Alexander III Of Macedon: The Most Of The Known World

Alexander was known as the greatest king who have ever lived on the face of earth he had achieved greater deeds than the kings who had lived before him and those who would come later down the time line “Though the Romans would rule more land, no one man has ever subdued as much territory in as short a period as Alexander the Great, or Alexander III of Macedon, who conquered most of the known world before his death at age 32” Alexander the great was born in 356 B.C. to king Phillip ii and Olympias. He spent most of his childhood years watching his father transforming Macedonia into a great military power. From an earliest age he was set out for conquest and glory in being a king. He then became focused on becoming a great ruler, which he soon
will become. I will discuss how Alexander was able to accomplish all of this in such a short time and the events and strategies that helped him along the way. To understand the events of his life you need to know t how he developed into to such a strong and sophisticated man. As a young boy Alexander was fearless and strong. At the tender age of 12 he tamed a wild horse by the name of Bucephalus, a horse than no one else could ride. His father was so proud of him and his horsemanship. “A natural athlete, Alexander proved his combination of mental and physical agility when at the age of 12 he tamed a wild horse no one else could ride. Alexander named the horse Bucephalus, and the two would be companions almost for life” As the son of a noble he was allowed to receive education in the court of the king . Asritotle who was a …………. He Taught Alexander from the age thirteen to sixteen. Alexander was taught at the Mieza Temple . “significant influence was Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), who tutored Alexander in his teen years. It is an intriguing fact that one of the ancient world's wisest men taught its greatest military leader, and no doubt Alexander gained a wide exposure to the world under Aristotle's instruction.” alexander would expand his wide range of knowledge to an incredible extend. While Philip was away fighting a war, he left his sixteen-year-old son as acting king. Within a year after his father left Alexander led his first military attack against a rival tribe. he led the cavalry which were soliders who fought battles on horseback and helped his father smash the forces of Athens and Thebes, two Greek city-states. Alexander's relationship and military cooperation with his father would soon come to an ended after his father gained control of the Corinthian League. The Corinthian League was a military alliance made up of all the Greek states except for Sparta. Philip then married another woman, which forced Alexander and Olympias to flee Macedon. Eventually Philip and Alexander were reunited. In the year 336 B.C.E. at the ancient Macedonian capital of Aegai, Alexander's sister married her uncle Alexander. During this event Philip was assassinated by a young Macedonian noble, Pausanias. After his father's death Alexander sought the approval of the Macedonian army for his bid for kingship. The generals agreed and proclaimed him king, making Alexander the ruler of Macedon. In order to secure his throne, Alexander then killed everyone who could have a possible claim to the kingship. “Alexander had to gain the support of the Macedonian nobility. He did so with a minimum of bloodshed, establishing a policy he would pursue as ruler of all Greece: leaving as much good will as he could behind him, he was thus able to push forward.”
Although he was the king of Macedon, Alexander did not automatically gain control of the Corinthian League.
Some Greek states rejoiced at Philip's murder, and Athens wanted to rule the League. Throughout Greece independence movements arose. Immediately Alexander led his armies to Greece to stop these movements. The Greek states quickly recognized him as their leader, “Alexander next turned to consolidation of his power in Greece, which he did by a lightning-quick movement in which he captured Thebes and killed some 6,000 of its defenders. After that, he faced no serious opposition from the city-state” The League gave Alexander many access to military powers to attack Persia empire, a large kingdom to the east of Greece. “embarked on a mission that had been Philip's dream: conquest of the vast Persian Empire to the east. The latter had once threatened Greece, only to be defeated in the Persian Wars (499-449 B.C.); now Greece, led by Macedon, would take control of the Persians' declining empire.” Alexander returned to Macedon and prepared for his Persian expedition. In numbers of troops, ships, and wealth, Alexander's resources were inferior to those of Darius III, the king of Persia. In the early spring of 334 Alexander's army met Darius's army for the first time. Alexander's army defeated the Persians which would bring him fame, fortune, and eternal glorification as the greatest king to have ruled in all of history. The Macedonian king’s level of intelligence, the amount of
land that he required, and the fact that he was a military genius, is some of the most important aspects to the life of Alexander the great. Alexander the great was one of the most amazing leaders in the history of ancient Greece.
