Alexander The Great Culture

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 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’.

Jonathan Hulbert Professor Valentine Western Civilizations November 30, 2014 Research Paper Alexander the Great was just a boy when he rose to power in the midst of strife and turmoil to build an empire the likes of which the world had never seen until then. This boy, a Macedonian of a royal bloodline, unified Greece, and conquered the Middle East, Egypt, and the greater part of India. He was perhaps the greatest military genius of the ancient world. He not only had the ability to conquer massive empires, he also had the brain to sustain his own empire through skillful political maneuvering.

Great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate; a good example of such men is Alexander the Great. This paper seeks to explain further Alexander’s military genius and its positive impact on military impact over the past centuries. The paper also gives a well thought analysis why Alexander was so much successful in his wars and conquests. His big empire spread all the way from Gibraltar to the Punjab and in his leadership made Greek the lingua franca of his new World (Cary, M, 1932).

His legacy was due to more than just his military abilities and conquests. His ideology and methods regarding politics and culture were essential and helped with his expansion of Hellenism. The blending of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian culture allowed for unification under one rule, as their religious beliefs were not denied. As he conquered and took over different empires, Alexander founded cities which served as cultural centers of trade. The city of Alexandria, which to this day is known as a historical landmark, contributed to early Christian history and the development of a cultural and diverse empire.

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.

After many successful battles through Asia, the conquered cities were exposed to Greek cultures. Exemplified by Robert Lane Fox (2006) in The Classical World: An Epic History “The cities with Greek settlers, were centres of Greek language and Greek entertainments, including athletic games and inevitable theatre.” (p.236) At the age of 13, Alexander The Great was educated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. According to Hugh Liebert (2011) in Alexander the Great and the History of Globalization, “It is this respect for Greek culture, above all, that Alexander seems to have taken from his education under Aristotle… This orientation toward Greek culture has a profound influence on Alexander’s political action.”

Alexander the Great’s actions and decisions have significantly impacted upon the world during his time, ultimately leaving behind a legacy that can be affiliated with the westernization of the globe. He helped bring the western civilization, which included the scientific and liberal thinking of the Greeks to much of the rest of the world. He introduced a study of science for science’s sake to the nations and he is also considered as one of the most successful military commanders in history, for by the time of his death he had conquered most of the world known as Ancient Greece.

Alexander the Great’s large accomplishments in the third century BC changed the landscape of Afro-Eurasia in ancient times, and arguably through modern day. With the growth of his empire came the spread of Hellenistic culture throughout the lands he conquered. From the Mediterranean to Asia to the Middle East he helped expand trade routes and most of all the spread of ideas in religion, politics, and culture.

From conquering a culture in awe of the afterlife, Alexander was in awe of the living and spreading of present culture, intellectual stimulation, and artistic vision. It was a tactical move to embrace the Egyptian traditions, for it helped captivate the native Egyptian people, so much so that they actually embraced him as a living god and celebrated him. This permitted the integration of his beliefs and spreading of Greek ideals with the continued respect of their

Alexander the Great is considered to be one of the most important military men in history. He was the king of Macedonia who used different styles and strategic military ways to conquer his enemies and take their territories. He was able to expand his empire by conquering “majority of ancient Afro-European societies such as Phoenicia, Crete, Egypt, Mycenae, Mesopotamia and Indus Valley” Lockard 2011, p142. His military exploits made a considerable impact by altering the landscape of the Afro-Eurasians world. His conquest brought about the beginning of the Hellenic Age in the Mediterranean and Western Asia, where his influenced lasted for several years and spread.

After Alexander ravaged through Persia and North Africa, something was left behind. After he tricked cultures into thinking he was their leader, and attracting the Persians with his strict but ordered principles, something was left behind. Through conquest and curiosity Alexander the Great spread his ideas and customs, and what he left behind was a multitude of coexisting cultures. Conquest forced some of the cultures cultures to coalesce while deceit allowed others to mix. Alexander the Great brought new Grecian ideas to Persia and left behind a medley of Persian and Greek world views in his

Referring to the textbook, the assassination of Philip II led to twenty year old Alexander becoming the King of Macedonia. He is commonly referred to as "Alexander the Great". He, like his father, had a dream of invading the Persian Empire. The textbook mentions that Alexander had claimed to be descended from the Greek Hero, Heracles. Alexander also mentioned that he was pharaoh of Egypt. Going in order of the timeline, Alexander gained control into Asia minor whenever he defeated Persian king Darius III at the battle of Issus 333 B.C.E. From there he he extended control over Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Another battle with the Persian led to victory, whenever he fought at Gaugamela in 331 B.C.E.. The next move was to take over the Persian treasuries in Babylon. Darius had fled and Alexander was on a quest to find him, but Darius III was killed by his own men. With the control of the persians, he pushed his boundaries into Northwest India. Winning a brutally fought battle at the Hydaspes river, took a toll on

The men in his army, families, historians, philosophers, poets, scientists and others traveling with Alexander carried their Western customs with them and he made sure to place Greek and Macedonian people in charge of his conquests along the way. As a result, Western culture mixed with Eastern culture to create a new culture throughout Alexander’s Empire.

At a young age, Alexander believed his destiny was to exact revenge on the Persians for the burning of Athens 7, but as his campaign became longer and longer, his ideals changed and his vision for the ‘new world’ came into existence. His vision for a united Macedonia, along with conquered countries being absorbed into the empire, came with the prospect of global trade routes, intermingling of the Persian and Macedonian cultures and people, and interracial marriage between royalty of Persian and Macedonian empires 8. His vision was far more ambitious than what the Macedonian leaders had sought after: he attempted to combine the two greatest powers in the known world to create an even greater power 9. He was an idealist because where his predecessors had aimed to keep the Macedonian race ‘pure’ and rule all empires, including the Persians; Alexander sought to include the massive Persian population into the empire, utilizing their unique skills and culture, which would only benefit the kingdom as a whole 10. His many attempts to integrate the Persian people into his own included using Persian soldiers in his ranks, promoting interracial marriage, and even marrying 2 foreign princesses to better consolidate his vast empire 11. While his many attempts ultimately failed and the fragile alliance between the Persians and Macedonians fell apart, his