Alexander The Great: One Of The Greatest Empires In World History
Jasmine Sapp
World History
Professor Meskill
Alexander The Great The Macedonian empire was one of the greatest empires in world history. In 359 B.C., King Philip came to rule Macedonia. He developed a strong empire by forming a strong military and political system. In 356 B.C, Philip had a son, who later became historically known as Alexander the Great. Today, Alexander the Great is considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
Alexander the Great and his father, Philip, were very successful as conquerors while ruling the Macedonian Empire. Philip used a combination of bribery, persuasion, tribute and force to keep enemies away and to make sure he got what he wanted. Macedonian kings were normally polygamous, Philip included. Philip used marriage as an excellent military tactic to consolidate his power. He married seven women, including Alexander’s mother. Under Philip’s rule, Macedonia had the most superior cavalry around and became the most powerful state in the Greek peninsula. When Alexander the Great came to power in 336 B.C., he had inherited a large and successful empire that his father had built. The Macedonian army consisted 18,000 heavy infantry and 5,000 cavalry, larger than the armies of Sparta and Athens. As …show more content…
soon as Alexander took over Macedonia, he had all of his known enemies executed. Alexander and Philip were very ruthless and relentless rulers. They both showed love to their people and they befriended the people they conquered but they did not tolerate those who opposed them. Alexander the Great was a military genius. When he inherited the army his father built, he made it greater than it already was. Philip was the first to use a catapult as a weapon for war, but Alexander expanded the range of the catapult and enhanced the accuracy of it. This became a deadly weapon for the Macedonians to use in warfare. Alexander’s military concept was based on speed, mobility and flexibility. Army men wore light armor so they could have quicker movement and they carried heavy striking weapons. Alexander’s army formation was called the Macedonian phalanx, created by Philip II, was sixteen rows deep and sixteen rows wide. Each man carried a sarrisa, a 20 ft. long pike, which was held with two hands. The men in the army were strapped with shields to go along with the long spears. This type of military led to the seize on many civilizations including major empires such as the Persian Empire and Egypt, which he later formed a city and named it Alexandria. When Alexander conquered new land he appointed representatives from conquered people to govern the people for him. Alexander conquered the “civilized world”, modern day Middle East, Greece and Egypt. Alexander was a student of Aristotle, a famous philosopher who also studied medicine. Therefore, he also took an interest in medicine. With this interest, he developed medical care for injured or wounded soldiers. Militarily, Alexander was ruthless, but politically, he was more sympathetic. Alexander wanted the people of the conquered civilizations to be untied with the rest of Macedonia. He did not want there to be tribal nations in Macedonia, he wanted them to all be seen as one people.
Alexander the Great was a very ambitious ruler. He had expanded the Macedonian empire to over 3,000 miles but he wanted more. He had plans to conquer Western Asia and the Eurasian Empire and a quest for a Hellenistic Empire. The purpose of a Hellenistic empire is "to imitate Greeks" by practicing Greek language, architecture, literature, and art. He wanted to fuse Macedonians, Greeks, and Persians by encouraging soldiers to marry native women. The Quest for a Hellenistic Empire took place from 334 to 323 B.C. In 334 B.C. Alexander entered Asia with an army of around 37,000 men both Greeks and Macedonians. By winter 332 B.C. Alexander had conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In 331 B.C. Alexander then moves east and gains control of the entire Persian Empire. Alexander conquered the civilizations of Lycia and Pisidia in Asia. In pursuit of the Darius III and the Persian Empire, Alexander and his massive army outdid the Persian army and caused Darius III to leave Persia leaving his family behind. But, Alexander being a genuine person, took in Darius’ family and made sure the women were treated with respect. This shows many parts of Alexander’s character. He was a fierce conqueror but also a genuine kind person. These features truly did make Alexander one of the best rulers in history.
In Alexander’s last days as ruler of the Macedonian Empire he found trouble in running such a large empire by himself. After Alexander’s travels, he came back to find out that some of the people from Persia were conspiring against him, thinking he would not return from his travels. He dealt with these rebels by executing them. Alexander became ill and died in 323 B.C. At that time, he had eliminated the people who were left in charge. He hired new people to govern for him but had no long-term options for his successors. When he died, he did not appoint an heir to take the throne, nor did he establish a long-term structure for the empire. With no one in charge of this massive empire a window open for the conquered people in Macedonia. The Athenians, Aetolians, Locrians, Phocians, and Thessalians saw an opportunity fought against the weakened empire for independence. The immediate legacy of Alexander the Great is that his empire he worked hard building had fallen apart. Alexander had accomplished more than anyone before him. With that being said, he did not have enough time to figure out how to govern the ands he had conquered. Since Alexander's death was extremely sudden, his empire collapsed into a 40-year period of war and chaos in 321 B.C. The Hellenistic world eventually separated into four power blocks: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in the east, the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, and Macedon.
