The Conquests and Legacy of Alexander the Great Essay

Alexander the Great was king of the Macedonians and one of the greatest generals in history. As a student of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, Alexander was embedded with lasting interests in philosophy, politics and warfare. As king, he settled problems by immediate action, making quick decisions and taking great risks. His armies overcame these risks by sheer force and by the ingenious tactics instilled in them by Alexander. He and his armies conquered the Persian Empire, which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to India and formed much of what was then considered the civilized world. Through his conquests, Alexander helped spread Greek ideas, customs and laws throughout Asia and Egypt and adopted a uniform

Alexander the Great, born of King Philip of Macedonia, was one of the greatest conquerors of history. In my opinion, Alexander was a great leader and warrior. For example, in Document B, Alexander used strategy to win over a battle. The strategy he used was complicated, but well thought out; Alexander moved his troops in all different directions to keep Porus puzzled, and took his cavalry to various points along the river bank where he would create a war cry so that Porus would parallel the movements on the other sides of the river until he no longer responded. Now Porus elephants were boxed in, and the elephants trampled their own men because they had no driver's upon them. In this way Alexander won a battle, and through his cleverness, he

Alexander’s empire stretched from the Aegean Sea to the Indus River. (Doc. 3) The land he controlled had many different terrains and would have been different to obtain, but Alexander’s desire to control the “whole world” consumed him. Even when he controlled a large amount of land, he still wanted to gain more and more. (Doc. 2) With a feather-plumed helmet and himself on a horse in the very front of every battle, Alexander made himself an easy target for enemies. (Doc. 6) This is a brave and courageous gesture he made every battle and he knew the dangers of doing that, but still did it anyway. Alexander’s vast land he conquered connected many of these cities and eventually created the Hellenistic Era. In the city of Persepolis, Alexander took over and added it to his collection of cities he now controlled. (Doc. 4) Both saying positives and negatives about Alexander, the document remain

Alexander the so-called ‘Great’ was a legendary conqueror who in his short lifetime was able to overthrow the Persian Empire, the most powerful kingdom at that time. He was born in 356 BCE to King Philip and Queen Olympia of Macedonia. Alexander’s warring career jumpstarted at the age of 20 in the year 336 BCE, due to the assassination of his father in which he inherited his father’s kingdom. Over the span of 11 years, Alexander and his small fleet of men of about 40,000 took over and ruthlessly conquered the Persian Empire. Sadly, this conquest was short-lived by Alexander’s sudden death in the year 323 BCE, in which his unstable kingdom with a lack of a structured governmental system quickly broke apart in the period of 10 years. Therefore, because of the cruel and the disorganized nature of the way Alexander the ‘Great’ conquered and maintained the Persian Empire, he does not deserve to be referred as ‘Great’.

Does that not seem to you like betrayal and rejection of his own people? Alexander could never have had it both ways. As the conquerors we will never accept the customs of the conquered. Political move it may have been, but it was the wrong one. At the trial of the royal pages conspiracy, it was stated to Alexander that he abhorred the customs of his own country. Thus it was the king of Persians, not of the Macedonians that they wanted to kill13. Alexander has simply become so far removed from his own people that some do not even see him as their own king. The plot against his life was to pursue him as a deserter in accordance with the conventions of war14. When a sailor rescued Alexander’s crown from the sea and placed it on his own head to keep it dry and out of harm’s way, he was rewarded handsomely for the rescue. When it was pointed out by another to Alexander that the crown had been on another’s head, regardless of the situation he had the same man promptly executed on the belief that it was a bad omen. With the adoption of Persian luxury came outright abuse of power and skewed

Only a small number of people in the world have ever earned the title, "Great". Alexander III of Macedonia is one of lucky few. Alexander the Great started his reign in Macedonia at the age of twenty after his father was assassinated. He then proceeded to expand his kingdom to the largest in the world. So, just how great was he? Alexander the Great was an undeniably brilliant military strategist, yet you could still argue that he doesn't deserve his title because of his cruel treatment of his conquered people and massive ego. This paper will cover his greatness, not-so-greatness, and why he can be a little bit of both.

Alexander had been taught many things from a very young age such as academic subjects, politics, sports, and warfare which made him think very highly of himself. His father Philip of Macedonia made an extremely strong army and took over many Greek polises and wanted to take over the Persian Empire. This struck Alexander’s aspiration to take over the Persian Empire as well. Alexander then inherited his father’s kingdom at the age of 18 after his father

His Coup D’œil in battle gained him great victories on the Granicus and at Issus. He was then able to aptly transition these victories into his campaign objectives which supported his clear goal of conquering all of Persia with as little bloodshed as possible. He won decisive victories at key points to ensure that he would be able to operate his sieges against the Persian cities that were hesitant to surrender to him. Simply put, Alexander, one of history’s greatest military geniuses, utilized all the aspects of his Kingdom to wage a highly effective war against the Persian King Darius that eventually resulted in the creation of one of the largest empire’s in

