Argument Based on One of the Controversies discussed in Mitchell, Joseph R and Helen Buss Mitchell - Essay Example

? Argument based on one of the Controversies discussed in Mitchell, Joseph R and Helen Buss Mitchell Alexander the great is a man who merits his exalted historical reputation. Alexander died very early at the age of thirty-two years whereby his career ended. Alexander commenced his career at the age of twenty when he started working in the field of human action. During his brief career, Alexander engaged in a series of activities that were so bold and brilliant that the world looked at his work with astonishment. Due to this fact alone, people from all corners of the world have resulted in reading articles and stories about his great accomplishments with the greatest attention and interest. The contributing factor to Alexander’s accomplishments was the fact that he possessed a rare combination mental robustness, character and personal attractions. Alexander owned these traits, which transformed him into a finely formed person who was prepossessing in his manners. Alexander was also quite athletic whereby he engaged in all his activities with a lot of enthusiasm and order. He was also a considerate person in the time of emergencies and was cautions in that he bore the consequence of his actions. Alexander managed to thrive in a period when personal and mental powers had any room to be exercised. Most of all Alexander was a noble character who had devoted his energies in war and conquest1. Alexander was a prince of the Macedon, which meant that on the death of his father, Alexander would become the king of the kingdom of Macedon. Considering the fact that he was a prince, he was not raised with habits of effeminacy and luxury. This was contrary to the Greek customs at a time when slavery was rampant. In preparation to become the general, Alexander was exposed to a lot of hardships and fatigue to mold him into a robust and powerful general. The rein of Alexander began when he became the king and Macedonian general. In his tome as a king, Alexander made many astonishing conquests through his shear military genius. This is because he managed to single handedly pull together all the Greek labor to conquer the Egyptian and Persian empires. Because of these conquests, Alexander formed the largest empire in existence at the time, which connected the Greeks all the way to India. This resounding success was because Alexander was raised to fight as a son of the king of Macedonia called Phillip the second2. At a very tender age, Alexander was bred for war in preparation for the leadership of the kingdom of Macedonia. Apart from warfare, Alexander was experienced in the field of philosophy whereby teachers were availed to teach him Greek philosophy. Alexander had also acquired a lot of knowledge in literature, which accounted for the eloquence in his speech. Alexander also took time to understand existing military tactics, which he applied successfully in his conquests. Among his teachers was the great Aristotle. All this knowledge made Alexander a well-rounded and capable person, which was quite rare at the time. After the death of his father, Alexander took over the responsibilities of his father in ruling the kingdom. Alexander had a great responsibility in his hands because his father was a very efficient and executive leader. Against all odds, Alexander went into planning for two years whereby he gathered soldiers for his scheme to conquer the enemies of the Greeks. Alexander also carried the responsibility of avenging the murder of his father at his sister’s wedding. Against all these odds, Alexander went into his first battle in 334 BC whereby he emerged victorious. Alexander’s first stop in his conquests was in the kingdom of Persia along the coast of Ionia. His first victory in Asia was along the river Granicus whereby the Greeks faced the Persians in battle. The battle saw Alexander victorious after which he marched his Greek army and conquered the eastern coastal cities of Ionia. Sometime later, Alexander turned his eye to Gordian and the Gordian knot. The legend behind the Gordian knot was that the man who was in a position to unite it would have complete control over Asia, a motivating factor to Alexander, which led to the gain of new recruits from the cities that he controlled. Alexander later proceeded into the Mediterranean on the eastern edge. In his conquest, he managed to absorb all the major cities except one, which was an island city known as Tyre. Alexander was determined to capture the city of Tyre. He set siege to the city and conquered it in a few months. Alexander continued with his conquest where he swept farther down and took Gaza some month down the lines. Alexander continued to expand his campaign when he marched his army in Egypt. While there, Alexander did not meet a lot of resistance because the Egyptians saw him as a liberator. Egyptians saw him as a god but Alexander was opposed to this. Therefore, Egyptians resulted into naming him Alexander the Great. The task that was left for Alexander to perform was to solidify his hold in the newly acquired territories. The city of interest was the Babylon, which was the capital of the Persian Empire. He the n led his army of soldiers into the plains of Gaugamela to assert his power in this conquered territory3. Alexander later got married to a Persian noble woman. This was a wise decision because marriage to a Persian woman made Alexander a political part of the Persian Empire. This assisted him greatly solidifying his power within the Persian kingdom. In his last conquest, Alexander marched into India where he engaged the natives of India in combat whereby he eventually conquered the territory. Alexander’s conquest ended at the age of thirty-three when he died from a severe fever. The death of Alexander saw the end of a genuine style of military campaigning that was admired around the world by great military minds such as Julius Caesar and Hannibal. Alexander was also responsible for transforming the ancient world with Greek architecture and philosophy that greatly developed nations in the Middle East today. Due to his successful conquests around the world, Alexander was considered a hero during his time and the generations that followed. This is mostly because his accomplishments were staggering in that in all his conquests around the world were all successful. These accomplishments made his famous among great leaders in his time whereby they adopted some of his military tactics and strategies4. Alexander’s manhood was also tested numerous times when in Macedonia. According to Macedonian customs, Alexander could not become a man before he passed the test of manhood, which was hunting, and killing. Hunting and killing involved hunting a ferocious wild boar without a net in the heights of Macedonia. Another type of hunting involved killing an enemy in the battlefield. Accomplishing this task was rewarded with a special kind of belt, which acted as a visual reminder of his accomplishment. At the tender age of sixteen, Alexander had attained all these accomplishments. It was after these accomplishments that Alexander’s father considered him a mature to act as a regent of Macedonia. Alexander had a good public image. This was the case because in the biggest part of his life, Alexander was greatly concerned about his public image. This was both in a metaphorical and literal sense. Therefore, one of Alexander’s Greek proteges appreciated this and had himself in a stone coffin with images that depicted Alexander hunting human and animal prey. This artifact is today preserved in museums and is better known as the Alexander sarcophagus. This is a clear manifestation of Alexander’s great deeds and accomplishments during his time. Alexander’s death was greeted very differently in parts of his conquered empire. This is because on one hand the traditional Greek enemies including the Persians were thrilled on the news of his death. This is due to the reason that they now had a reason to hope in their dreams of liberation from the Greeks. On the other hand, Greeks and the non-Greeks who adored and worshipped him were saddened by the news of his death. Hence, Alexander’s death raised many emotions in the conquered and unconquered territories, which was an indication of the impact he had made during his time. Alexander has also featured in a lot of literature during his time and his afterlife. At the time, over eighty countries featured his literature where he was depicted as chauvinistic and heroic character stretching from the Britannic islands all the way to the Malay Peninsula. In Egypt, Alexander was featured as a hero, a quasi-holy man, a scientist, a philosopher among many other titles. Shakespeare also featured Alexander as the musing representation of a hero in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the graveyard scene. Above all, Alexander was brought out as an international hero around the world and a great visionary5. Alexander is probably one of the most famous individuals in history. This is because of the fact that he has a human history that has managed to cut across eras. Alexander’s achievements both in the field of military combat and mental brilliance has assisted people in modern generations to reach great height of achievement through the adoption of will power in facing challenges in life. A lot has also been learned from Alexander in terms of military strategies in where he was greatly experienced. It is hence evident that Alexander deserved his historical merit and reputation. Bibliography Mitchell, Joseph R., and Helen Buss Mitchell. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World History. New York: McGraw-Hill College, 2005. Read More