Block C
September 30, 2016
Alexander III of Macedon is one of the most renowned leaders of ancient times. He is known for having never lost a battle during his conquests in Ancient Greece, parts of Africa, and Asia. This caused ancient Roman historians like Quintus Curtius Rufus to give him the title Alexander the Great, which he has been known by ever since. However, there has been a lot of debate in modern times discussing whether he deserves his title or not. I believe that Alexander does not deserved to be called great because although he was an outstanding cavalry leader, he fought poor opposition, he was self-centered, and he was extremely destructive and violent.
Alexander never lost a battle in any of his conquests because he faced very weak opponents. Three of Alexander the Great’s four most famous victories were against Persia, and although Persia had a very large army, it was very undisciplined, it was very unorganized since most of the soldiers spoke different languages, and it was not trained well. The only positive of the Persian army was that since Persia was rich, Greek mercenaries could be hired. The Persian army was usually made up of about 20,000 Greek mercenaries, who were the only units capable of fighting the Macedonian army. Historian Paul Davis said, “More important, the Persian Army had lost the ability to work together in a combined fashion. The mercenaries were the only truly professional force left in the empire” (Davis). On top of this, Darius was a very poor military leader. In all of the battles between Alexander and King Darius II, King Darius II always fled out of cowardice, causing the Persian army to completely fall apart. One example that illustrates these points is the Battle of Issus. At this battle, Alexander had around 30,000 soldiers, while King Darius had over 100,000 soldiers which had around 30,000 Greek mercenary units, which their front lines consisted of. When the two infantry phalanxes collided, Greek mercenary troops were able to push Alexander’s army back slightly. Alexander and his cavalry flanked the Persian army though, causing King Darius II to immediately flee, which caused complete chaos within the Persian lines. Eventually, the Persian army fled, giving Alexander the Great the victory. Alexander the Great was able to defeat the Persian army multiple times because the Persian army reacted similarly at each of their battles, proving that defeating Persia multiple times wasn’t a very big accomplishment.
The Alexander Mosaic was created in the 3rd century B.C. and is thought to be created after the Romans conquered Pompeii. This mosaic shows Alexander the Great’s army defeating the chaotic Persian Army at the Battle of Issus.
Alexander the Great was a self-centered leader who didn’t think about any of his subjects. One example of this was Alexander’s want to push east as far as possible. Many ancient historians believed that the Greek word pothos motivated Alexander to push east as far as possible. Pothos is a Greek word that means a deep longing for something that can never be satisfied. Alexander’s army did not share this drive, but Alexander didn’t care. Alexander the Great really only thought about himself, and not about how pushing east for too long without rest would tire his army. The only reason Alexander the Great finally turned back in September of 326 B.C. was because his army forced him too. Once Alexander the Great returned west to Susa, Persia, Alexander the Great released all the men who were unable to fight anymore, and replaced them with 30,000 Persians that were subdued during war. He did this because he wanted to combine the Persians and Macedonians into one culture. When making this decision, he didn't really think or care about if other Macedonians wanted to combine their cultures too. Once Alexander the Great did this, the Macedonians revolted, because they believed that Persians were barbaric. Despite this, Alexander further tried to combine Macedonian and Persian cultures by forcing Macedonians to marry Persians. This caused many to disapprove of and criticize Alexander the Great. According to ancient Roman historian Arrian, “All this offended the Macedonians, who thought that Alexander was becoming altogether Asiatic in his ideas, and was holding the Macedonians themselves as well as their customs in a position of contempt” (Arrian). Rather than doing what the majority of his citizens wanted, he bribed them, so he could get his way. He honored and gave money to those who followed these orders. Alexander the Great was a self-interested leader who always acted without thinking about what others would think.
