situations were unsure, Alexander the Great always seemed to know the right course of action
Alexander the Great has been considered for centuries as a military genius and influenced conquerors such as Hannibal the Carthaginian, the Romans Pompey, Caesar and Napoleon. Although, he inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army, Alexander was capable to display his leadership and military capabilities. In 338 B.C., his father, King Phillip II, gave Alexander a commanding post among the senior generals as the Ma...
Even if some tend to assume that Alexander truly was great, one cannot fully argue with the fact that Alexander had a huge ego, and he could barely maintain it himself. He was only twenty years old when he launched his invasion of the Persian Empire, and he could have had such a bright future that allowed him to deserve the title of great. Yet even Alexander’s army turned back after eight years of marching due to the fact that his ego could not wrap around the idea that all of these battles remained useless. Conquering so much land for personal pleasures just demonstrates how power hungry Alexander truly was. The city name Alexandria appears eleven times on the map of his empire. He was so conceited that he wanted people to know how much land
Alexander was brought up admiring Homeric heroes, and was inspired by their emotional impulses. Alexander wanted to be seen as braver than brave, the mostly kingly of kings, and the greatest of all generals. Alexander wanted to identify with mythical and divine conquerors, such as Dionysus. Anaxarchus, a Greek philosopher whom accompanied Alexander at the school of Democritus, said that Alexander had better claims to be a god than Dionysus and Heracles, due to Alexander’s grand accomplishments. Alexander was inspired by Homer’s hero Achilles, and his aspiration for greatness – he even saw himself as a reincarnation of this Homeric hero. Alexander’s desire to explore west Egypt hailed from his mystical belief in his destiny, whereas others argue that it was an attempt to strengthen his position with his new subjects. Callisthenes – the official historian – said that it was due to Alexander’s “thirst for glory because he heard Hercules and Peruses had gone there before him” and he wanted to emulate these Homeric heroes. He was motivated by Homeric ideals such as personal achievement and glory, accomplished largely in warfare. Alexander’s siege of Aornus was carried out because Hercules had failed a similar attempt, and Arrian wrote that Alexander crossed the Gedrosian Desert because “no one else with an army had done so successfully” (Anab.
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.
He was also influential and clever. In each conquest, Alexander retained local officials who were loyal to him and he appointed Macedonian governors to the province capitals. He founded administrative capitals to control the regions. He founded Alexandria, Egypt which became the cultural capital of Mediterranean in the ancient world. Nevertheless, he also began to wear Persian clothing and he encouraged his soldiers to do the same in order to keep the peace. Therefore, he executed the men who resisted obeying his order. He married with a Persian and he encouraged his soldiers to marry with Persians to mix the culture. Persians loved Alexander and they respected him like he was a Persian like them. Even the Persian army joined with Alexander by will. That is why he controlled his massive empire without riots and this proves that he was very influential and clever.