Alexander the Great Essay

Alexander the Great Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias. He was born on July 20, 356 B.C in Pella, the capital city of Macedonia. His father was married to eight wives and mostly spent his time conquering the possible neighboring territories. Philip was well known for his ability to effectively conquer the other territories which Alexander grew up witnessing. He basically modelled the Macedonian army converting them from mere citizen-warriors to high profile professionals. Although he was injured in battle to the extent of losing his eye, he kept on fighting.

Since Philip wanted his son to be successful, he ensured that he received the best and noteworthy education. He arranged for Alexanders education to be handled by Aristotle. The education specifically made him love knowledge, logic, culture, music as well as philosophy. These teachings were paramount because they later helped him know how to deal with his subjects later when he was conquering the neighboring empires (Walbank 121).

Alexander’s childhood basically involved him watching his father transforming Macedonia from the simple citizen-warrior based to a great military power. He showed his equestrian skills at the age of 12 when he tamed their unruly stallion horse who was unable to be ridden. At the age of 16, his father left him to rule Macedonia as regent when they were invading Thrace (Worthington 49). This showed that despite his tender age, his father believed that he was capable.

Tot too long after defeating Greece, Alexander took the throne after his father was stabbed to death by Pausanias in 336 B.C. Soon after taking the throne, Alexander disposed of his enemies. At that time some of the conquered empires had started rebelling where Alexander intimidated them into accepting his rule. He campaigned in Balkans and Thrace then moved on to conquer Thebes where he destroyed it.

Alexander was motivated to conquer the neighboring empires to fulfil his father’s ambition that he had started. He wanted to finish what his father had started and in the process become the greatest king in Macedonian history. At this time he launched a campaign against the Persian Empire where he faced opposition from the Spartans. However, in the end he was successful by winning the first major war in western Turkey in 334 B.C then he went down the west Turkey coast depriving the Persian navy their bases. He later conquered Syria, Egypt then his greatest victory won at the battle of the Gaugamela.

Alexander’s philosophy for conquering was what was later known as the Hellenism which came between his death and the emergence of the Roman Empire. This philosophy was specifically based on spreading Greek ideas and cultures throughout the regions they conquered. This was referred to as the Hellenistic period which comes from the Greek word Hellazein which means “to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks.” It was a period that lasted form the death of Alexander to the time the time the Roman troops conquered the Macedonian kingdom (McLean 36).

Alexander in his conquests spread the Greek culture and built cities by setting up cultures. In this time, he left the Greeks to rule the lands and Greek became the common language. He then adopted the styles and customs of the Persians. He later combined the cultures of the Greek, the Persian, Egyptian as well as the Indian (McLean 37). This culture blend known as the Hellenistic helped combine knowledge to come up with discoveries in science and medicine.

For a very long time, Alexander was undefeated. He first tasted defeat in India at the banks of Hyphasis River. However, he was not defeated by his enemies but rather a rebellion of his soldiers. The soldiers were exhausted and afraid of Indian war elephants and since they were thousands of miles away from home, they saw it better to turn back. Alexander had to turn back leading his soldiers along the long and dangerous road back home.

After returning to Babylon in 323 B.C, where he had planned a major target of Arabia. It was at this time when he was preparing his troops for combat when he caught a fever. He could not even speak or move and after some time he died (Schep 75). He had suggested that his empire should go to the strongest man after his death. Although he had an unborn child, the empire was fought over by his generals which then led to it being divided into multiple states.

Despite having ruled for 13 years, Alexander’s legacy was clearly significant. He was mostly remembered for the extent of the proliferation of the Greek culture. The new Hellenistic era left a living dynasty that was started by Alexander. Many cities were named after him where goods and customs, traders and soldiers mingled together. Here, there was a common language and currency which made trading more easy and effective. All religions were well accepted and many people were united. The way he brought people together after conquering the empires truly showed his power and loyalty he inspired. In truth he was Alexander the great!

Works Cited

Florence Nightingales Legacy