Legacy of Alexander the Great - Literature review Example

Alexander the Great Alexander the Great Synopsis The study of ancient history is considered incomplete without highlighting the great conquests, wits and skills of Alexander the great. Born in 356 BC, Alexander is one of the most inspiration leaders whose activities and styles of leadership were embraced by other leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar. Alexander was born in the Greek city of Pella and grew under the direction of the mother as the father was always away in war conquests. He ruled the Corinthian league between 336 to 323Bc until his death from unknown conditions (Benson, 2009). The early life The family of Alexander was leading the dynasty of Macedon when he was born in 356 BC under the leadership of the father and the mother who also descended from a royal family, being the daughter of king Neoptolemus. Alexander the great had curly hair and dark eyes that made him stand out from the family during the time that he grew up in the palace with his other sisters. Though he was the son of King Philip II, Alexander the great rarely had a family occasion with the father who was in most instances, out on war conquests. Apart from the military campaigns in other regions bordering Greece, King Philip was also engaged in multiple extramarital affairs that kept him away from home. The impacts of the absent father who was preoccupied with his conquests and war campaigns forced him to grow fonder of his mother. However, the boy lived to resent his father for his philandering and unfaithfulness, which kept him away from home (winter, & National World War I Museum at Liberty, 2009). Leonidas was the early instructor of Alexander the great after he was hired by the young man’s father to take care of him and teach him the tradition of the kingdom, how to read and write among other essential skills. Such skills included horsemanship, archery and math skills, which would be essential for the boy once he ascended into the throne. After the services of Leonidas, Lysimachus was hired in order to tame the boy’s restlessness and rebellious behavior that had grown beyond the control of Leonidas. Lysimachus played a critical role in the growth of the boy and influenced his motivation to impersonate Achilles, the great warrior (Benson, 2009). After the services of Lysimachus were no longer needed, Aristotle was also taken over to teach Alexander on various issues in the kingdom. During most of these classes, Alexander the great attended with his close friends and was taught a number of topics and subjects including poetry, philosophy science and the art of politics. He was moved by the conquests and activities of homer and this forced Aristotle to develop a simulated tome. This tome was present in most of the military campaigns that Alexander the great was engaged in, a fact that has been cited to have contributed to his victories (Sullivan, 2013). By 340BC, Alexander was done with formal education as was prescribed by his king father though he was still a teen in his wee years. Despite the young age, Alexander joined the military and started his military expediency in earnest with the Thracian tribe being the first victims. Due to his great performance, skills and enthusiasm, Alexander the great was given the change to lead the companion cavalry. In this position, he joined the father to defeat the Athenian and Theban forces during one of the greatest Chaeronea wars (Winter, & National World War I Museum at Liberty, 2009). However, this great alliance between Alexander the great and his father fell apart after they succeeded to unite all the states into the Corinthian league. This was because King Philip ousted his mother after marrying Cleopatra. Without the comfort of the royalty and the palace, mother and son were forced into exile in Epirus until a time when the king and Alexander could resolve the differences (Sullivan, 2013). Kingship in Macedonia During the wedding of Alexander’s sister to the molossain king, Alexander’s father was killed before Pausanias who served as a noble in Macedonian. This motivated the 19-year-old Alexander the great to conquer the kingdom and place it under the Corinthian alliance. Following the death of his father, Alexander labored to bring together generals and warriors who fought besides his father at the Chaeronea. With the help of the army, Alexander was pronounced the feudal king and assisted to eliminate any individual who was placed to inherit the leadership of the country. Olympia, her mother, also contributed to Alexander’s ascension to kingship by killing king Philip and Prince Cleopatra’s daughter and forcing the former to commit suicide out of frustration (Sullivan, 2013). Becoming the feudal king of Macedonia did not grant Alexander the great the leadership mantle of the Corinthian league. The states that made up the league disintegrated following the death of King Philip with most states such as Greece and Athens celebrating the event. Divergent opinion and leadership emerged from the different Corinthian league states and this presented a challenge to the leadership of Alexander, the feudal king of Macedonia. As a result, Alexander made a move aimed at consolidating his influence and regaining the territory that was once ruled by his father by forcing the Thessaly to recognize his leadership (winter, & National World War I Museum at Liberty, 2009). Following endorsement with Thessaly, Alexander the great engaged other members of the league and this granted him acceptance during the Thermopylae meeting of the league members. States that recognized his leadership were allowed to rejoin the league while others like Athens who decline to recognize him were granted military power in the fight against their aggressors such as the Persian Empire. After being recognized by at Thermopylae as the leader of the amphicytonic league, the rebel Athenians petitioned for pardon and peace and the request was accepted. Campaigns and conquests of Alexander the great Following his ascension into the throne and the consolidation of the Corinthian league states, Alexander the great began a journey of conquering the northern and southern states in one of the great historical ancient wars. With the support of the league members and armed with a strong troop, Alexander began his conquest and campaign by annexing the Thracian Triballians in 335. However, this success was followed by the news of a revolt in Thebes, a member of the league that has decided to force its way out from the influence of the king. This could act as a precedent for other member states and lead to the disintegration of the league, an event that would weaken the powers of Alexander the great. As a result, the king made a prompt decision to march its massive military power of over 3,000 horse riding soldiers and 30,000 foot soldiers (Rufus, Yardley & Atkinson, 2009). The fast action and decision made by the king caught the city of Thebes by surprise and were thus unable to mount a formidable military resistance against Alexander. As a result, Alexander massacred the city of Thebes destroying it to serve as warning to other member states planning to secede. As