Alexander the Great: Military Conquests, Leadership, and Legacy

Introduction

Alexander the Great, also referred to as Alexander III of Macedonia, was a charismatic, fearless, and ambitious warrior and leader — revered even today for his seemingly impossible conquests in far-off lands where no Greek had previously ventured. He was born in Pella in July 356 BC, the capital of Macedonia at that time. His father was Philip II of Macedonia and his mother was Olympias. Alexander studied under Aristotle, the philosopher. When Philip II was killed in 336 BC, Alexander inherited his father's volatile but powerful kingdom. He began by ruthlessly eliminating his enemies on home ground and reasserting Macedonian power over Greece.

Alexander led his army to many victories in Syria, Egypt, and across Persian territories including Asia Minor without suffering a single defeat. The Battle of Gaugamela, considered his greatest victory, took place around 331 BC. Gaugamela is located in what is currently known as northern Iraq.

This paper addresses the following questions: Who was Alexander, and what made him great — victorious, fearless, aggressive, and ambitious? What were the main qualities that enabled him to conquer almost half of the known world while still young? And how should Alexander be described — as a cosmopolitan visionary, a warmonger, or an imperialist?

Alexander was the first leader to have attempted to introduce a "universal state." His image appears across many cultures and has greatly influenced contemporary discourse on globalization. He is regarded as having commanded the most powerful army of his time and was considered the fiercest among the emperors of his era.

Alexander's Journey from King to Emperor

When his father Philip II was killed in 336 BC, Philip had been preparing to lead a combined army of Macedonians and Greeks to free the states of Asia Minor from Persian control. The Greeks had become allies of Macedonia, and many hoped this alliance would allow them to repudiate unpopular agreements made under Philip II. In 335 BC, a revolt broke out in Thebes. When Alexander heard of it, he marched his soldiers to Thebes. The Thebans resisted but were overpowered by Alexander's army.

This was a stark warning to the rest of Greece: Alexander destroyed the entire city of Thebes, sparing only the temples. The remaining Greek states then offered men and ships to support Alexander's subsequent ventures, including his attack on Asia Minor.

In 334 BC, Alexander's forces defeated the well-prepared Persian army after crossing the Hellespont near the Granicus River. He then moved along the coast, liberating a series of Greek cities including those in Ionia and Aeolis (Marx 2000).

The following year, Alexander moved his force eastward into Phrygia before advancing to Gordium. According to legend, Phrygia's founder had tied a knot on the thong of a chariot, connecting it to the yoke, and an oracle had prophesied that whoever untied the knot would rule Asia. When Alexander could not untie it, he cut it with his sword to escape the ill omen. The Persians failed to defend the Cilician Gates, which Alexander passed through on his way to northern Syria. There he encountered a large force under the command of King Darius. Alexander won the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, forcing King Darius to flee before the battle had even ended (Marx 2000).

Between 332 and 331 BC, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria on the Nile and compelled Darius to seek a truce, in return offering Alexander his daughter and all the territory Alexander had already won. Alexander continued through Syria via the Tigris and Euphrates, where he engaged Darius once more and defeated him, routing the Persians and forcing Darius to flee again. This allowed Alexander to enter Babylonia with little resistance. Around 330 BC he marched through Persia and occupied Persepolis, the Persian capital. Later that spring, he marched north to Ecbatana against Darius, who was subsequently assassinated by his own men while fleeing toward the Persian province of Bactria, north of the Hindu Kush. Alexander became the new king of Persia, though he knew he had to protect this title by conquering the remaining eastern provinces. Between 325 and 330 BC, Alexander moved across Turkestan and Afghanistan and into India. Unfortunately, his men refused to advance further east, forcing Alexander to return to Babylon in 325 BC — having nearly fulfilled the prophecy of the Gordian Knot (Marx 2000).