Persepolis: The Rise And Fall Of Alexander The Persian Empire

In the Ancient World, Alexander III is viewed as a great leader.As a boy, Alexander’s dad, King Philip III, was the king of Macedonia from 323 BC till 317 BC. While King Philip III was ruling Macedonia, Alexander was taught by philosophers ,such as Aristotle, and trained to become a vigorous leader. Later on, King Philip III died of unknown causes and Alexander III took over at the age of 20, inheriting his father’s kingdom Alexander became a renowned,strong leader. Alexander was a great general who feared nothing. He rode into battles in front of his soldiers and marched into unknown lands. He had great intelligence and battle strategies thinking of the enemies' next

Great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate; a good example of such men is Alexander the Great. This paper seeks to explain further Alexander’s military genius and its positive impact on military impact over the past centuries. The paper also gives a well thought analysis why Alexander was so much successful in his wars and conquests. His big empire spread all the way from Gibraltar to the Punjab and in his leadership made Greek the lingua franca of his new World (Cary, M, 1932).

Alexander achieved more noteworthy deeds than most of the rulers who had lived before him, but additionally, the individuals who were to come later down to our time. Alexander the Great was conceived at Pella Macedonia in 356 B.C.E. He spent his adolescent years watching his dad changing Macedonia into an extraordinary military force. His Father was King Phillip and his mother was Olympias. His mom was the rule of neighboring Epirus. She was a profoundly otherworldly woman who taught her child about his predecessors, for example, Achilles and Hercules. From his most punctual age, he was molded for victory and eminence in being a lord. He then got to be centered on turning into an extraordinary ruler, which he soon would get to be.

In order to actually understand how Alexander the Great came to power, we must first explore into his background. He was born around 356 B.C.E in July within the capital city of Macedonia. When he was just a small child, he spent his time observing his father, Phillip the II, who during that time was the current leader of Macedonia. His father was a force to be reckoned with, and scholars like to link this to Alexander’s future success within the empire. Along with watching his father, little Alexander at the age of 13, eventually gained a very smart and intelligent tutor by the name of Aristotle. Of which, was a very successful philosopher that taught him literature and rhetoric. It would later serve a purpose in increasing Alexander’s interest in many subjects such as science, medicine and philosophy. This process of his training would continue on until he reached the age of 16. Later

Alexander the so-called ‘Great’ was a legendary conqueror who in his short lifetime was able to overthrow the Persian Empire, the most powerful kingdom at that time. He was born in 356 BCE to King Philip and Queen Olympia of Macedonia. Alexander’s warring career jumpstarted at the age of 20 in the year 336 BCE, due to the assassination of his father in which he inherited his father’s kingdom. Over the span of 11 years, Alexander and his small fleet of men of about 40,000 took over and ruthlessly conquered the Persian Empire. Sadly, this conquest was short-lived by Alexander’s sudden death in the year 323 BCE, in which his unstable kingdom with a lack of a structured governmental system quickly broke apart in the period of 10 years. Therefore, because of the cruel and the disorganized nature of the way Alexander the ‘Great’ conquered and maintained the Persian Empire, he does not deserve to be referred as ‘Great’.

Through many history books and writings, many historians write about Phillip III, or most commonly known as Alexander the Great. Maybe because of how successful he was or maybe just because of how he had such a major impact in history. They tend to focus on the advantages he created, and the success Alexander the Great had as a leader not just in the military aspect of his reign, but also as a leader in the political side. The history shows the impacts and changes brought from the military, from which Alexander the Great lead, and the spreading of Greek culture he influenced through the areas he conquered. As Alexander the Great dedicated his life to further advancing his power, the world would never be same at the time for surrounding villages and empires that tried to defend their land against Alexander the Great with his army and allies.

The greatest conquering king in the world; King of Macedonia and conqueror of Persia, Alexander the Great is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses ever. With his amazing diplomatic skills and military genius, Alexander led Macedonia “to conquer most of the known world”. Though he only lived to a relatively young age of thirty-three, Alexander made use of his time from his first task as a leader stifling a rebellion to his last conquering the Persians and Indians. Alexander’s conquests created a whole new era of Greek inspired culture known as the Hellenistic Era. From his amazing prowess as a youth, to his conquests as an adult, and to his influence on the world after his death Alexander the Great left his mark on the world.