Modern painting by Tom Lovell that shows Alexander the Great celebrating a mass marriage in Susa, Persia. This was created based off descriptions in ancient writings about Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great was destructive and violent of in many ways. He often destroyed cities for absolutely no reason. Then, he would never bother to rebuild them. One example of this was the destruction of Persepolis. In January of 330 B.C., Alexander arrived at Persepolis, and instructed his army to completely destroy the city along with all of its residents. According to ancient Greek historian Diodorus, “As Persepolis had surpassed all other cities in prosperity, so she now exceeded them in misfortune.” (Diodorus). Alexander destroyed and looted many cities similarly to Persepolis. This had many negative affects. This caused Alexander’s Empire to be a complete wreck, filled with hundreds of destroyed cities where Macedonians weren’t able to live. This eventually caused hostile tribes to build up in these areas that became hindrances to Macedonia. Alexander the Great was also very violent towards his subjects. If anyone ever questioned or criticized Alexander the Great, then he would immediately kill them without a trial. Also, he would often assume that people committed crimes without any proof. According to historians Pamela Dell and Debra Skelton, “In October 324 B.C.E. Alexander's dearest friend, Hephaestion, became ill and died in Ecbatana. Alexander was devastated by the death and ordered Hephaestion's doctor to be killed” (Dell and Skelton). Alexander the Great’s temper was even worse when he was drunk, which was quite often. Alexander killed a lot of his subjects over small matters because since he was drunk, his temper was made worse. Alexander was an extremely violent leader whose temper often got the best of him.
Modern painting by Tom Lovell that shows Persepolis being destroyed by Alexander the Great's army. This was created based off ancient descriptions in ancient writings about Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great does not deserve his title because he was a leader who was only focused on what was best for him, and not for Macedonia. He was also overly aggressive and ruinous, leaving most of his empire in ruins. Even though he conquered over two million square miles, he faced poor opposition, making this an easy task for him. Overall, Alexander was a very poor leader who should not be called great. Although Alexander was looked upon highly in the past, people today are starting to see the substandard leader that Alexander III of Macedon really was.
Works Cited
The Alexander Mosaic. BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_art_gallery_07.shtml. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.
“Alexander the Great.” BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/alexander_the_great.shtml. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
“Arrian on Alexander.” Shsu.edu, www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/ArrAlex.html. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
“Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from the Campaigns of Alexander.” Internet History Sourcebook, sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/arrian-alexander1.asp. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
“Battle of Gaugamela.” Facts On File, 2015, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/369759?q=battle%20of%20Gaugamela. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Davis, Paul. “Macedonian Army.” ABC-CLIO, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/585993?terms=Macedonian+Army&sType=quick. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Davis, Paul, and Allen Lee Hamilton. “Persian Army.” ABC-CLIO, 2004, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/574516?terms=Persian+Army&sType=quick. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Dell, Pamela. “Final Years of Alexander’s Empire.” Facts On File, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/397263?q=alexander%20the%20great%20government. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Didorus Siculus Library of History. Livius : Articles on ancient history, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/17A*.html. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Emmons, Jim. “Alexander the Great.” ABC-CLIO, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/575648?terms=alexander%20the%20great%20&webSiteCode=SLN_HANC&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f575648%3fterms%3dalexander+the+great+&sType=quick&token=A28B7F21CB4A65E00595AB818E897F32&casError=False. Accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
Lovell, Tom. Alexander The Great Celebrates a Mass Marriage In Susa, Persia. Ancient Origins, www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_art_gallery_07.shtml. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.
---. Destruction Of Persepolis. American Gallery, americangallery.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/tom-lovell-1909-1997/attack-on-the-ancient-city-of-persepolis-destruction-of-persepolis-by-alexander-the-great/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.
Plutarch. “The Parallel Lives by Plutarch.” 1919. Penelope.uchicago.edu, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/3.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
Sean:
ReplyDelete1. I found that using very active visuals makes it interesting because it gives the reader a scene to go off of about what the time was like.
2. My research shows similarities with his and nothing that stands out that is very different.
3. I wish you would’ve mentioned how Alexander tried to combine other cultures such as Egyptian, and Indian, to create the Hellenistic culture. And what happened after death that affected his “greatness”
I found it interesting how you explained that many of his victories could be credited to weak opponents, and how you emphasized his destructive nature. I didn’t see anything that conflicted with my research. Also, I think the post is fairly complete; it mentioned everything I expected it to and more.
ReplyDelete1. I thought it was interesting how Perisa hired Greek mercenaries instead of an actual army to fight Alexander by Darius, and how he fled.
ReplyDelete2. My research showed how Alexander destroyed some of Persia, but he had left some of it not destroyed.
3. I wish you would have mentioned that Alexander killed his best friend while drunk, Cleitus the Black, who had saved his life. That would have helped how you were trying to prove he was not great.