Alexander the Great had the intelligence to build a permanent empire and rule it with order.
However, he had expanded the Macedonian empire so rapidly he could not establish a working government for him to rule it all. Therefore, it collapsed after his death. His empire was simply too massive to rule all by himself. The Macedonian empire fell the way all other empires have fallen in history, when they become more concerned with being seen than it is with actually maintaining order and organization. The overextension of the empire caused instability in the government leading to its fall. Alexander the Great had all of the proper tools to build a long lasting empire. The Macedonian empire was later succeeded by the Roman
Empire.
The Macedonia Empire will always go down in history as one the greatest empires in history. Alexander the Great will always be one of, if not, the greatest conqueror in world history. He built a massive empire taking the throne at the age of 20. He was a very skillful, intelligent and ferocious leader of his people. Although no one matches his accomplishments, he could not have done this without his father, Philip II. Philip provided a foundation for Alexander’s genius work. Alexander, although a hot-tempered military leader, was also a very intelligent leader of his empire. I believe these are the best qualities to have in a leader because he was very strong in battle and very responsible and caring when it came to the empire and his people. The military and political tactics Alexander had established were a big part in the empires success. His military combat was matched by no other civilization. Politically, his empire was thriving until his sudden death. As great as Alexander was, it became too much for him to handle and his sudden death left the fate of Macedonian empire with a giant question mark. This led to all sorts of chaos and war within the empire and eventually the fall of a once great and flourishing empire. Alexander the Great when down in history as the idol to later conquerors such as Julius Caesar for the later Roman Empire.
While the final outcome of the Macedonian Empire was very unfortunate, Alexander’s success will never be forgotten. He will always be one of the idolizing figures when it comes to military tactics and leadership. Alexander the Great is the greatest overall leader of all time.
World History
Professor Meskill
Alexander The Great The Macedonian empire was one of the greatest empires in world history. In 359 B.C., King Philip came to rule Macedonia. He developed a strong empire by forming a strong military and political system. In 356 B.C, Philip had a son, who later became historically known as Alexander the Great. Today, Alexander the Great is considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
Alexander the Great and his father, Philip, were very successful as conquerors while ruling the Macedonian Empire. Philip used a combination of bribery, persuasion, tribute and force to keep enemies away and to make sure he got what he wanted. Macedonian kings were normally polygamous, Philip included. Philip used marriage as an excellent military tactic to consolidate his power. He married seven women, including Alexander’s mother. Under Philip’s rule, Macedonia had the most superior cavalry around and became the most powerful state in the Greek peninsula. When Alexander the Great came to power in 336 B.C., he had inherited a large and successful empire that his father had built. The Macedonian army consisted 18,000 heavy infantry and 5,000 cavalry, larger than the armies of Sparta and Athens. As …show more content…
soon as Alexander took over Macedonia, he had all of his known enemies executed. Alexander and Philip were very ruthless and relentless rulers. They both showed love to their people and they befriended the people they conquered but they did not tolerate those who opposed them. Alexander the Great was a military genius. When he inherited the army his father built, he made it greater than it already was. Philip was the first to use a catapult as a weapon for war, but Alexander expanded the range of the catapult and enhanced the accuracy of it. This became a deadly weapon for the Macedonians to use in warfare. Alexander’s military concept was based on speed, mobility and flexibility. Army men wore light armor so they could have quicker movement and they carried heavy striking weapons. Alexander’s army formation was called the Macedonian phalanx, created by Philip II, was sixteen rows deep and sixteen rows wide. Each man carried a sarrisa, a 20 ft. long pike, which was held with two hands. The men in the army were strapped with shields to go along with the long spears. This type of military led to the seize on many civilizations including major empires such as the Persian Empire and Egypt, which he later formed a city and named it Alexandria. When Alexander conquered new land he appointed representatives from conquered people to govern the people for him. Alexander conquered the “civilized world”, modern day Middle East, Greece and Egypt. Alexander was a student of Aristotle, a famous philosopher who also studied medicine. Therefore, he also took an interest in medicine. With this interest, he developed medical care for injured or wounded soldiers. Militarily, Alexander was ruthless, but politically, he was more sympathetic. Alexander wanted the people of the conquered civilizations to be untied with the rest of Macedonia. He did not want there to be tribal nations in Macedonia, he wanted them to all be seen as one people.
