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When the conversation of who is the greatest general or emperor of all-time, a lot of names come to mind, but one stands above them all. Alexander III from Macedon stands as one if, not the best conqueror the world has ever seen. Alexander is commonly known as “Alexander the Great” for all the great things he was able to accomplish in his life, and is mostly recognized by this name. Alexander was born to be great, as he would go to inherit a great military built by his father Phillip II. He would inherit the great army and take to levels and lengths the world had never seen before. He conquer everything he laid his eyes on and would build one of the largest empires the ancient world had ever seen. Alexander should great leadership in the battlefield …show more content…
Before Alexander even took his first breath, there was already a lot of pressure for him to succeed and become the next great conqueror. King of Macedonia Phillip II was great a military leader, but according to Hugh Bowden’s “Alexander the Great, A very short introduction” he was known for having multiple wives to build alliances, but was one particular wive was different from the rest, Olympias. They had a child named Alexander who was destined to be the heir to Philip II. Alexander would go on to learn from the best as one of his tutors and teachers was Aristotle, one of the greatest minds the world had ever seen. From an early age he showed great promise as he would do extradionary things to impress his father. According to Peter G. Tsouras’ “Alexander: Invincible King of Macedonia,” he describes one of the legendary stories about Alexander, which is about the wild horse he was able to tamed, which he would name Bucephalus and would later name a city after it (Tsouras 17). Phillip II had one of the great military forces in the world, which allowed him to expand and dominate other armies. Phillip wanted to take control of all of Greece, but he needed to defeat the military forces of Athens and Thebes. Phillip decides taht Alexander is ready for …show more content…
Anxious to prove himself worthy as his father’s successor he embarked on his life’s goal, the conquest of the Persian empire. Before he could begin that journey he had to take control of all of Greece and earn the respect of his army. He would go on to do that and prove that he was worthy of the hype that surrounded him. The Macedonian’s were really religious and this wasn 't any different with Phillip II and Alexander. Before any battle or conquest they would go to the temple of Delphi to see if it was in their destiny to conquer any nation (Bowden 21-22). This would not be the last time that Alexander would visit this temple as he would go back to ask the gods if he was god, if he was invisible (Bowden 63-64). His first great battle takes place at Granicus River in Persia. He makes a bold move by crossing the Granicus river and attacking the waiting Persian army. Alexendar shows great leadership and courage as he and his men take down the Persian men to claim their first major victory in Persia (Heckel 30). Darius, the king of the Persian empire at first believed that Alexander wouldn 't create to much trouble, but as he quickly realized, Alexander was a lot different from any other Greek he had ever encounter. Darius decides to try to put an end to Alexander and his men. Darius gather his army
Alexander adopted Persian governing practices, but he had little use for Persian culture. According to his Greek biographer Plutarch, he considered himself "a governor from God and a reconciler of the world." He hoped that Greek culture would, through his actions, permeate all of Asia, inspiring its peoples to pursue virtue, excellence, and truth. This heroic idealism blended with practicality in his plan to develop the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus rivers as commercial waterways linking all of Asia These undertakings promised to be long and difficult, however, and Alexander was an impatient man. His soldiers' unwillingness to proceed past the Indus was a great disappointment to him, for which he compensated by throwing his own festivals and celebrations. Alexander showed early leadership qualities. When King Phillip invaded Thrace, he left Alexander in charge of Macedonia at the age of 16. During his father's absence, one of the Thracian tribes, the Maedi, rebelled. Alexander was able to mobilize an army and put down the rebellion. In 336 B.C, Alexander's father was assassinated, putting Alexander on the throne at the age of 20. Shortly after this, Alexander left Macedonia with his armies to put down rebellions in the countries of Illyria, Thrace and Greece, all of which had previously been conquered by King Phillip. Alexander then moved his armies into Asia Minor and began to conquer the peoples there. Among the countries conquered by Alexander were Syria, Phoenicia and
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”.
The son of Philip II, Alexander the Great, will become the conqueror of the western world. Alexander received the Macedonian empire when his father passed, he was only twenty at the time. As soon as he had the power of the Macedonian army, several lightning fast campaigns led them into the west and north. Next, he compelled the city-states that rebelled against the League of Corinth. This action demonstrated how Alexander punished disloyalty [Martin 244]. Alexander was able to keep his rule on the territories he conquered by rewarded the cities who recognized his powers and punished the individuals that betrayed his trust or ambitions. The power he possessed depended on his superior force and his unwillingly desire to use it [Martin 245]. The
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.
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’s first battle came when he was only sixteen. Philip, his father had gone away on a campaign and left Macedonia u...
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...
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.
Alexander’s first major victory was at the Granicus River. In May of 334 BC, Alexander’s army met the Persians in battle and defeated them. Following this victory, Alexander continued his march into Persia, and many towns simply surrendered, including Sardis. After a siege at Halicarnassus which Alexander eventually won, he moved on to meet the Persians again at Issus in November of 333 BC, under the command of Darius III of Persia. The Persian army had an advantage in numbers over Alexander’s, more than 2 to 1; but Alexander, using his ability to anticipate his enemies’ plans and counter them, again soundly defeated the Persians. In the midst of the battle, Darius fled. The
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...
Ptolemy briefly mentions how Alexander destroys Thebes and burns Persepolis, then gives an overview of Alexander's journey through west-Persia, including his declaration as the son of Zeus by the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis. He also points out his great battle against the Persian Emperor Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela and his eight-year campaign across Asia. The movie focuses a lot on Alexander's private relationships with his childhood friend Hephaestion and later his wife Roxana. Hephaestion compares Alexander to Achilles, to which Alexander replies that, if he is Achilles, Hephaestion must be his Patroclus, who is Achilles' best friend and his lover. Th...
In his first battle he led his army against Persian Empire and was victorious, that day was a begging of a downfall of Persia. During his Balkan campaign he was able to defeat and repulse the Thracians and Tribalians rebellious vassals. By 334-335 B.C. Alexander secured Asia Minor, where he encountered the most resistance of all of the battles. In Battle of Issus, Alexander and his army battled with the Persians led by Darius III. Hemingway & Seán (2004) explain that despite being outnumbered, Alexander succeeds the victory and claimed the Persian Empire. Through he had conquered Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Bactria and Sogdiana, he still wanted to continue his campaigns and later proclaimed himself the King of
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.
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
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).