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Conquest of Alexander the Great and analyze the legacy of his empire
The rise and fall of Alexander the Great
The rise and fall of Alexander the Great
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Alexander was the son of King Philip. Being the most powerful and one of the greatest rulers of Greek history, his primary objective was to spread the Greek culture to all the countries he conquered. After the death of his father, King Philip, Alexander took over his kingdom. Everyone liked all he did during his reign with his kingdom. It only took him 13 years to gain one of the largest empires of all time (5g. Alexander the Great n.d.). Even though he conquered many nations, he tried all he could to maintain the Greek culture (Mark, Alexander the Great 2013). When he became the king, he merged Macedonia and Persian cultures. He also integrated his army with people from the regions he conquered. During his reign, he managed to spread the Greek culture, its ideas, and language, which led to The Hellenistic era (Mark, Alexander the Great 2013). Among the most impressive things the people loved about him was that he never forced those he conquered to practice the Greek culture.
After taking over the Persian Empire, Alexander liberated the Greek city of Ephesus from the Persians and offered to rebuild their temple that had been destroyed, but they refused (Mark, Ephesos 2009). He went ahead and adopted the Persian customs,
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At the same time, he allowed all the people to keep their customs, but encouraged the people to work together regardless of their backgrounds, even though many found it hard to embrace. He enhanced the expansion and flourishing of the Greek empire (Bosworth 2006). His ruling enforced the spread of the Greek culture to the southwest of Asia even towards the east. It encouraged inclusion as the Greeks even adopted the eastern customs. He created the Hellenistic era with an aim of imitating Greeks and after that, he managed to conquer all of the kingdoms that he conquered over his
Alexander adopted Persian governing practices, but he had little use for Persian culture. According to his Greek biographer Plutarch, he considered himself "a governor from God and a reconciler of the world." He hoped that Greek culture would, through his actions, permeate all of Asia, inspiring its peoples to pursue virtue, excellence, and truth. This heroic idealism blended with practicality in his plan to develop the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus rivers as commercial waterways linking all of Asia These undertakings promised to be long and difficult, however, and Alexander was an impatient man. His soldiers' unwillingness to proceed past the Indus was a great disappointment to him, for which he compensated by throwing his own festivals and celebrations. Alexander showed early leadership qualities. When King Phillip invaded Thrace, he left Alexander in charge of Macedonia at the age of 16. During his father's absence, one of the Thracian tribes, the Maedi, rebelled. Alexander was able to mobilize an army and put down the rebellion. In 336 B.C, Alexander's father was assassinated, putting Alexander on the throne at the age of 20. Shortly after this, Alexander left Macedonia with his armies to put down rebellions in the countries of Illyria, Thrace and Greece, all of which had previously been conquered by King Phillip. Alexander then moved his armies into Asia Minor and began to conquer the peoples there. Among the countries conquered by Alexander were Syria, Phoenicia and
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
Alexander the Great was the son of Philip Macedonia. Alexander the Great was a big admirer of Greek culture during his time. During Alexander the Great time in history he spread the Greek culture through the Middle East and North Africa. Alexander the Great past away at an early age and after his death the Greeks took over the Romans.
Between 334 and 323 B.C Alexander the Great and his armies conquered and created an empire that covered Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia and India. The spoils of war included much Greek art, and encouraged the spread of Greek culture. Consequently, these influences are found in the architecture of the Parthenon and the Pantheon, and in other aspects of life at the time.
He was a man who was on a mission, a man who was just resting in a faraway land till it was time to go back on the attack once more. His short stay in this land, led to one of the biggest changes in history. This change marked the Greek period in Egyptian history. Before Alexander entered Egypt, they were under the ruling of the Persians. The Persians made to change Egypt into what they wanted it to be. They held no respect for the people, no respect for the traditions and the old ways, and taxed the people high amounts. Alexander built up Egypt after the Persian rule. The Persians tried to change Egypt to form there laws and beliefs, and Alexander, he did nothing to change the old way, he brought them back, mixed them with new ones the people
Alexander then returned as king and won Porus’ trust. In 325 B.B., Alexander wanted to keep moving so he decided to head north by the Persian Gulf. But many of Alexander’s army members were unable to keep some had illness, some were too tired, some were injured, and some had already died by this point in time. Many soldiers told him that great leaders have to quit some times, so Alexander did what they said. He knew it was the end, so he wanted a very large quantity of Macedonians to marry Persian princesses. Alexander did end up making the Macedonians very mad because recruited a lot of Persian soldiers, so he could dismiss the Macedonian soldiers and some of them were still willing to fight. They later convicted Alexander for adopting Persian customs and manners. “Alexander appeased the Macedonian soldiers by killing 13 Persian military leaders. The Thanksgiving Feast at Susa, which had been geared towards solidifying the bond between Persians and Macedonians, shaped up to be quite the opposite.”