a result of his ruthless destruction of Thebes, other city states such Athens decided to pledge allegiance to the Macedonian empire or remain neutral. Following the success at Thebes, Alexander the great descended on his Asiatic mission beginning the campaign in the city of troy where he faced off with king Darius (Yenne, 2010). The army of Darius did not wage a protracted resistance and was defeated by early 334 BC. After successful conquest of the Persian region under the leadership of Darius, Alexander the great led his troops to the Asia Minor at the city of Gordian. Though Alexander the great underestimated the nature of resistance he will receive from the Greek coastal cities, the war slowed his progress. This was as a result of the great resistance that the Greek cities fronted under the leadership of Memnon, an encounter that led to the demise of a number of Macedonian fighters (Holt, 2003). However, the resilience of the Macedonian warriors enabled them to win the battle and the group moved to the central parts of Asia Minor in a place known as Gordian where the group took days to replenish and rest. The city of Gordian was known for the presence of the Gordian knot that had not been untied by any other individual before. However, Alexander the great did not take his time to untie the knot despite the belief that whoever did would rule the world, instead opting to slash it off and unravel the ends. From the Asian minor, Alexander the great encountered the Persian under king Darius for the second time and though the Persians fronted a more superior military, Alexander outwitted them and drove the king away (Rufus, Yardley & Atkinson, 2009). The successes of the war conquests and campaigns by Alexander motivated him to enter the new Egyptian territories through the region of Gaza. Due to the vulnerability of Egypt after the conquest of Gaza by Alexander, the kingdom was defeated and the city of Alexandria created in the country, a center that has remained as a Greek culture and Commerce City. In the same year, Alexander fought and defeated the Persian at the Gaugamela battle, a conquest that enabled him to be declared the king of Babylon, Asia and the overall king of the four quarters of the world (Yenne, 2010). Following victory in Egypt, Persia, Greece and Thebes, Alexander the great was now left with the only option of Iran and the Indian region. By 327 BC, Alexander had conquered and defeated the states of Iran and this enabled him to create the Macedonian colonies. However, the ariamazes war of 327 BC in which Alexander’s forces were able to defeat prince oxyartes enabled him to marry his daughter, prince Roxana. Alexander marched towards India and defeated Porus, the Indian king though he later reinstated him to the same position after being impressed by his abilities and wining his royalty and forgiveness. His advances towards Ganges was unsuccessful ad the forces declined to move any further due to fatigue, hunger and sickness, a situation that forced them to march backwards. However, on his way back to the Macedonian capital while marching along the Indus, the king was wounded during an encounter with the Malli warriors. This slowed their progress back home and increased the challenges that they faced while resting and the king recovering along the Indus (Yenne, 2010). The fall of Alexander the great The first sign of declining support was witnessed when the soldiers declined to march towards the Ganges, a situation that forced him to March back home. After recovering from the injury, the troop marched towards Susa along the Persian Gulf, a journey that was marked with significant challenges. Most of the soldiers were injured and became generally sick while others died from various infections, a situation that affects the strength of the army. By 324, Alexander and his troops arrived in Susa and attempted to consolidate his army by recruiting more soldiers and connecting the Persian nobles and the Macedonian ruling class to eliminate discontent among the leadership (Sullivan, 2013). As a result, Alexander made a frantic effort and ordered that all Macedonian men should marry the Persian princesses. A decision that enabled him to recruit more soldiers from the Persian states. He was moved by the conquests and activities of homer and this forced Aristotle to develop a simulated tome. This tome was present in most of the military campaigns that Alexander the great was engaged in, a fact that has been cited to have contributed to his victories. However, the entry of the Persian soldiers made him dismiss most of his Macedonian soldiers, a decision that did not go well with these soldiers. He was accused by the Macedonians for ignoring his culture and custom and instead embracing the Persian culture and mannerism (Sullivan, 2013). However, Alexander decided to kill 13 military leaders to prove that he was still Macedonian and lived by their tradition. Following this rushed decision, Alexander the great called for thanksgiving feast to bring together and bond the Persian and Macedonians, an event that instead disintegrated his leadership and led to his fall (Sullivan, 2013). The death and legacy of Alexander the great After successfully bringing together the Persian and Macedonian middlemen, Alexander worked towards the creation of a group of warriors with a mixed blood from the two tribes. However, he never lived to lead this breed of soldiers as he developed a complicated fever immediately before the start of their campaign in the Arab states. Though the source of the fever has remained controversial, his conquest of the Carthage and Rome may have led to malarial infection. In the Macedonian month of Daisies, Alexander the great died after the Macedonians paid their last respect though he was only 33 years old. Alexander died without designating an heir and without an adult child to take over from him and continue with his conquest or rule the states he had conquered (Sullivan, 2013). Despite the sudden death, his influence led to the synthesis of the orient and Greece cultures, a new custom that thrived as a result of his leadership and conquests. Apart from his war tactics that motivated other leaders like Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte, the influence and leadership of Alexander the great contributed to the spread of the panhellenism spirit in Greece and the neighboring states. References Yenne, B. (2010). Alexander the Great: Lessons from Historys Undefeated General. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Winter, J. M., & National World War I Museum at Liberty, M. (2009). The Legacy of the Great War: Ninety Years on. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. Rufus, C.Q., Yardley, J., & Atkinson, J. E. (2009). Histories of Alexander the Great. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. Benson, A. K. (2009). Great Lives from History. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press. Holt, F. (2003). Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press. Sullivan, V. (2013). Alexander the Great as “Lord of Asia” and Rome as His Successor in Machiavellis Prince. Review of Politics, 75(4), 515-537. Doi: 10.1017/S0034670513000569 Read More