Alexander III of Macedonia is known as the most successful military leader and conqueror, undefeated in the field of battle. He is known as Alexander the Great, and he achieved his military success before the age of thirty. Alexander the Great, according to the biographer Arrian, “would not have been born without the intervention of the gods” and goes on to say that his life “surpasses the merely human.” Alexander, according to early historians, achieved success because of his superior intellect, creativity, and inhuman military strength and courage. He is referred as “the Great” more than any other title. According to later criticisms, however, Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor because of many external factors and components that made a conquest of the region not only possible, but imminent. While many historians prefer to talk about Alexander’s military genius, many other factors outside of Alexander’s control are also responsible for his successful and undefeated conquest at such a young age. Alexander’s father, Philip, laid the groundwork of a military loyal to the throne. Many of the military developments used by Alexander were also actually developed by his father. The Macedonian phalanx, military drills, and its organization may have been utilized successfully in battle by Alexander, but were innovated by his father and predecessor. His father is also responsible for uniting Greece before Alexander’s rule. With a united Greece behind him, Alexander could focus all military, diplomatic and economic energy outwards and on his campaign. The campaign itself was a continuation of the plans of expansion that King Philip II was to lead until his death interrupted. Asia Minor, the area that Alexander conquered was a massiv...
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Alexander the Great has been considered for centuries as a military genius and influenced conquerors such as Hannibal the Carthaginian, the Romans Pompey, Caesar and Napoleon. Although, he inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army, Alexander was capable to display his leadership and military capabilities. In 338 B.C., his father, King Phillip II, gave Alexander a commanding post among the senior generals as the Ma...
Bury, J. B.; Russell Meiggs (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great
Zonaras, Joannes, Thomas Banchich, and Eugene Lane. The History of Zonaras: from Alexander Severus to the Death of Theodosius the Great. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Life of Alexander the Great of Macedonia is one of the most remarkable Ancient Greece stories that prevail even in this present era. The ancient Greek sources clearly identify the life of Alexander as the one which broaden our understanding about the heroes of the Ancient times. Plutarch parallel lives are one of the sources that equip classical study and any other studies with necessary details of how Alexander manifested his life as an Ancient Greek hero. However the invention of motion pictures (cinema) had created another dimension in analysing Life of Alexander. Firstly Robert Rossen released a life of Alexander a nearly half century ago, which did not make much effort addition to what literature has far reached, and it was argued that his film consist some inaccuracies. Oliver Stone, a screenwriter also wrote a Life of Alexander (2004-2005) and it reached its hype as a cinematic presentation and it also depicts nearly accurate historical information about the life of Alexander the great. Oliver Stone’s Life of Alexander remains the controversial presentation when studying the Life of Alexander. This short essay will critically investigate how Stone went about constructing his ‘biopic’ of Alexander, including a consideration of which episodes were included as well as those which were excluded.
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Alexander’s first battle came when he was only sixteen. Philip, his father had gone away on a campaign and left Macedonia u...
Liebert, Hugh. "Alexander the Great and the History of Globalization." The Review of Politics 73 (): 533-560. Print.
The son of Philip II, Alexander the Great, will become the conqueror of the western world. Alexander received the Macedonian empire when his father passed, he was only twenty at the time. As soon as he had the power of the Macedonian army, several lightning fast campaigns led them into the west and north. Next, he compelled the city-states that rebelled against the League of Corinth. This action demonstrated how Alexander punished disloyalty [Martin 244]. Alexander was able to keep his rule on the territories he conquered by rewarded the cities who recognized his powers and punished the individuals that betrayed his trust or ambitions. The power he possessed depended on his superior force and his unwillingly desire to use it [Martin 245]. The
Alexander the Not so Great:history through Persian eyes by Prof Ali Ansari Paragraph 1 Page
Fleming, Sean Michael. "Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia." Library Journal 15 Feb. 2006
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...
Few historical figures stand out in the same degree as that of Alexander the Great. He was a warrior by 16, a commander at age 18, and was crowned King of Macedon by the time he was 20 years old. He did things in his lifetime that others could only dream about. Alexander single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in just over a decade. There were many attributes that made Alexander “Great.” He was a brilliant strategist and an inspired leader; he led by example and was a conqueror at heart. In looking at his early childhood, accession to the throne, conquests, marriage, and death one can see why Alexander the Great is revered in historical contexts as one of the greatest figures of all time.
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