Alexander The Great as One of The Greatest Military Leaders of The Time

Imagine beginning life at age 16 learning about war tactics, age 20 being ascended to the throne and lastly at age 23 having your own dominant force become the greatest of all time. Alexander the Great was born in Pella, Greece of 356 B.C.E. He was Phillip II of Macedon and Olympias’ son. There they lived in Macedonia, Greece. The author, Phillip Freeman, of the novel called “Alexander The Great” mentions key elements to Macedonia’s land. There he says, “viewed from above, the land of Macedonia is a great bowl tipping into the Aegean Sea. On its south, west, and north are towering mountains drained by rivers flowing through plains…” ‘

Within Alexanders earlier life, he grew up fairly quick compared to most children and teenagers. One of his influencers was Aristotle because he was his teacher. Aristotle was one of the most influential greek philosophers of the time. He taught Alexander philosophy, literature and even science. Withdoing so with the help from Aristotle , Alexander became pretty intelligent at such a young age, which will later be demonstrated through some of his strategic methods of war. To continue, Alexander was only 16 years old when his father, Phillip II, taught him about the war. After that, he soon became one of the greatest warriors of the time leading Greece to many more victories and glories.

Primarily, as mentioned earlier, Alexander was a young warrior at heart and very much dedicated to take down anybody. His prestigiousness is what lead him on and on to victories. His first battle riding along his father king Phillp II, at age 16, was the Battle of Chaeronea in August of 338 B.C.E. This is where they held victory against the forces from Athens and Thebes, other greek city states that were against Phillp II forces at the time. This win had given, “Macedon control over Greece”. Unfortunately, this relationship with his father had quickly ended by 336 B.C.E. when Phillip II was stabbed by one of his royal bodyguards in the heart. The author, Phillip Freeman mentions, “as he drew his final breath, his last glimpse of the world of mortal men were the eyes of his son, Alexander, staring down at him”. After the death of his father, Alexander the Great took over his father’s legacy and troops to become even more powerful.

To continue, he had many more victorious battles as he marched east and on. For example, the Battle of Granicus occurred between 334 and 331 B.C.E. because of Alexander’s willingness to follow his father’s orders of bringing the Persian Empire down. At the battlefield, Alexander, always in front of his troops, lead his soldiers towards the Persians and had attacked them instantly as they crossed paths with each other. The soldiers had to fight across river banks that were deep and rocky which became a challenge for many of them. Soon enough Persians began to retreat as Alexander’s army kept pushing. Ultimately as a result the Macedonians killed most of the Persian’s at the end of this battle. It was hard to believe but now Alexander controls all of the Persian cities along the Aegean Sea. This power led Alexander into some trouble when he realized the Persian’s naval forces could possibly defeat him and his men. Being part of the Greek culture, any soldier was trained to never give up without a fight and be willing to die as a strong noble soldier. This depiction was portrayed towards Alexander and his men because he always found a solution which was another aspect to his ability for strategic military techniques. For instance, in this battle between the Persian’s, Alexander’s plan was “...simply to blockade the harbor so the Persian ships could not bring their troops ashore”. After all, this solution will cause the Persian’s to eventually surrender to Alexander, himself. Eventually, Alexander continued on as he conquered many more states to grow his empire and greek culture. He continued towards Egypt eventually discovering Alexandria, which was a city nearby. Lastly, the Battle of Gaugamela was where Alexander and his enemy, the Persian’s, would face one another. As a result it’s mentioned in the article from “Beginning of Alexander’s Empire”, “some historians call the Battle of Gaugamela the greatest battle of antiquity. Its outcome ended more than two centuries of Persian rule in Asia”. It is believed that Alexander and his men, being part of greek culture, were willing to die no matter what for their state.

In the meantime, Alexander the Great was once remembered as a brilliant, brave and persistent warrior. His death on June 13th 323 B.C.E marked the end of his empire. It was told that he became ill with malaria and couldn’t make it back home. Unfortunately, from these turn of events, Alexander’s empire soon began to crumble. More importantly, what Alexander the Great had left for Greece was something far beyond extraordinary in history. He is still remembered as one of the youngest rulers to conquer for consecutive years. After all he did conquer empires from Greece all the way to the Arabian gulf within a short time span. His accomplishments about war and the creation of his army is still an impact on history today because it signifies the power and relic he left during this time. For example from the primary source 'Alexander the Great,' in Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men of Battle, Rooney mentions, “As a tactician he was unrivaled—in direct leadership in battle, in the development of new weapons both for sieges and for battles, of the direct control of troops in battle, and in the speed of movement”. Therefore, this author implies that Alexander the Great’s ability to build such a strong, organized and well-trained army represents his role as being one of the greatest military leaders of the time.