Was Alexander Really Great?

Sachin Katyal

Mr. Lanier

September  29, 2015

Alexander the Great Essay

Was Alexander the Great Truly Great?

What defines greatness?  Is it having the tenacity to move past anything that gets in one’s way?  Is it having a brilliant idea that causes motivation and requires the leadership skills to put it into play? Or is it setting the foundation of ideas for many to follow? Although, these are not all required, these are many of the characteristics that makes one great. Alexander the Great possessed all of the skills.  He was passionate in everything he did.  He did not let anyone tell him what he wanted to do with his life and whatever goal he set out to do, he did it to the best of his ability.  Because of this, he had to use his leadership skills in order to make his plans come to life. From conquering many ancient civilizations to influencing others, Alexander the Great impacted many of the societies at the time and even many in the future.  Alexander’s brilliance in military tactics and leadership helped him conquer and impact many societies that had major advancements in math and science.  With all of these qualities put together, he deserves the title as being “great”.

Alexander’s leadership lead him to create and maintain a powerful military.  This was exemplified when he used his leadership to combine armies of large quantity where they all fought with of a common goal, conquer civilizations.  He used his wittiness and his work ethic to build a powerful, strong army. With a combination of both of these traits he  was able to produce a very relentless cavalry.  Because of his brilliance and administration in devising plans against military of other civilizations, he was not only able to expand the empire, but also influence many other military strategies in the future.  “The life of Alexander the Great has inspired people from antiquity to modern times. Such generals as Julius Caesar have looked to Alexander, compared themselves against his success, and copied his tactics,”(ABC-Clio).  Alexander’s innovations towards military forces show that he was able to perfect what he set out to accomplish.  He perfected the phalanx army formation and paved the path for army strategies for future civilizations.  This tendency to take over civilizations does come with a cost. Many may argue that although he was a good leader, he was also, however, very ruthless. In fact, this was true; he was very abusive to many soldiers in his army from common fighters to best friends.  Many of the successful people in our current generation, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, are also ruthless to some extent.  Bill Gates was very stern, sometimes not listening to any of his coworkers.  Steve Jobs, for a while, denied the existence of his daughter. Finally, Mark Zuckerberg tricked his co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, into leaving his company, Facebook.  Everyone that is great and successful is going to have some flaw no matter what, so it is not a fair to assert that Alexander was not great just because he was ruthless.  He accomplished so much more than he did wrong;  he built and lead his army into victory.  Alexander's accomplishments in a forceful, united army resulted in the creation of many civilizations.

Alexander’s drive to conquer civilization caused him to be tenacious when dealing with anything that got in his way. His expansion of military started with conquering Persia.  His army was greatly outnumbered compared to Persia.  Because of his intelligence and his tenacity, he was able to take on the army and desolate them. Alexander then continued on to more challenges such as Egypt, Asia Minor, and even going as far as India.  “Alexander's conquests covered a vast region—most of Asia Minor, Egypt, and the areas of present-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. With his encouragement, Greek culture soon spread throughout these conquered territories,”(ABC-Clio).  Leading such a powerful military that was able to accomplish so much really shows how strong of a commander and leader he was.  With all of these attacks, he was not only changing the world at that time, but he was also changing the world for the future.  In total, Alexander the Great founded more than 70 different cities all named Alexandria ranging from Egypt to India. Alexander’s conquest resulted in the influence of many civilizations.

Alexander the Great, because of all his invasions, had altered and influenced many of the civilizations that would last for centuries. Many of the civilizations that he founded had thrived in their societies.  These societies, that had a mix in culture of Greek, Persian, and Asian civilizations, lived in the age known as the Hellenistic Period.  The Hellenistic Period, that was made off the influences of Alexander the Great, was the time period of great innovations, where crops flourished, and empires thrived. “The Hellenistic Age, which began with Macedonian king Alexander the Great's creation of an empire encompassing the area between Greece and India, was a time that saw the cross-fertilization of cultures, the rise of powerful independent monarchies, and important scientific innovations, ”(ABC-Clio).  Alexandria, Egypt was one of the most successful Alexandrian city .  It had many accomplishments such as building the world’s first observatory with a large telescope or discovering that the planets revolve around the sun and not Earth. Alexander the Great helped influence many innovations in the math and science field.  With these advanced civilizations, there had been many discoveries and innovations.  Because people were willing to follow cultures that Alexander heeded, this proves that people thought highly of him. Because of his many influences, many discoveries had been made that greatly changed the world.

Because of Alexander’s brilliance in the military, the influences on the many future societies, and even the expansion and creation of many empires, Alexander the Great holds the title as being great. Because of Alexander the Great’s influences he was able to set the foundation for many societies, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and many other middle-eastern countries.  In the current generation, it is evident that these countries were influenced by Greek culture seen by way people dress, the way the buildings are style, and the overall environment of the country.  Without the help of Alexander the Great the way military advancements would be different, societies would be different, and even the field of science would be different.  Because of all these reason, Alexander the Great did not just help the world change, he made the world change.






  Citations:

Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Hellenistic science." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras.     ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. Emmons, Jim Tschen.

Hutchinson, Jennifer. "Alexander the Great (Overview)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

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http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Army1.jpg

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/alexanderempiremap_large.jpg














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