Alexander The Great

Although Alexander the “Great” achieved his title by establishing a new empire, where in times of need, he was in a drunken and stressful rage, which led to questionable government and military sources. Some resources will give an overly bright image of how Alexander was tough, such as, in the words of Ellen Bialo, “Alexander the Great's meteoric conquest of Persia, excursion into India, military skill, vision for a unified people, and role as an agent of Greek culture changed the Mediterranean world in a multitude of ways,” (Bialo). This more cheerful image provides an unreasonable view on Alexander the “Great”.

Alexander was able to expand the Macedonian empire to cover Persia, Egypt, and as far as northern India. He was able to accomplish this expansion, but not on his own. “Alexander's achievements were built solidly on the foundation laid by his father, Philip II of Macedon,” (Bialo). Philip, his father, built an empire that was passed down to Alexander after his death. Alexander should not be so easily handed all of credit for the expansion of Macedonia when Philip started the whole process to begin with. Not only is Alexander wrongly credited, but the empire he is credited for broke apart shortly after his death. “During Alexander's lifetime, the only common thread among the territories he controlled was his own personal power, which contributed to the breakup of his empire after his death,” (Bialo). After Alexander died, his empire was split amongst three people. Antigonus became the king of Macedonia and controlled the greek city-states. Ptolemy controlled Egypt and took up the title of Pharaoh. And Seleucus took most of the Persian Empire.

Alexander had an administrative strategy to have a combination of Greek and Macedonian administers and to rule through native officials in Persian and Egypt. However, many of his native officials had to be replaced. “Generally speaking, Alexander adapted existing administrative structures rather than imposing new ones, although he did establish a new coinage system,” (Bialo). The areas in which Greek cities had been under Persian control were allowed to have a degree of self governing in an attempt to restore democracy; and through the Hellenistic period, most Greek cities had some form of self government. A contribute to the breakup of Alexander's empire after his death was that the only thing all of his territories had in common was that he held power.

When Alexander first took power he had to stop a revolt in Thebes. Alexander immediately flattened the city took the survivors as slaves. He continued to spend the next years conquering territories of the Persian Empire. He defeated Persia in the Granius and the Battle of Issus. Alexander then moved his army south into Syria where he besieged Tyre of six months before conquering it. Alexander continued to move farther south into Egypt where the Persian governor surrendered to him. He then moved north through Syria and Mesopotamia. At the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander went to such extreme measures as to burn the palace of Xerxes I because of his conquest of Athens 150 years before. After the Persian emperor, Darius III, was assassinated, Alexander took over the remaining Persian territories. He then continued East. After the Battle of Hydaspes, Alexander’s army refused to continue, despite Alexander’s eagerness to. When Alexander’s army refused to follow his orders, that showed just how far he was pushing them. Soldiers are trained to follow orders no matter what; having his army disobey him only shows how horrible his decisions were. He pushed his army past their limit to the point where they refused to listen to their leader.

“He was ruthless and capable of acting without mercy against both enemies in the field and those among his own followers who had lost his trust. Over time, he became more autocratic in his ideas of what a king should be—more like the absolutism practiced in Persia, as opposed to the egalitarian ideals of Greece. In about 324, Alexander apparently even demanded that he should be acclaimed as a god. Alexander also was highly religious (or perhaps superstitious); he consulted oracles and offered sacrifices in the cities through which he passed, and he seemed to identify himself with such Greek mythical heroes as Achilles and Heracles,” (Bialo). Alexander claimed himself to be a hero, which he was not. A majority of his military and governmental decisions were made while he was intoxicated, which gives him absolutely no credit to be called “great”.

Bialo, Ellen. "career of Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2015.

Davis, Paul K., and Allen Lee Hamilton. "Macedonian Army." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

https://vkpserve.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/war-of-hydaspes-alexander-the-great-in-india-india-india1152_13021223585-tpfil02aw-18557.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/The_Death_of_Alexander_the_Great_after_the_painting_by_Karl_von_Piloty_(1886).jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGdSxEKujDE