How Did Alexander The Great Influence The Contemporary World

Jewel Monroe
Taking Sides Research

“An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.” ― Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, one of the greatest and most successful generals in all of history was a brilliant, patient and often devious man that never struck without careful planning. Alexander made decisions with great speed and took astonishing risks, his success was achieved by his show of sheer force and will to overcome. During his lifetime, he defeated the Persians and Greeks, conquered Egypt and Asia Minor, and secured the Mediterranean Sea. Yes, Alexander the Great was gallant, but he was also malicious. He killed thousands while leading his men through the toughest of situations. He was a man who let no resistance go scot-free. On one hand Alexander was a man who brought great devastation, while he set free great social and cultural energy, Alexander’s legacy was left for all to see. Alexander the Great changed the world in several important ways. He brought to the Greeks a new way of fighting. He brought to the Persians the Greek way of life. Greek culture prospered in east Asia and India. He brought to everyone in his empire a view of the wide world. Three great world religions rose in the Hellenistic culture of the Near East.

Alexander's legend and legacy can be seen in art and story all over the ancient world.
Alexander was born in 356 BC at Pella, the capital of Macedon, a kingdom north of Hellas, He was the son of Philip II who was the king of Macedonia and Olympias who was the princess of Epirus. Alexander received his earliest education under the tutelage of Leonidas. Leonidas, who had been hired by King Phillip to teach Alexander math, horsemanship and archery, struggled to control his rebellious student. Alexander's next tutor was Lysimachus, who used role-playing to capture the restless boy's attention. Alexander particularly delighted in impersonating the warrior Achilles. In 343 B.C., King Philip II hired the philosopher Aristotle to tutor Alexander at the Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza. Over the course of three years, Aristotle taught Alexander philosophy, poetry, drama, science and politics. Seeing that Homer's Iliad inspired Alexander to dream of becoming a heroic warrior, Aristotle created an abbreviated version of the tome for Alexander to carry with him on military campaigns. Alexander completed his education at Meiza in 340 B.C. A year later, while still just a teen, he became a soldier and embarked on his first military expedition, against the Thracian tribes.

In 336BC at the young age of 20 he inherited the powerful empire of Macedonia in the wake of his father's death, with this inheritance he gained control of it’s army which consisted of 30,000 infantries and 3,000 cavalries. This was said to be the best trained standing army of the time. Alexander wanted to be glorified as the greatest general; the only way he knew how to do this was by conquering other cities, so he did. Within ten years he had defeated the Persians, defeated Egypt, India, Iran and even Afghanistan. With this he was said to be one of the greatest generals.

Alexander the Great’s military strategies and tactics are studied in military academies today. From his first victory, Alexander had a reputation of leading his men to battle with remarkable speed, allowing smaller forces to reach and break the enemy lines before his enemies were ready. After securing his kingdom in Greece, in 334 B.C. Alexander crossed into Asia where he won a series of battles with the Persians under Darius III. The foundation of Alexander’s fighting force was the 15,000-strong Macedonian phalanx, whose units held off the sword-wielding Persians with 20-foot-long pikes called sarissa. As Alexander's empire expanded, the Greek culture spread and merged with other cultures. In the lands he conquered after the battles, he treated his enemies with respect and honor and taught them Greek culture and ideas. Greek quickly became the language of trade and commerce and people from all over the empire benefited from its common use. They could now understand each other easily whatever their personal culture and language. Use of a common language also led to widespread appreciation of Greek art, drama and philosophy. Even though Alexander’s rule was short lived, his influence on eastern and western culture cannot be contradicted. His legacy was the spread of Greek influenced culture to most of the known world which lasted for several centuries after his death. New empires emerged and merged Hellenism with their own culture to create some of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world.

Alexander the Great has influenced the contemporary world is by founding many cities.

Alexander the Great did not choose to found these cities on friendliness alone. He chose these cities strategically, many of these cities had excellent trade routes and were in good locations to be defended. Some of the cities Alexander the Great founded fell apart after his death, but many of these cities were still thriving a century later. These thriving cities had high populations and were modernized for their era. Alexander the Great influenced the modern world by founding these cities because it established cities that are still around today and it also spread many Greeks throughout these

cities.

Alexander was a great military commander, he had the ability to lead men into Battle, and determine a tactic and strategy. He was also politically smart, after uniting Greece he knew that he was a threat to the Greek Senate, and the Senate was a threat to him, he demanded to be considered a God and therefore above man and the Senate. The Senate would and could not do this, He decided to launch a campaign against Greeks traditional enemy Persia. He set out with a moderate force and never came back. He managed to conquer the majority of the known world and stumbled into India.

Alexander the Great was a greedy and atrocious leader. He did a great deal of things that would be scowled upon today. Alexander the Great was not great at all according to some he was a voracious and insensitive human being. Alexander slaughtered innocent holy men, he treated his troops with disrespect and disregard. Likewise, he was a reckless and negligent military leader. Alexander the Great did a great deal of revolting things. For instance, while he was conquering India, he met with the Brahmins to learn of Hinduism, and then, after he learned what he wanted to know, then he would execute the Brahmins. Furthermore, when Alexander was fighting with King Porus of India, he would find natives of the towns, and if they resisted and attempted to flee he would have them killed.

Additionally, Alexander the Great was a man that did not let anything stand in his way. If something was not in his way, he would demolish it for the fun of it. This applies to more than buildings and structures; Alexander the Great was known for ruthlessly slaughtering entire villages. It is estimated that Alexander the Great slaughtered over one hundred thousand innocent men, and enslaved tens of thousands of innocent women, and children. Alexander the Great would conquer a city, claim the riches for himself then, sell the innocent citizens into slavery. If he defeated an army, and the army retreated, Alexander would chase down the receding armies, and slaughter them. He had no respect for anybody including his own men.

Alexander of Macedon, or ancient Mecadonia, deserves to be called the "Great". Alexander the Great was considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times, yes he can also be considered not great but his achievement’s through out his reign were higher than the horrible things he did. He was an excellent king, general, and conqueror. During his reign he conquered almost all the then known world and gave a new direction to history he had established an empire after he died. His new empire helped many people live their lives. He improved the way of life in his empire in many ways, conquering other lands spread the Greek traditions and language.

WORK CITED

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Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.