Alexander the Great was a very ambitious ruler. He had expanded the Macedonian empire to over 3,000 miles but he wanted more. He had plans to conquer Western Asia and the Eurasian Empire and a quest for a Hellenistic Empire. The purpose of a Hellenistic empire is "to imitate Greeks" by practicing Greek language, architecture, literature, and art. He wanted to fuse Macedonians, Greeks, and Persians by encouraging soldiers to marry native women. The Quest for a Hellenistic Empire took place from 334 to 323 B.C. In 334 B.C. Alexander entered Asia with an army of around 37,000 men both Greeks and Macedonians. By winter 332 B.C. Alexander had conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In 331 B.C. Alexander then moves east and gains control of the entire Persian Empire. Alexander conquered the civilizations of Lycia and Pisidia in Asia. In pursuit of the Darius III and the Persian Empire, Alexander and his massive army outdid the Persian army and caused Darius III to leave Persia leaving his family behind. But, Alexander being a genuine person, took in Darius’ family and made sure the women were treated with respect. This shows many parts of Alexander’s character. He was a fierce conqueror but also a genuine kind person. These features truly did make Alexander one of the best rulers in history.
In Alexander’s last days as ruler of the Macedonian Empire he found trouble in running such a large empire by himself. After Alexander’s travels, he came back to find out that some of the people from Persia were conspiring against him, thinking he would not return from his travels. He dealt with these rebels by executing them. Alexander became ill and died in 323 B.C. At that time, he had eliminated the people who were left in charge. He hired new people to govern for him but had no long-term options for his successors. When he died, he did not appoint an heir to take the throne, nor did he establish a long-term structure for the empire. With no one in charge of this massive empire a window open for the conquered people in Macedonia. The Athenians, Aetolians, Locrians, Phocians, and Thessalians saw an opportunity fought against the weakened empire for independence. The immediate legacy of Alexander the Great is that his empire he worked hard building had fallen apart. Alexander had accomplished more than anyone before him. With that being said, he did not have enough time to figure out how to govern the ands he had conquered. Since Alexander's death was extremely sudden, his empire collapsed into a 40-year period of war and chaos in 321 B.C. The Hellenistic world eventually separated into four power blocks: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in the east, the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, and Macedon.
Alexander the Great had the intelligence to build a permanent empire and rule it with order.
However, he had expanded the Macedonian empire so rapidly he could not establish a working government for him to rule it all. Therefore, it collapsed after his death. His empire was simply too massive to rule all by himself. The Macedonian empire fell the way all other empires have fallen in history, when they become more concerned with being seen than it is with actually maintaining order and organization. The overextension of the empire caused instability in the government leading to its fall. Alexander the Great had all of the proper tools to build a long lasting empire. The Macedonian empire was later succeeded by the Roman
Empire.
The Macedonia Empire will always go down in history as one the greatest empires in history. Alexander the Great will always be one of, if not, the greatest conqueror in world history. He built a massive empire taking the throne at the age of 20. He was a very skillful, intelligent and ferocious leader of his people. Although no one matches his accomplishments, he could not have done this without his father, Philip II. Philip provided a foundation for Alexander’s genius work. Alexander, although a hot-tempered military leader, was also a very intelligent leader of his empire. I believe these are the best qualities to have in a leader because he was very strong in battle and very responsible and caring when it came to the empire and his people. The military and political tactics Alexander had established were a big part in the empires success. His military combat was matched by no other civilization. Politically, his empire was thriving until his sudden death. As great as Alexander was, it became too much for him to handle and his sudden death left the fate of Macedonian empire with a giant question mark. This led to all sorts of chaos and war within the empire and eventually the fall of a once great and flourishing empire. Alexander the Great when down in history as the idol to later conquerors such as Julius Caesar for the later Roman Empire.
While the final outcome of the Macedonian Empire was very unfortunate, Alexander’s success will never be forgotten. He will always be one of the idolizing figures when it comes to military tactics and leadership. Alexander the Great is the greatest overall leader of all time.