Analyze the Two Sources of The Battle of the Granicus River

One reason Alexander was great, was because he was a military genius. As stated in document B, “When Alexander saw this, he decided to move his troops in all different directions so that Porus would be puzzled…(Doc B)”.

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

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).

Alexander recognized he could not allow the barbarian nation neighboring him grow to independent so he quashed them with the might of his army. (Doc. 1) It became obvious that the author who was responsible for writing Document 1 was biased towards Alexander when the author wrote that ONLY thirty-four of Alexander's men were killed. Alexander said that he shared the labor with his men and would not have had them do anything he would not do. (Doc. 2) When Alexander took the Persian capital of Persepolis he took the treasure from the palace and burned it to the ground. With this move, he effectively cut down upon the Persian's supplies and stroke a crippling blow to the moral of Persia's army. (Doc. 4) When Alexander and his forces were marching through a desert one of his men found a little bit of water and offered it to Alexander, when he took it he promptly dumped it all on the ground so that he could suffer along with his

For centuries, Alexander the Great has held an eminent place in history. Arguably one of the greatest men the world has ever known, the Macedonian King accomplished many great feats in his short, but glorious life. During his reign, Alexander played several roles in the process of conquering the Persian empire, and in the assessment of his character, aspects of Alexander's capabilities of both strengths and weaknesses must be explored in him as a person, a statesman and a leader.

In document C it states “In the end, however, the causeway was completed and Alexander’s army smashed into the city.”, this is saying that even if the fight was 7 months he would never quit (Doc C). While on the move back to Greece Alexander’s followers wanted to quit and didn’t want to go on, so some stayed behind while he went on and “conquered the world” (Doc F). “At the time, Persia was probably the most powerful kingdom in the world. This mattered little to Alexander. Using his disciplined cavalry and infantry in both ways, Alexander fought his way through lands controlled by Persia - across Asia Minor, down the Mediterranean coast, into Egypt, and then to Mesopotamia. There he defeated a huge Persian army at Gaugamela.” (BGE). This quote is saying that even though Persia may be strong and powerful Alexander would still get his way wherever he went. This evidence helps explain why Alexander was great because when going through the difficult parts of his battles he would always stay strong and brave through it all despite the hard

Alexander the great was a military genius here is why. In Document B it states that "Alexander got him into the habit of making these corresponding movement. This actually went on for quite a long time Porus no longer reacted." Alexander used this as a way to get Porus to not react any longer so he disbelieved that Alexander was going to start the

As seen by Document A, Alexander named a total of eleven cities “Alexandria” in his own honor. By naming these places solely after himself, he dismissed any credit that should’ve rightfully been given to those who helped him establish these cities. In doing so, he also showed how conceited and self-centered he was, and no great leader would possess such qualities. Furthermore, Document D consists of two legends about Alexander: The Legend of the Helmet and The Legend of the Hat Band. Since they are legends, there is no guarantee that their words hold any factual integrity. However, since a legend’s purpose is to pass down stories within a culture, it is reasonable to conclude that they both reveal at least some truth about the historic figure. The first, coming from the same source as Document B, tells the tale of Alexander and his army undergoing a grueling trek across the desert before finally discovering water. However, when a party of his soldiers offered him a helmet full of the coveted and much-needed liquid, Alexander chose to deny it and simply poured it on the ground “in full view of his troops”. Some say that this was a mere symbol of equality and an act of selflessness, but there was nothing selfless in wasting such an essential resource that was rarely come across. The leader thought so highly of himself that he not only decided to squander

Secondly, Alexander wasn’t great because he was ruthless. In Document E it states, “Estimated enemy soldiers and civilians killed in four major battles was 100,000” (Doc. E). The documents proves that Alexander wasn’t great because that was only the number of enemies of Alexander, and it didn’t include his own soldiers he forced to go into 4 major battles, probably killing thousands of soldiers each battle. He also went and killed innocent civilians who had nothing to do with the fighting, but were still killed in the battle. In addition, Document B stays, “...Alexander then threw his calvary in a circle around the entire force, and ordered the infantry to lock shields, to group tightly and to advance as a phalanx…” (Doc. B). This fact proves

Alexander was a good general, he won lots of wars, and had great strategies. The article states,”He realized that he could not cross at the point… When Alexander saw this, he[decided] move his troops in all different directions so that Porus would keep puzzled,”(Arrianus, Document B). Alexander had a good idea, if Porus and Alexander went head on head it would be even but, if Alexander could attack Porus from all different sides he has an advantage. The article says,”At night he would take most of his cavalry to various points along the river bank where he would create a clamour, raise the war cry and produce all other such noises as would come from men preparing to cross river,”(Arrianus, Document B). Alexander made the noise so Puros would get his men ready for war but, Alexander figured out Porus movements, and he could then send his troops to attack Porus. Alexander was a great conquer because he had so many great strategies when he went into war, helping him expand his vast

“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,

First of all, Alexander was great because of his intelligence. Alexander showed intelligence when he was about to go to battle with Porus, but he made a choice to turn around with his troops and go the other way so it would confuse Porus. In document B it says this when it says “When Alexander saw this, he decided to move his troops in all different directions so

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

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

The arrangements ended up being parallel to that of the battle of Issus. However, realizing that the Persian cavalry was moderately powerful, Alexander reinforced his wings and ordered them to lengthen if there was any risk of being out-flanked. These well designed decisions would have made a huge impact on the final outcome of the battle, this shows Alexander’s ability to adapt his tactics to suit different situations and develop ways to overcome problems that may occur.