Alexander pursued deliberate Hellenization policies. Whilst it may have been an intentional attempt to spread Greek culture, it is more likely that it was a series of realistic events designed to aid in the rule of his colossal empire. Alexander founded cities across the empire which were intended to be administrative headquarters in the regions and settled by Greeks many of which were veterans from Alexander's campaigns. This policy allowed Alexander to gain control over his new subjects and at the same time spread Greek influence over the empire. Also he attempted to unify the ruling classes by marriage ties where people with positions of power from all classes were used.
Even though Alexander III of Macedonia, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, only lived to be 32 years old, his accomplishments were so vast it would be impossible to capture them all in a 3-hour Hollywood film. The well-known director, Oliver Stone, spent years studying Alexander and dreaming of making an epic film about his life. Stone's 2004 film, Alexander, was met with reviews that made it sound as if it was mediocre or disappointing, but the problem with it is that in the era of exciting action-driven Hollywood films, Alexander asks viewers to go deeper than they are accustomed. The length of the film was considered too long, but the history of Alexander is so huge that it is actually too short. Since Alexander lived more than 2300 years ago, and much of the information on Alexander's life has been lost over time, it seems to me that Alexander accurately depicts the historical era, Alexander's relationships, battle scenes and the different cultures involved in Alexander's conquests.
The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Hellenism immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 B.C., the influence of Greek civilization continued to expand over the Mediterranean world and W Asia. The wars of the Diadochi marked, it is true, the breakup of Alexander's brief empire, but the establishment of Macedonian dynasties in Egypt, Syria, and Persia (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae) helped to mold the world of that day into a wider unity of trade and learning.
Alexander the Great’s legacy was incredible and will always be remember for its greatness. Historians have portrayed him as a high-minded philosopher; however, others view him as a bloody-minded autocrat that is more interested in his own success than a philosophical theory of the common good. (Mckay, John P. Western Society, a Brief History: From Antiquity to Enlightenment. S.l.: Bedford Bks St Martin 'S, 2009. Print. pg.68) He acquired many accomplishments including developing Greek city-states that thrived even after his death, and he conquered many places in battle. His reign and achievements began a new era that would be called the Hellenistic
Alexander the Great (July 356BC – June 323BC) was King of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. By the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world. He remained undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful Military commanders. Historians’ have offered theories which could explain Alexander’s motivation to conquer so much of the known world. Some suggest that Alexander was an idealistic visionary who sought to unite the world, whereas others argued that he was a fascist whose hunger for power drove him. The Ancient Greeks were driven by love of honour (philotimaea) and their desire for greatness. They were competitive, always striving to better one another.
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that Alexander was only twenty years old when he became the king of Macedonia. “When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). “In, 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, but as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country. Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior gener...
The following gobbet is from Plutarch’s (C. 50 B.C.- C.120 A.D.) Alexander. It narrates Alexander’s journey to the Libyan Oracle of Siwah in 332 . The aim of this essay is to draw the possible reasons as to why Alexander went to this specific oracle its consequences and question the reliability of Plutarch’s account.
He had this idea of uniting the word. This idea motivated him to expand his kingdom, and fight against the Persian empire other kingdoms. He didn’t have a plan where he wants to stop the expansion,so he keeps going until his soldiers refuse to fight, because they were far from their motherland (Williamson Alexander the great). This time of the period Alexand builds houses, theaters and official building that promote Greeks culture throughout Asia, Europe and North Africa. In all Alexander 's generals the top leader and office all members were Macedon. If someone wishes to in these top officials, he needs to learn Greece language. That was the shows his loyal at the time. However Alexander didn’t had a chance to led his empire. He died at age of 33 from his war wounds and disease. Shortly after his death, there were no one fit to be a king in his family. As result Macedon generals start to fight to lead this huge empire as a whole. At the end, Generals like Antigonus Gonatas, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Attalus and Aetolian divide the empire and they name themselves asking the place, where they were generals. This was known as successor kingdoms (Williamson Alexander the great). This shows the achievement of culture and the failure of political because Alexander did get a chance to lead the empire after all the hard work he have done. The successor kingdoms were war each other to expand their empire even though their culture were
He was also influential and clever. In each conquest, Alexander retained local officials who were loyal to him and he appointed Macedonian governors to the province capitals. He founded administrative capitals to control the regions. He founded Alexandria, Egypt which became the cultural capital of Mediterranean in the ancient world. Nevertheless, he also began to wear Persian clothing and he encouraged his soldiers to do the same in order to keep the peace. Therefore, he executed the men who resisted obeying his order. He married with a Persian and he encouraged his soldiers to marry with Persians to mix the culture. Persians loved Alexander and they respected him like he was a Persian like them. Even the Persian army joined with Alexander by will. That is why he controlled his massive empire without riots and this proves that he was very influential and clever.