Major Consequences Of Alexander's Death

No one was prepared for Alexander’s death; a weak succession, following other complications, arose after his passing. His loyal Macedonian generals wanted to preserve the Macedonian Empire, so they appointed themselves governors of the various provinces in the empire. This led to one major consequence of Alexander’s death, which was the weak governmental succession that followed. The governors were very ambitious, strong-willed men who had conflicting views. These conflicting views led to warfare, which in turn led to the execution or murder of all direct members in the Macedonian royal house. Another major consequence was the unequal distribution of the prosperity of the Macedonian Empire. The urban Greeks, the Macedonians, and the Hellenized
natives made up the upper and middle classes that lived in luxury. The native peasants did not live in such luxury and were forced to work on large plantations of decreasing efficiency. This started to create anger and division between the social classes. Soon the costs of war, inflation, and the gradual lessening of positive effects created by the Persian wealth led to an economic crisis. Economic crisis led to clashes or civil war that weakened the capacity of the Hellenistic kingdoms to resist outside attack. While Alexander’s death did create many consequences, he achieved one major accomplishments. Alexander’s major accomplishment was the conquest of the Persian Empire. Using his wits, Alexander came up with a strategy of winning battles that conquered land with the money and supplies his army needed. Alexander captured the coastal cities, denying the Persian fleet entrance to their ports. Alexander was also able to achieve a better economy for his people. Through his Persian conquest, he came across the royal treasury and allowed this money to flow into the Macedonian economy. Alexander’s conquest of Persia and his bettering of the economy were the two achievements of his life. Alexander was a conscious promoter of Greek and Macedonian civilization. He wanted to get revenge on and defeat the Persians who had invaded Greece earlier. This was his main goal throughout his conquest, although this brought him to undiscovered land that allowed him to develop cities. These cities encouraged commerce and prosperity, as the became part of the Hellenistic Era. The undiscovered land and the emergence of successful cities caused Alexander to conquer more land to add to his empire. This is where the idea of him being an egomaniac drunk with the lust of conquest came from. Alexander could not deny the expansion of his empire for the purpose of Greek civilization, although undiscovered land was also a prize for him.