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 …show more content…
The Macedonians, who had won so many battles in Europe and set off to invade Asia ... got encouragement from him - he reminded them of their permanent values. They were the world's liberators and one day they would pass the frontiers set by Hercules and Father Liber. They would subdue all races on Earth. Bactria and India would become Macedonian provinces. Getting closer to the Greeks, he reminded them that those were the people (the Persians on the other side) who provoked war with Greece, ... those were the people that burned their temples and cities ... As the Illyrians and Thracians lived mainly from plunder, he told them to look at the enemy line glittering in gold ..." (Q. Curtius Rufus 3.10.4-10) “Darius's army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, but the Battle of Issus ended in a big victory for Alexander. Tens of thousands of Persians, Greeks, and other Asiatic soldiers were killed and king Darius fled” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). In all the Persians lost “one hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand cavalry while Alexander only lost twelve hundred. These numbers are Greek estimates” (Web, necromatics). The number of murdered infantry in the Battle of Issus and Alexander’s determination to kill, kill,
Son: I believe the reasons he bought the successors to Susa far justify the hostility many veterans, including you, father, may feel about the event. Alexander had the intention of repatriating those veterans who were too wounded or old to continue through the difficult conditions they faced. With no Macedonian troops available to replace them immediately and the strain of having to constantly send back to Macedonia for reinforcements, Alexander had no choice but to turn to the Persians who were trained in Macedonian infantry tactics. This army of course, owed more personal loyalty to Alexander rather than the tiring Macedonians who served him for regional interests17.
According to the TCI Textbook’s section on Alexander the Great, “Fighting Persia would help unite Greece by giving them a common enemy,” (pg 315 Para 8). Even though people believe this, and that they are right in the fact that he united Greece, the way that he united his Country is not heroic in any way, shape, or form. He united Greece by giving them an enemy to kill. Hero’s will unite nations because of their leadership, and because of their ability to inspire. All that Alexander did to unite his people was conquer and kill. He wasn’t protecting anyone when he started attacking Persia, it was needless, as Persia had retreated during the Persian wars, they had admitted defeat, but Alexander didn’t care about that. And even though Greece loved him, there is no looking past how he made them love
In the fourth century BC, rapid cultural, economic, social, and political changes were occurring in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. In 337 BC, Alexander the Third inherited the Macedonian kingdom after his father, Philip the Second, died. Philip the Second has already taken control over all of Greece, and Alexander used the manpower and money from this to expand even further, into Persia. Beginning in 334 BC, Alexander started an intense campaign through Persia, concurring city after city. Eventually, Alexander had conquered all of Persia and forced the Persian king Darius the third to the city of Ecbatana, where he was killed. Instead of returning to Greece after his victory over the Persian
Alexander was a military genius. Alexander conquered a large amount of land (Doc A). The map shows that there were many battles that were fought throughout greece. He also founded many cities in the land he conquered. Alexander also was smart about
Alexander inherited Macedonia at age twenty, and he set out to conquer Persia immediately which was considered the most powerful kingdom in the world. Alexander was to born to be a king. He was taught by Aristotle training and excelling in politics, sports, and warfare. He even eventually grew such a high belief of himself that he considered himself to be a god. News spread of his great power intimidating many rulers resulting in some of them surrendering. From many years of fighting he sustained many injuries weaking hi health. He became ill while feasting and later died at age thirty three. Some people believed he may have died from Malaria but no one can ever be sure. One thing that will also remain a mystery is why Alexander did not name an heir to the throne. Therefor, his officers split up the land causing the kingdom to weaken and eventually fall. Three centuries later he was praised by Julius Caesar in accomplishing so much in such little time. How Great was Alexander the
Hardly any other historians have earned a reputation as virtuous as Alexander the Great. In just thirteen years, Alexander was not only discerned as a military genius, but became exceedingly notorious for conquering Persia and known as the King of Macedonia. Many hold him responsible for the unification of Greece and the Hellenistic age; the blending of cultures. After Alexander had extended the control of his empire past the Asia Minor, Egypt, Central Asia and on to Persia, he was competent to effectively manage and incorporate other cultures and people under his rule by disseminating Greek culture, embracing religion with encouragement, and respecting other cultures with gratification to customs.
