HS 150 World Civilizations 1
Assignment 2 Alexander the Great
22OCT2011
Very few ancient leaders have left behind a legacy that still remains. Alexander the Great is one of those exceptional leaders. Alexander led an imperialistic Greek military campaign, was considered a brilliant military tactician and troop leader and brought most of the known world at the time under his rule. Alexander the Great was highly revered for his achievements during his short life. Not only did he gain fame for his numerous victories on the battlefield, but he also enhanced that fame through the insightful use of propaganda. His most enduring legacy came through actively promoting the spread of the Hellenistic culture in the regions he conquered. Alexander the Great was the conqueror of the Persian Empire and was also King of Macedonia. He was born in Pella, and was the son of Phillip II. Phillip II was at the time king of Macedonia. Alexander was given an amazing education by his tutor who was also a Greek philosopher. Aristotle taught him rhetoric and literature, and opened his interest to science, medicine, and philosophy. Alexander became king in 336 B.C. when Phillip was assassinated. He maintained his rule at home before making any plans of attack.
First he attacked Thessaly in order to restore Macedonian rule. Then in 335 B.C. he defeated the Thracians, up through the Danube River. On his way back, he defeated and the Illyrians, but rushed back afterwards to Thebes. Thebes was ravaged by Alexander, sparing only temples and the house of Pindar, a well known Greek poet of the 5th Century B.C. Many more Greek states then turned to Alexander’s control. Alexander declared war on Persia in 334 B.C., and defeated a Persian army near the city of Troy. This resulted in the submission of all states in Asia Minor to him. Alexander then traveled southward, where he defeated King Darius III, leader of the main Persian army. This battle occurred in 333 B.C. at Issus of northeastern Syria. He then traveled to Tyre in 332 B.C. After that he traveled towards the Eastern Mediterranean. First he captured Gaza, and then traveled into Egypt. This gave him control over the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline, where he established the City of Alexandria, located at the entrance of the Nile River. The city of Alexandria would later become the scientific, literary, and commercial center of the Greek world. After all his work in the eastern Mediterranean, he moved his forces to Babylon.
The Term Paper on Alexander And The Great Crusade Alexanders Legacy
... predicted future Macedonian king to become the greatest military leader of all times. However, at the time when Alexander was growing up, ... in the battle of Hydaspes in 326 B.C., when Alexander defeated Raja Puru, whose principality occupied the territory of modern ... was the case with Classical period.The main feature of Greek literature of that time becomes mediocrity, because Hellenistic writers, ...
Again, he defended Darius in 331 B.C., forcing Babylon to surrender. The following conquest after Babylon was Persepolis, capital of Persia, where Alexander took over the city. By 327 B.C. Alexander had gained control of lands along and beyond the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, into much of Central Asia. His final conquest was in 326 B.C. when he invaded the Punjab. At this point, the Macedonians refused to go any farther, so Alexander spent about a year organizing all of his lands, and finishing a survey of the Persian Gulf in order to prepare for his next invasions. He arrived in Babylon in 323 B.C., and later died there of a fever. Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests produced. Alexander founded about twenty cities that had his name. His settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in
the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire until the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and is prominently featured in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which generals, even to this day, compare themselves and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactical exploits. Though he died at a young age of 33, Alexander the Great was indeed great, one of the greatest military leaders and tacticians time has shown us. Through the many cities he founded Greek culture found a way of spreading and the Greek language was widely known.
The Essay on Aegean, Roman, and Greek Cultures
Aegean civilization flourished during the Bronze Age in Greece and the so-called Aegean Age. Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations were among those civilizations in the Aegean that has made its zenith during this era. Minoan civilization developed on the mountainous areas of Crete. Crete naturally possessed a wide-range of harbors which made it possible for the Minoans to settle and establish ...
References: Pages 117-119 of World Civilizations I by William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel
http://www.interesting.com/stories/alexander
http://1stmuse.com/frames/index.html