“Alexander was no ordinary conqueror: his empire seemed to promise a newer, brighter age when the nations of the world could join together as equals.” The expansion of his boundaries of the kingdom were phenomenal. In less that fivr years he expanded his empire and controlled the vast majority of the eastern European continent as
well.
By controlling the vast empire, the economy of Macedonian empire would have flourished dramatically. This would be because of trade. The trade routes that were mapped out by Alexander and his army were extremely important. They allowed trade caravans to be able to traverse through these, previously, unchartered areas. This would allow for the exotic merchandise from foreign lands to stream into the cultures of the Macedonian people, thus causing cultural diversity. He expanded Macedonia, thus, creating an empire that covered over two million square miles. He founded 70 cities and many were on trade routes thus increasing east-west trade. “It was his goal to leave Persia in the control of Persians trained in the Greek language and Greek culture, and he left behind some 70 new towns named Alexandria. Thus began the spread of Hellenistic culture throughout western Asia.” He also saw the need to create a new coinage system so that his whole empire would be connected during exchanges.
In Asia Minor, Alexander cut the famous Gordian Knot. According to tradition, whoever undid the intricate Gordian Knot would become ruler of Asia. “served as a symbol of a certain kind of wisdom, demonstrated in his “solution” to the Gordian knot. The knot was a complex tangle that had foiled many attempts to unknot it; Alexander cut through it with his sword” Many people began to believe that Alexander had godlike powers and was destined to rule Asia. Alexander and his armry of men moved east and the two kings met in battle at the city of Issus. Alexander was outnumbered but used creative military formations to beat Darius's forces. Darius fled. Alexander then attacked the Persian royal camp where he gained lots of riches and captured the royal family. He treated Darius's wife, mother, and three children with respect. With Darius's army defeated, Alexander proclaimed himself king of Asia. As a result of the defeat, Darius wanted to sign a truce with Alexander. He offered a large ransom for his family, a marriage alliance, a treaty of friendship, and part of his empire. Alexander ignored Darius's offer because he wanted to conquer all of Asia.
He was a great military leader because he knew about strategy. He realized that through speed and mobility he would be able to quickly alter his positions and to out maneuver and eventually outflank his enemies, resulting in an almost immediate victory. He would never ask anyone to do something if he himself would not do. This means he would never have his soldiers do something dastardly during battle unless if he was there doing it with them. We can see the accuracy of this statement because he would always lead his men from the front. “Alexander was acknowledged as a military genius who always led by example, although his belief in his own indestructibility meant he was often reckless with his own life and those of his soldiers. The fact that his army only refused to follow him once in 13 years of a reign during which there was constant fighting, indicates the loyalty he inspired.” This made him an easy target for his enemies, but also a huge motivation towards his troops. This may have been the reason that he wounded so many times. On an interesting note, he would never drink water until he knew that all of his soldiers had water to drink this show how concerned he was. Alexander is given credit for creating the phalanx style of battle. This was a battle tactic that consisted of hoplites in columns. The columns would be ten men across and ten men deep. Men in the phalanx carried a round shield called a hoplon, from which the infantry took their name, hoplites. The hoplites wore metal armor on their chests, forearms, and shins at least, plus a metal helmet that covered the head down to the neck. The addition of armor classified the hoplites as heavy infantry, as opposed to light infantry that wore little or no armor, With the addition of more phalanx groups Alexander would have created an extremely large and mobile fighting force.
When a man has the ability to have historians put a "Great" after their names then they have to do something simply remarkable. When they have a city named after them, Alexandria, then they have had to of done something remarkable. A man of his stature, a man who was extremely intelligent, acquired huge amounts of land, and was simply the most inspirational and fearless military leader of his time, deserves to have the title of "Great." Alexander the Great would go down in history as the most influential and important ruler of the Ancient Grecian world. “he is regarded as one of history’s brilliant military leaders and most powerful rulers.” His great character and values were two of the things that made Alexander the Great a well-known individual in history.