Alexander the Great-ish

The life of Alexander III, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, was one of conquest and victory, and left a legacy that has influenced great empires to this day. But did he earn the title of “Great.” He led a powerful army, but often was unable to keep them under control. He grew an empire that reached the ends of the earth, but could not make it last. He conquered land, but almost never the people living there, as they constantly revolted against his rule. Perhaps his legacy has been romanticized and made him out to be the gold standard of leaders that in reality he was not. The reality is that he was Alexander the fairly less than great.

Alexander was unable to truly rule the people he conquered, and they never accepted his rule. This led to numerous rebellions and revolts and is also one reason why his empire fell so quickly. Augustus comments on this side of Alexander, “Alexander did not regard it as a greater task to set in order the empire which he had won than to win it" (Plut. Mor. 207d 8). Alexander’s obsession of conquest led to him to care more about the physical possession of land than actually governing it. This led to many of the cities he conquered to revolt and often times not conform to his rule. Alexander often times never ruled the regions he acquired, but “carved his narrow route of victories”(Green) around the area, and then claimed it as his empire. Aside from Egypt, the people he “conquered,” often never accepted his rule and way of life. Alexander was unable to win over his conquered people and keep law and order in his vast empire.

Alexander often time wents against the wishes of his people. This happened in more ways than one, as he would make decisions in war that proved more costly than if he had trusted his advisors, and also changed the way he ruled and acted against the will of his fellow Macedonians and Greeks. The ancient writer Diodorus Siculus said about the siege of Tyre, that even when “He found support in only one of his Friends… but turned again to the attack” (249). This is one of the earliest written accounts of Alexander and shows more of his irresponsible actions than the far more exaggerated and romanticized versions hundreds of years later that give him the title “Great.” While many of these risky calls paid off, they often left many more dead and were much more costly than what his advisors and the people he was meant to serve suggested. This is not a lone occurrence as he often times killed members of his own army in order to keep them from revolting, yet after doing this they still rebelled against him and finally won, causing him to turn back from the Indus Valley. He also went against the ways of his people, the Macedonians, by conforming to Persian culture and considering himself a god. The Macedonians and Greeks believed that no man should be regarded as a god, the Macedonians not even calling a man “king,”(Reames) yet Alexander became a Pharaoh (Egyptian Kings were regarded as deities) and believed he was blood related to Hercules. Even him wearing Persian robes and marrying a Persian and Bactrian wife (which was done to gain influence rather than integrate the races (Reames)), was found extremely offensive by his own Macedonian people, who wanted to implement their own culture, since it was their empire, rather than conform to others. Alexander often never respected the people he ruled originally and made decisions that were not best for the empire and put more people at risk.

The greatest empires of all time have lasted hundreds of years, yet Alexander’s lasted little past his death. He was not able to solidify his empire that was solely based on his military presence. One modern account of Alexander’s empire states that “the rapid disintegration of his empire was inevitable”(Worthington). The way his empire dissolved so quickly may be due to several reasons. One of the most obvious is that there was no an apparent successor to the throne. His wife was still pregnant with his son when he died so his generals ended up fighting for years over control over the empire (Worthington). No one came out completely victorious and the empire was split into various Hellenistic kingdoms. Another explanation is that he never ruled the areas but rather won a battle and left (Reames). This led to great confusion and disruption when he died, as these states were now free and did not see themselves as subject to any new leader’s commands. That would lead to more conflicts of empires trying to re-emerge from Macedonian rule. The empire’s “vast size” (Worthington) was also an issue just like the collapse of the Roman Empire. The size made it almost impossible for the time to be able to govern such a large area, especially when in such conflict and confusion over succession. While his empire did reach far lands, Alexander failed to keep it there and failed to make a lasting empire.

While in most cases Alexander III is regarded as a “great” empire builder and king, the reality is not so. While he was a brilliant general, he often made calls that would kill more of his men than necessary. He often acted against the will of his people and changed his way to the likeness of his enemies, causing distrust within his own fellow Macedonians. He was never a great king, as he never ruled or conquered the nations he acquired in his empire, which would ultimately lead to the disintegration of his empire. He never made a lasting empire, just a series of successful military campaigns. Alexander III might should never have been called Alexander “the Great.”

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Alexander the Great

Joshua Eastin

9/26/2016

Alexander the Great Blog

Alexander was one of the greatest generals and leaders being honored by future leaders such as Caesar and napoleon. His accomplishments varied from the spread of the Macedon borders and culture to the overwhelming military strength. This made the empire one of the most feared and respected empires through Alexander's military genius and political presence.

