Alexander The Great Essays

Although some view Alexander the Great as a villain, a ruthless tyrant because he took countless lives and conquered many peaceful kingdoms, he was still one of the greatest war generals ever to live who brought his empire to the greatest heights ever seen in history and left behind a brand new culture. Alexander the Great marked a turning point in history through his genius war tactics that are still marveled at today, how quickly he made his empire one of the greatest to stand upon the earth, and how he spread customs and innovations, eventually bringing out a new culture called Hellenism.

Alexander took the throne in place of his father, King Phillip II, when his father was sadly murdered. Alexander, at age 20, took this position confidently with no hesitation, because he was prepared for this, he was tutored by the great Aristotle himself. Brilliantly, Alexander knew that because of his age, people might rebel against him, so he sent all of his rivals and adversaries to the grave when he became king. Not long after he became king, Alexander showed to be a cunning, ambitious, and great leader, he began to expand his empire and lead his people.

He began his quest to make his empire the mightiest of them all, by shutting down a Greek revolt in Thebes, he sentenced a great number of them to death, and showed mercy for the rest of the people. This may portray Alexander as ruthless and cruel, but it really reflects how brilliant Alexander was as a leader, he knew that Greeks may be angered at this, and could rebel against him, so he showed an act of power, to strike fear and respect in the hearts of the Greeks, so that they will not interfere in his empires conquest for power, just a leader taking care of his empire. Alexander then went for the great Persian empire, his first move was conquering Egypt. A great war emerged as Alexander’s army fought with the Persian army in a thirst for power, Alexander’s genius war tactics, defeated the Persian army, and they had successfully conquered Persia. Alexander did not stop there, he was not done yet, he led his mighty army, and they conquered India, as easily as they did with Persia. No one was a match for Alexander the Great. Alexander still wanted to expand his empire even further, but his troops had had enough, they were tired and wished to return to their families back at home, they could not match Alexander’s determination and discipline he had when it came to expanding his empire. Alexander returned to his empire with his army, and now when Alexander’s expansion of the empire was complete, he began to make plans to govern his kingdom and unify it, bringing it together and making it strong.

But then something no one expected happened, Alexander sadly fell ill and died at the age of 32. Even though a great leader was gone, his legacy still remained, and what he did will never be lost. He made his empire one of the greatest to be known. His war tactics were the greatest to ever be known, and are still though today. Alexander marked his own period in history known as the “Hellenistic period”, when a new vibrant culture, that Alexander the Great had brought upon the world, rose to the surface and was practiced by many. Alexander would forever be known as “Alexander the Great”.

Therefore, Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military leaders to ever live, and he marked a turning point in history that is further shown during the Hellenistic Period. This type of turning point was one where new war tactics were spread around the world, an empire became one of the greatest and a new culture was sought to be practiced. All this tells us that Alexander the Great was not just a ruthless tyrant that possessed no mercy, but instead, he was one of the greatest leaders and military strategists to be known, that changed the way wars would play out for the rest of history.