Alexander the Great – Essay 6

Alexander the Great is often thought of as the greatest military commander that the world has ever seen. He was born in July of 356 B. C to King Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias. Since his youth, Alexander was tutored and trained by great philosophers such as Aristotle and Leonidas. His legacy of greatness started with the taming of the wild horse, Bucephalus. Alexander of Macedonia is worthy of the title, Great, due to his strategic military operations, his expansion of the Greek Empire, and the cultural diffusion of the Greeks across the world. Alexander the Great is recognized as one of the greatest commanders that world has ever seen, if not the greatest. Alexander first led troops as a mere teenager and became king afterwards due to the assassination of his father. He decided to expand the Greek Empire, which his dad, King Philip, started but couldn't finish. At just the age of twenty years old, he set out with a massive army to conquer the east. During his time of campaign, he never lost a singer battle and was hailed as a hero and god for overcoming the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great expanded the Greek Empire to be from the Ionian Sea to a part of Northern India. He formed the largest empire of the time that the world was yet to see. This alone make him deserving of the title â€Å"Great†, but Alexander also played an important role in the cultural diffusion of Greek ideas. Alexander the Great spread the Greek culture throughout the world. The start of western culture came with the Greeks, and Alexander made it achieve global dominance by spreading it throughout the vast empire that he formed. He introduced the notion that the government should be for everyone, no just the wealthy. He is also considered to be a pioneer in urban planning and established around twenty cities, such as Alexandria, that became important trade centers and locations of many cultures. The local culture was further changed by Alexander's Greek-influenced city planning techniques, which established towns with a central market square, school, offices, shops, a public theater, and gym. It was changes such as these that led to the Hellenistic period of Greece after the death of Alexander, which is marked with increasing urbanization. His empire contained many cultures because he allowed the nations he conquered to practice any religion they wanted. He also incorporated some of the ideas of other nation into Greek culture making it stronger and lasting. As Alexander the Great made his way back to Greece, after conquering a part of India, he was stricken with severe fever and died in Babylon at the age of thirty-two. He had achieved so many accomplishments that few could measure up to. His legacy had influence on many cultures and nations and led to many developments in the economy and changes to the government. He redesigned history and was an inspiration to future military leaders like Julius Caesar. It is through these accomplishments that he proved worthy of being called the â€Å"Great†. Alexander the Great changed the historical development of his country. While his father has made major changes inroads in expanded Macrdonia beyond the Balkan Peninusula, it was Alexander who expanded the sphere of influence well beyond even his father's great expectations. Alexander also carried the message of Greek democracy to Asia and into the dark continent of Africa, the journey that the concept would have never taken place. It was Alexander who introduced the individual freely participating in government, and it was this idea that government was for everyone, not simply for the wealthy. This influenced not only the historical development of his own country, but also inspired other countries to establish the same systems of government.