Alexander’s first taste of being a leader must have been sweet because after he earned the trust of the Greek people, he led them into battle against other nations. Alexander’s father conquered Greece, but Alexander had larger goals in mind (Bauer). Alexander was very offensive in battle, and soon had campaigns in many countries including Egypt, Babylonia, Persis, Media, Bactria, the Punjab, and the Indus River Valley (Lendering). In Alexander’s 15 years of conquest, Alexander never once lost a single battle (Barksdale). Soon, Alexander had conquered all of Asia Minor and Northern Egypt (Lendering). Alexander was the king of Macedonia, king of Greece, King of Asia Minor, and Pharoah of Egypt all at the same time, talk about a multi-tasker (Alexander the Great 1). He led very successful conquests in these countries, and was a good leader during these times. Alexander wanted just one more thing: Persia.
Alexander went to Corinth for the assembly of the Greek league and was named the supreme commander of all Greece. At that time the Thebans’ revolted; he destroyed everything in their city except the temples. This served as a reminder to the other communities and tribes in Macedonia respected and honored Alexander. He proceeded to conquer the Asia Minor, and used his knowledge to plan and organize the army. During the Persian expedition Alexander had in his army more than 100 000 but only a few fought. Alexander honored veterans; he left them in charge of cities. He was a military genius and could change his army within seconds and used to make decisions as fast as possible. He could even change his plan of action if the enemy changed plans. To him it was not about numbers but leadership and plan in battle. The first commander to have backup reserves was Alexander; this affected the way wars were staged and fought in the coming years. Alexander defeated the Persians; he was an unwavering fighter and fought with his soldiers. He conquered the Phoenician coast, Syria and Egypt (Louis, W. R, 1984).
After Alexander the Great’s father was killed, Alexander was forced to assume his role as king of Macedonia. Enemies of his empire thought this would be a perfect time to strike the Macedonian Empire but Alexander was prepared, taught by great military minds he was able to create one of the largest empires of the ancient world.
He was masterful at changing the psychology of his troops. “The Macedonians…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.” Notice how he flipped murdering and conquering into “liberating” the conquered lands.
Alexander III of Macedonia was born in July of 356 B.C.E. on the day of his birth King Philip II, Alexanders father, emerged victorious in a battle with the Illyrian and Paeonia armies, the same day that rumored to be the day the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus burned to the ground. During Alexander’s childhood he was raised in strict and fancy manner that only children of importance participated in. Until the young prince was sixteen he was tutored by the famous philosopher Aristotle. The young prince also learned the ways of battle and would eventually lead to the expansion of Macedonia. Was Alexander the Great solely responsible for the expansion of Macedonia after he received his father’s entire experienced army to take a battle and fight
336 B.C- 20 year old Alexander is crowned king of a newly built empire. The son of Phillip of Macedonia, he is expected to lead a great life, as a conqueror and politician. Trained by Aristotle, his battle tactics are honed down to that of an expert, and he is to become one of the greatest strategists the world has ever seen. It took 20 years for his father to unite the Greek city-states, with different governments and beliefs, but finally, Phillips dream empire is built (Greenblatt and Lemmo 193-194). But even with Alexander’s big empire, he is still far from a great man, also regarding his strategy and influence. It is because of his brutality to the people he encountered and conquered, of his greed and power-hunger, of which drove him to
The story of Alexander the Great begins, as one might expect, with his father. Alexander was the son of Philip II, King of Macedonia, who had already made a name for himself. Philip became king to a land surrounded by foes on every side in 359 B.C., but by 356 B.C. he had squashed most of them and built the strongest army in the world (Savill 4). His father was an accomplished ruler who was not willing to sit by and let his land be beset by those who would see it harm. Philip used his army to expand his territory into Greece, first by subduing the northern regions, which included the Athenian port of Amphipolis. He then set his eyes to Athens and Thebes, defeating them at the battle of Chaeronea (Stoneman 18). This battle would be described as some as the end of Greek freedom. After the battle, Philip created the League of Corinth, a treaty of sorts, that basically said Greece was under Philip’s control. Philip had conquered Greece, and he now set his eyes on Persia. He would not make any progress towards his conquest, as he was assassinated in 336 B.C. by one of his bodyguards. Some would argue that Alexander may have had a part in his assassination
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)
Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Even at an early age, Alexander had the promise to become a great leader. Through all his victories and conquests, he has become a great hero and has had a large impact on history. That is why I chose he book Alexander the Great, by J.R. Hamilton for my review. Hamilton does a very good job with the story of Alexander the Great.
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.
Alexander the Great, Macedonian King (365-323 B.C.), was the son King Philip II and Queen Olympias, who was one of the best kings at that time. He was known conquering the Mediterranean and Persian Empire. Alexander was called the “Great” because of his military mindset and dexterous skills in conquering lands (Mark1). As a young boy, he was put through school and was tutored by a Greek Philosopher, Aristotle (History1). He was also taught to fight and ride by Leonidas of Epirus (Mark1). Then at the age of eighteen, as a prince, he took charge of the Companion Cavalry and helped his father in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea (History1). Alexander the Great, conqueror of the Persian Empire, was noted for his leadership,
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 the Great is dead. In his life time, his Macedonian Kingdom was the biggest empire humanity had seen up at that time. With his death however, this empire would never be the same as many family and friends became worst enemies. These are the war of his successors. On June 11 323 B.C., Alexander the Great passed away in Babylon. He had a left a formidable empire, stretching from Greece to India. Yet its fate was far from certain. Alexander’s only living child was deemed illegitimate. His half brother Aridarus was mentally ill and though one of his wives Roxana was pregnant, there was no guarantee the child would be a boy. A clash with the authority began and one of Alexander’s greatest generals, Perdiccas emerged as the victor. Aridarus became king as Phillip
Alexander the Great left him home in Macedonia in 336 BC with the goal of conquering all of Persia after the death of his father. Alexander the Great traveled north and defeated the Persians who were led by Memnon a Greek mercenary at the Battle of River Granicus. He defeated Memnon another time at Halicarnassus along the coast of Asia Minor. The kIng of Macedonia, Darius, constantly underestimated Alexander's skill in battle causing Alexander to have upset wins. He was winning so many battles and was making progress towards his goal. This made