The Implications Of Alexander The Great's Conquests In Greece

Alexander the Great was a military mastermind he changed and defined how wars were fought and won. He was a great war general and the King of Macedonia, who conquered an empire that stretched from Balkans to modern day Pakistan. One of his most amazing achievements was that in his 13 years of conquest Alexander the Great never lost a battle. In the moment of his father's death, Alexander, then 19, was determined to seize the throne by any means necessary. The cause of Alexander’s death still remains one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. Alexander the Great was one of the most influential people of his time.

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).

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.

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 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’.

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

Alexander the Great was a king and conqueror. He is commonly referred to as “the most powerful leader of all time.” What is it that makes him such a powerful leader? What has he accomplished that has made him so significant? Were his accomplishments positive or negative? These are all questions that when combined as one create a debate that has been going on for decades. There are those who admire Alexander’s military achievements and ability to carve out the largest empire the world has seen. Then there are those who perceive him as a selfish, cruel madman with drinking problems. This paper will outline the different sides taken on Alexander and the question as to what his significance/influence was and whether it

Alexander III of Macedon is well known as Alexander the Great throughout the world. According to the standards and beliefs of the ancient historians, numerous elements contribute to recognize him as the “great.” Michael Wood’s Alexander the Great, encompasses narratives by Alexander’s biographers: Arrian, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtis Rufus. Arrian’s The Campaigns of Alexander, Plutarch’s Alexander, and Quintus Curtius Rufus’ The History of Alexander reveal brilliant episodes of the third century history and tale of adventures, defeats, and establishments by Alexander. Throughout the reading, some of the components that structure

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

The celebrated king, Alexander, has been one of the most enduring figures in history; his great skill as both a leader and a general has made him renown for 2,000 years and others have adapted his strategies and tactics. In his lifetime Alexander the Great established the greatest empire in the ancient world, and the interest regarding him has ceased to fade because we are always learning more about what he did and his personal insight on the world at his time. His achievements throughout his short yet fulfilled life provides us insight on his characterization and what made him “great”. Without him, the influence on Greek culture during the ancient world would not be near as rich as it is today, and even though his goal might not have been

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.

Alexander III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, is one of the most legendary figures in our history and in the history of the world. His conquests and endeavors echoed far and wide, bringing about new eras and ideas to the world. Alexander earned his place in the world’s history and is worthy of the title ‘The Great’ because of his military prowess, his idealism and his legacy.

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

Antigonus ruled over Asia minor, Macedonia and Thrace and in 306 BC he declared himself king of the Macedonians "The Seleucids moved to control and reform the pre-existing Persian bureaucracy, installing Greek officials and switching from clay tablets to parchment and from cuneiform to Greek or Aramaic" (Stewart, 2004).. Antigonos' attempts to take control of the whole of Alexander's empire led to his death. His son, Demetrius managed to regain control of Macedon a few yeas later but lost his throne and died in prison.

Alexander III of Macedon, widely known as Alexander the Great, is opinioned by some people to have been a ruthless man who only had a thirst for conquest , but according to others he was a man of intellect and “statesmanlike vision” (Hammond Preface). In N.G.L. Hammond’s book The Genius of Alexander the Great, as stated in the preface, he tries to refrain from writing based on his own opinion of Alexander, and instead analyzes the few surviving narratives on Alexander’s achievements in an unbiased manner. He portrays the conquests, struggles, and greatest achievements of Alexander’s career, such as the building of his empire that stretched from the eastern Mediterranean coast through Asia Minor and the