Alexander The Great Mosaic
Naples National Archaeology Museum

Alexander was sometimes thought to not care about the good of the Macedonian empire and only cared to expand its borders although this is not true. When Alexander had left on his conquest he had left power to trusted satrafs and when he had found that some of these satrafs had abused this power he was outraged that they would wrong the empire and executed many of them. Alexander had rebuilt the tomb of Cyrus and offered to rebuild the temple of Artemis. Writer Joshua J. Marks writes that Alexander was very skilled "in handling the various populaces of the regions he conquered." This is shown in his integration of some Persian cultures to create a more refined Macedonia.

Philip II of Macedon had planned to take down the Persian empire but before he could follow up with this plan he was assassinated in 336 BCE. This is when the reign of Alexander III of Macedon began. When Alexander was 18 he was in the battle of Charonea 338 BCE where he had rallied the Macedonian soldiers and won the battle. This is the first battle that he was recognized as a military genius. Alexander went on to show that any army was powerful with a great leader even quoted as saying "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by sheep; I am afraid of sheep led by a lion" Alexander went on to conquer all of the Persian empire and had planned to continue into eastern Asia but only was stopped by his armies refusing to march. Alexanders military genius would continue to be honored by other leaders for generations.

Alexander along with being one of the greatest military leaders of all time he had also created a new era of culture through his acceptance of other cultures of the lands that he had conquered. Alexander had never forced any religious or cultural beliefs to his conquered people. This paved the way for Hellenistic culture. Alexander had encouraged the adoption of Persian culture had not cared about past nationality under his mind they were Macedonians and would be treated as such. Alexander had integrated Persian soldiers in his army.

Alexander is a leader who had accomplished so much in his short rule from one of the greatest and most know conquest of ancient history. He had redefined a generation from the culture that he had created through his conquest and was honored and praised by people to this day for his military and political genius during his rein. This is why so many today call him Alexander the Great.

Alexander The Great? (Maggie Larsen, D block)

Alexander the Great?

          It has been debated whether Alexander was great, even since his time. For many different reasons, Alexander was great. Many people did not know that Alexander had compassion for those not directly his adversaries in battle. He was ruthless on the battle field, but he stilled cared deeply for his soldier’s needs, in order to keep them strong in battle. The making of the Hellenistic culture was done in large quantities by Alexander’s actions in conquering civilizations, while spreading and connecting all the cultures into one. Alexander was born into a wealthy family in high social standing, from the beginning he was destined to be “great”, yet he seemed to surpass any expectations that had ever been set for him. World leaders, and people who played irreplaceable roles in history looked up to Alexander, before and after his death.

Alexander could not have made so much head way in conquering Persia without some type of ruthlessness. He came to power already an intelligent and strong leader, in war and politics, while still keeping his mind on his father’s legacy. “This parochial Alexander is either a fiercely Macedonian despot capable of both genocidal murder and humanitarian civilization by Hellenizing the world-at spear point, if necessary.” (Alexander the Great and the History of Globilization) This quote shows how ruthless Alexander can be on the battle fields, and in his advances for military and political reason. Alexander may have had a cut-throat ideology on the battle field propaganda in the pursuit of his (and his compatriots') interests, or a Greek crusader eager to empower his yet he still held compassion in his action.

           Alexander was a general of much admiration, in modern day norms, in war. Without inspiration from Alexander many warriors, commanders, and leaders would not have been driven to their own “greatness” and humbleness. “Alexander forbade his soldiers to violate captured women; once he ordered that two Macedonians who had raped such captives should be killed, saying that they were like wild beasts, destructive to humanity.” (Alexander the Great an His Time) This quote shows how even though Alexander was ruthless on the battlefield, he never gave up his humanity. He never let the innocent people in war be prosecuted or wronged. Alexander took the extra steps in order to protect those people, with punishments for those who defied him. When Alexander did this he showed the maturity and graciousness in his leadership as a king, and as a general.

Becoming a leader at a young age, is something that people do not expect much from it. Alexander turned that around the day he became king, showing those who doubted him he was a strong and should not be thought of lightly. Alexander set out to follow his father’s dream of conquering Persia. “Alexander’s ambitions were cultural as well as military and political. During his wars of conquest, he actively sought to meld the conquered culture with that of the Greeks.” (World History) In this quote it is clear to see that Alexander was not just a leader that craved war and had a need for more land. He was a thoughtful man, who planned his attacks and made plans for the cities he conquered for after he left. Alexander was young for a king, but held his power with grace, and dignity from the beginning.

 

            Whether Alexander was or was not great, will be a controversial topic of discussion. Alexander’s father, Phillip II, destined his son for a greatness that would normally seem unachievable. He surpassed all expectation his father or anyone for that matter ever had for him. Alexander was a force to be reckoned with, he was a ruthless leader on the battlefield, a caring commander and king, and mended together different ideas and cultures to create one. When a person like Alexander was left with such a huge legacy, it is difficult to live up to, yet he passed the legacy and left one of his own. Alexander may have not always seemed like he was doing all he did for the better of society, but he always had a bigger plan in order to leave a legacy worth knowing and trying to live up to.

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