Free research paper on alexander the great

Alexander the Great was born in 356 B. C in an era of substantial changes. One of the famous people of these changes was his father Philip II, which gave Alexander the Great a Hellenic Leagues to rule over. As a matter of fact, Alexander became a king at an early age to not only Macedon, but also the mainland Greece. Alexander the Great was known as Alexander III of Macedon. Certainly, Alexander was born in Pella, where he underwent tutorials until he was sixteen, under the guidance of Aristotle. Perhaps, by thirty years of age, Alexander the Great had founded the largest ancient empires in the globe. On the battlefield, he was undefeated, making him one of the successful commanders in history. The leadership of Alexander the Great began in the year 336 BC when he succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon. His father was assassinated, and his assassination led to various rebellions and conquest. Additionally, Alexander became the heir of the Persian invasion, and idea that Philip II of Macedonia had dreamed of conquering (Beddall, 2008).

Conversely, in the year 366 BC Alexander defeated Persians this ended the enmity among Persia, Macedonia and Greece. In fact, this legacy brought about by Alexander left tremendous impacts in the western world; This included, building styles, democracy, mathematics, science, medicine, love of literature and theater, philosophy, as well as the valuing of physical beauty (Cawthorne, 2004). The strength and leadership traits of Alexander are attributed to his strong parents, as well as outstanding teachers. In his entire life, Alexander had a lot of passion for hunting, music, literature and animals.

Aristotle in his teachings promoted non-Greek belief, in that they were slaves by nature, this encouraged the prince to conquer. However, Alexander rejected this belief, and tried to be friendly to the Persians. In Macedon, Alexander had a chance to prove his power and strength in various battlefields. In fact, he contributed to the success of his father in conquering Thebes and Athens at Chaeronea. In his life, Alexander took up advanced and the gradual conquest of various territories (Langley, 1997). In the process of conquest, Darius who was the King of Persia decided to face Alexander by himself. One of the significant and key battles that Alexander emerged victorious includes Gaugamela and Issus. Moreover, Alexander conquered Babylon, Phoenicia, as well as Egypt which proved his strength and valuable acquisition of empires (Cummings, 2004).

Alexander ascended to the throne of Macedonian and displaced many of his domestic leaders through execution. In this case, he eliminated all the potential rivals; for example, Alexander ordered the execution of his cousin Anmyntas IV, and Lyncestes (Burgan, et al, 2006). Perdiccas, who was Alexander’s general attacked the city and broke the gates, whereby, Alexander and his army prevented Thebans reaction. The Macedonians entered the city of Thebans and killed many people and those who survived were sold as slaves. Before crossing the Asian region, Alexander the Great, safeguarded the northern borders through the Balkan campaign. He conquered Amphipolis and Thracian. In his entire campaign, Alexander utilizes his creativity, intelligence, knowledge, as well as strength (Cawthorne, 2004).

Alexander used various strategies in conquering states; his tactics included fights, leaves for his army, reduction of taxes, and the creation of the new month. Perhaps, in his way Alexander destroyed the Troy the home of Achilles, and arrived in Gordium through skills and cheat. The legendary knot in Gordium made Alexander the Asia undisputed ruler. Alexander made advances in the conquest and defeated one of the Darius’s murderers, the Bessus. In his mind, he understood that he will receive a lot of fame and credit by punishing one of the Kings killers. It was discovered that there was a plan to kill Alexander; the plot was carried out by Philotas and General Parmenion (Beddall, 2008).

Thereafter, Alexander conquered Sogdiana and married Roxane, the daughter of Sogdians leader. Alexander then entered India, where he received minimal resistance from the Porus, who he defeated based on good luck and witty tactics. Perhaps, Alexander was ready to conquer the Eastern region of the Ocean, whereby they believed was the end of the world. Alexander faced the resistance of his soldiers who complained of homesick and being tired and could not continue with the conquest (Cummings, 2004). Alexander was frustrated at the fact that he could not conquer other kings and kingdoms. Alexander had no option but to go back home, conquering tribes along the Arabian Sea. Many of the soldiers died, but this did not deter Alexander from punishing disloyal governors and generals. Alexander died in the year 323 BC in Nebuchadnezzar II palace (Burgan, et al, 2006).

In general perspective, Alexander is one of the greatest rulers in the globe. Among the Greeks, religion was very important part of their life. Alexander was also a believer of the god Ammon and spread it eastwards. Moreover, Alexander was a much respected ruler, since he was sensitive to religion and cultural issues (Cummings, 2004). As a matter of fact, Alexander’s conquest and route to power is one of the revolutionary history, this is because he used various strategies in conquering states. He employed military tactics, mental and physical determination, and ruthless political tactics. In the entire globe, Alexander still remains an inspirational leader, and his history remains one of the popular.

References

Beddall, F. (2008). Alexander the Great. London: Pearson Education Limited

Burgan, M., Carney, E & Kesselring, S. (2006). Alexander the Great. World Conqueror.
Minneapolis: Compass
Cawthorne, N. (2004). Alexander the Great. London: Haus
Cummings, L. (2004). Alexander the Great. New York: Grove Press
Langley, A. (1997). Alexander the Great: The Greatest Ruler of the Ancient World. Oxford:
Oxford University press