Through 336 to 323 bc, Alexander was the king of Macedon. Alexander The Great always wanted to have supreme power over humans. He also led a group called the Corinthian League. This league entrusted Alexander with many military power to fight with Persia. A little while after, he proceeded to conquer the Persian Empire, making himself one of the best military leaders in ancient time. In October, 335 bc, Alexander decided to go back to Macedon and get ready for his expedition in Asia. He had numerous amounts of troops with ships. Alexander’s resources were much more superior to Darius. He had a very well trained army. Alexander had a huge expansion on his empire called Hellenism also known as a spread culture from Mediterranean to Asia. His army troops made passages through mountainous areas leading to an expansion of trade routes from Europe to Asia. These routes allowed religious and cultural trading between the east and west. Alexander’s group had a safe trade route in the cities where no one had to fear. Alexander defeated a very large Persian army. He also conquered Syria and after Syria, he conquered Egypt in 331 bc. Alexander the great succeeded in making the biggest Western Empire in Ancient time. Alexander also united the Greeks together. The spirit of

Alexander was elected to be Philip II's successor, giving him power to secure troops from mainland Greece to make war against Persia, the most powerful empire at the time. Alexander the Great was a hard-working hero who never gave up and followed in his father's footsteps. "Within three years after the Battle of Issus, Alexander captured and destroyed the Persian capital of Persepolis and claimed the right to rule all of Persia. Yet he showed much respect for the captured Persians," (Event C, 2). Even though Alexander destroyed the Persian capital and ruled over them, he still showed respect for them by allowing them to keep their religious traditions, with customs he even adopted. These actions were part of his goal to have an empire that merged the best aspects of both the western and eastern worlds. “Alexandria flourished in part because of Alexander’s great respect for knowledge and various cultural traditions—not only those he

Through upright military genius Alexander had overpowered the Persian Empire in little than a decade. The people of Thebes were rebellious against King Philip’s union of Greek states in the hope that the Alexander was either dead himself or too inexperienced to stop them. Their demolition was no oddity, but simply a foresee of the entire Alexandrian path to military practice that was so rewarding later in Asia. Alexander’s Megalomania and ambition for divine honor helped to spread the tradition of Hellenism and left hundreds of thousands of Asians dead in his ferocious wake. Alexander had depended on the particular value one places on military genius and conquest. Alexander was a man who desired no ‘Brotherhood of Man’ in Asia. His teen-year

At Arbela, Alexander encountered the Persians, this was the Battle of Gaugamela. At the end, the Persian army fell, and into the Kurdish mountains Alexander followed Darius. As they pursued Darius they found Babylonia, Alexander then decided to desert the chase. He probed the all the riches of the land Darius ditched. Later, Alexander defeated the superb palace of Susa and took their riches. Next, he departed to the capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. Alexander believed Persepolis was their worst enemy among the cities of Asia. Also, they were the wealthiest city. Alexander sacked and burned the city to stop its uprising, and as a consequence for the demolition of Athens. Then he went to Darius's last capital, Ecbatana, where he left the Macedonian general in command of the seized valuables. Alexander set out in search for Darius. Darius and his eastern satraps have ran off past the Caspian Gates. The satraps had assassinated Darius when Alexander got to them, he demanded a royal funeral. As Darius's inheritor and avenger, Alexander according to Persian principles, maltreated them. He became the Persian king, started to dress in Persian royal clothing and embraced the Persian court ceremonials. Like anywhere else, he placed officials in his management. But, he retained his place of the head of the Corinthian League with regard to the Greek ambassadors. Alexander professed that he was the King of Asia and

The celebrated king, Alexander, has been one of the most enduring figures in history; his great skill as both a leader and a general has made him renown for 2,000 years and others have adapted his strategies and tactics. In his lifetime Alexander the Great established the greatest empire in the ancient world, and the interest regarding him has ceased to fade because we are always learning more about what he did and his personal insight on the world at his time. His achievements throughout his short yet fulfilled life provides us insight on his characterization and what made him “great”. Without him, the influence on Greek culture during the ancient world would not be near as rich as it is today, and even though his goal might not have been

During the course of his life and reign, Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeating many kings and warlords throughout the ancient world. Perhaps his most recognized conquest was of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and its ‘King of Kings’ Darius III during the Battle of Issus 1. After defeating the Persians at the Battle

The Generals of Alexander who supported Perdiccas were given parts of the Empire in the partition of Babylon. This sparked later wars between them which are known as the wars of the Diadochi (which means “successors”). Ten years earlier in 333 BC Alexander conquered Egypt and was regarded by the people as a liberator or a deliverer. At this time he also established Alexandria which became the capital of Egypt for many years. Alexander left Clemonenes of Naucratis as nomarch of the Arabian district of Egypt. Clemones was a dishonest man who did anything for money. He cheated his own soldiers out of a month’s pay. He made money by taking advantage of the people and even used their superstitions to earn money at their expense. He held his position until Ptolemy arrived in Egypt.

Alexander III of Macedon, widely known as Alexander the Great, is opinioned by some people to have been a ruthless man who only had a thirst for conquest , but according to others he was a man of intellect and “statesmanlike vision” (Hammond Preface). In N.G.L. Hammond’s book The Genius of Alexander the Great, as stated in the preface, he tries to refrain from writing based on his own opinion of Alexander, and instead analyzes the few surviving narratives on Alexander’s achievements in an unbiased manner. He portrays the conquests, struggles, and greatest achievements of Alexander’s career, such as the building of his empire that stretched from the eastern Mediterranean coast through Asia Minor and the