Alexander the Great is without doubt one of the greatest military leaders of history. Not only did Alexander of Macedon conquer enormous areas of the known world but also he demonstrated dynamic leadership and masterful strategy on a large scale and tactics on the battlefield. During his life, he ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen, which stretched from ancient Greece to India. The son of King Phillip II of Macedon, Alexander was educated by the philosopher Aristotle and first led Macedonian troops at age 18. Many times Alexander was worshipped as a god in some of the countries he ruled. He had a huge impact on world history spreading the seeds of western culture and philosophy across the world and has legends and stories

Alexander the Great is remembered as a conquering man who built one of the largest empires. Some describe him as a man with a vision of world harmony. Others see him as a blood thirsty man with a mental illness. One thing that cannot be argued is that he and his empire are fascinating studies. From his rise to power to his mysterious death is interesting, but even after he died the story is fascinating. Due to his death, his empire was divided and a long power-struggle began starting with his generals. Each account has its own story of war and betrayal. These days must have been hard for those in power; they never knew who they could trust. Only the ones who were skilled in the strategy of war and ruthless enough to maintain their power

Alexander the Greats' lifetime goal was to be a better ruler than his father was, this lead to his passion for expansion of his empire (Alexander the Great: Man behind the Legend). This passion is what drove him to lead his troop up Mountain Hindu Kush, even though he knew how dangerous it was, Alexander lead his troops up the mountain to do a surprise attack (Alexander the Great biography). The historians say that to go on the path Alexander did, up the mountain, would be impossible for pretty much everyone besides Alexander the Great and his army (. This passion lead to his victory. When one has a passion, there is very little that can be done to stop one from either succeeding or to die trying. Alexander won battles that historians say he should not have won; but because of his passion, he won anyways (Alexander the Great: man behind the legend). For example, he was in battles where he was outnumbered three to one but he still managed to win. he also lost 2/3rds of his troop in the desert

As seen in “World History, Patterns of Interaction”: Alexander promised his people a better life and said the expansion of his kingdom would be beneficial for them, “Alexander announced plans to organize and unify his empire. He would construct new cities, roads, and harbors and conquer Arabia” (145). His promises were empty and shortly after his death there was no sign that their new leaders, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Seleucus would attempt to fulfill his pledge. Alexander’s facade, duty towards his people, was broken after his death, his failure to follow through on his promises is not that of a great leader. Document E is a chart of events under and after Alexander’s rule.

The life of Alexander the Great could not be told without first introducing his father, King Philip II of Macedonia. King Philip II came into power at the age of 24 in 359 BC after his brother Perdiccas III, the former king, had died in battle against the Illyrians. (Anson, pg. 43) What King Philip II inherited from the previous king was a land plagued by frequent invasions from nearly all directions. Macedonia during the start King Philip II reign was divided by powerful landowners called the hetairoi. Despite all odds, King Philip II caused Macedonia to rise up and dominate the Greek peninsula: “As noted in previous chapter, he had transformed Macedonia from a virtual geographical expression, beset by invasion from the tribal north, east, and west, and faced with constant interference from the southern Greek city-states, into a nation…” (Anson, pg. 85) Before King Philip II, in regards to infantry, Macedonia was undoubtable weak. (Green, pg. 50) King Philip II conquered most of the Greek world with troops known as the Macedonian phalax, and later on, the Macedonian phalax would be a spring board for Alexander the Great’s military achievements. The legacy that King Philip II left Alexander was one of great achievement. However, the legacy of Alexander the Great would out shine that of his father’s. This report will try to encapsulate the life of Alexander the Great in three stages: Boyhood, kingship, and abrupt death.

Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia and was a great conqueror in 330 BC. He was the son of King Philip II and Queen Olympia. During his childhood, he had an interest in courses like medicine, science, and philosophy. He was tutored by the philosopher, Aristotle, and was influenced by Homer’s Iliad, which made him a great conqueror after he was motivated by the main character in the epic, Achilles. After he was proclaimed as king, he led series of attacks and invasions with his army into Asia Minor in around 320 BC. He was known for his cultural achievements, military strategies, and his empire administration. In fact, he conquered more land at a faster rate than any other commanders. Out of all military leaders known in history, Alexander

It is particularly difficult to assess Alexander as a statesman, for his views as a statesman were in a state of flux when he died. His political creations were still in a developmental stage and had as yet take definite shape, but Alexander did display political wisdom by separating financial, civil and military power. One of his great achievements was his financial measure in reforming the coinage and bringing into line with each other the decimal currency of Persia with the duodecimal system of Macedonia. This was not only a great contribution to economic prosperity throughout the empire, but also impeded Athens as competition and involved her as a trading partner instead. Alexander also entertained a grandiose plan for uniting the East and the West in a world empire of racial equality. Unfortunately, this did not succeed as he planned. Nevertheless, the King's conquest and findings of