Through 336 to 323 bc, Alexander was the king of Macedon. Alexander The Great always wanted to have supreme power over humans. He also led a group called the Corinthian League. This league entrusted Alexander with many military power to fight with Persia. A little while after, he proceeded to conquer the Persian Empire, making himself one of the best military leaders in ancient time. In October, 335 bc, Alexander decided to go back to Macedon and get ready for his expedition in Asia. He had numerous amounts of troops with ships. Alexander’s resources were much more superior to Darius. He had a very well trained army. Alexander had a huge expansion on his empire called Hellenism also known as a spread culture from Mediterranean to Asia. His army troops made passages through mountainous areas leading to an expansion of trade routes from Europe to Asia. These routes allowed religious and cultural trading between the east and west. Alexander’s group had a safe trade route in the cities where no one had to fear. Alexander defeated a very large Persian army. He also conquered Syria and after Syria, he conquered Egypt in 331 bc. Alexander the great succeeded in making the biggest Western Empire in Ancient time. Alexander also united the Greeks together. The spirit of
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty, an ancient Greek royal house. Also, he was a king of conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He was inspiration for later conquerors such as Napoleon, Hannibal the Carthaginian, and the Romans Pompey and Caesar (Brand). He was born on July 356 BC, Pella and died on June 323 BC, Babylon. He was the son of King Philip II and queen Olympia.
Alexander of Macedonia has been titled ¨the great” for centuries, but for multiple reasons “the villain” is more fitting for him. First of all, Alexander burned cities to the ground if they revolted. Any that survived were sold into slavery. Can you imagine any hero that would do that to people? No. One of many times he did this is with the city of Thebes. In Mr. Corwin's video on Alexander, viewers learn that after Alexander took over, the thebans revolted against him, and his rule. Afterwards, alexander burned the city of Thebes to the ground, as to make an example of what happened if you messed with him. It was on horrific bonfire that you would not wish to see. In the end everyone died. In addition to that cruel act, he also gave a very
It started when he plunged into the river and darted up the sharp edge to drive a wedge within the Persian cavalry. For a number of minutes, his weakened companions were outnumbered and alone as the phalanx followed through the water. If the Persians would have placed their Greek mercenaries along the banks, it would have been nearly hopeless for the Macedonians to cut across a river, climb a bank, and then ride into the face of Greek spearmen. In his first brutal invasion at the Granicus, he had trapped the Greek mercenaries and killed all except 2,000 whom he had sent back in chains to Macedon. An estimate of how many he massacred was between 15,000 and 18,000 Greeks after the battle was won which had killed more Hellenes in a single day. Moreover, Alexander was someone who stayed with a pattern of battle in which he would analyze a complicated sequence of events that appeared at all three of his successional major battle at Issus (333), Gaugamela (331), and the Hydaspes (326). Lastly, he would fight all of his battles on or near
Alexander III of Macedon, or as commonly known by the infamous name of Alexander the Great, had a dream of circumnavigating the world to finally see the ocean from both sides of the world. There were obstacles that were in between the objective of his conquest, other civilizations that were very foreign to his people. As commonly done in this current era of the world, the civilizations were conquered in order to improve on to the current state of another one’s empire. Alexander the Great had intentions that were simple, to civilize the foreign nations and to leave a long lasting legacy under his name. This task was not easy where he had to explore the middle east, encounter the challenges that he had to go through, and exchange his model of a perfect society to the conquered nations.
Alexander the Great is often seen as a ruthless conqueror due to his victory over the Thebans and his conquest to conquer Persia. During all of his conquering, he established many great cities and showed compassion to many rebels.
During the course of his life and reign, Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeating many kings and warlords throughout the ancient world. Perhaps his most recognized conquest was of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and its ‘King of Kings’ Darius III during the Battle of Issus 1. After defeating the Persians at the Battle
Before his father, Philip, died a Greek city called Thebes showed their loyalty to him, but with Alexander’s rise to the throne, they attempted to take back their freedom. Alexander handled this conflict expeditiously by capturing and annihilating Thebes. Like the defeat of Thebes, the battle of Issus was skimmed over.
The Babylonian and Assyrian armies were notorious for total destruction among their enemies, and Alexander the Great was a conqueror as well but with a slightly different tactical approach. Alexander the Great was more cultural than militarized when engaging with enemies and conquering them (Bethel, 2014). Alexander the Great differed from Assyria and Babylon in regards to what to do with the people left in defeated areas. Alexander the Great commanded members of his military, with high ranks as well as various members of his military, among the defeated territories to preserve the people's culture as it was before defeat (Bethel, 2014). This preservation theory was reflected by the Greek culture as it demonstrated a new and positive way in