The Legacy that Alexander The Great Left The World

The Life and Influence of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was educated by Aristotle and developed an influence from his father, Philip of Macedonia. Both his father and Aristotle loved Greek culture, which influenced Alexander’s later decision to spread Hellenistic culture. Alexander also slept with a copy of Aristotle’s translation of the Iliad under his pillow, which proves how much he loved Greek literature and beliefs. Furthermore, the first place Alexander marched to was Troy, in order to see where his beloved Iliad took place. Alexander wanted to develop the cosmopolitan empire full of Greek culture and beliefs despite his tutor’s negative outlook on other people.

Alexander had many very successful military campaigns and achievements throughout his life. Some of the most notable include Granicus, Tyre and Persepolis. These events demonstrated not only that he was a military genius but also that he had strategic and architectural knowledge; most prominently shown through his building of a fortified bridge to Tyre. Unfortunately for him, Alexander’s military campaigns ended in Western India for two major reasons. Firstly, his armies were tired; they had been marching for more than 10 years with Alexander. Second, the armies wanted to go back home to where their families laid in wait for them to return.

Alexander commanded his generals and soldiers to marry women from the places they’d conquered so that the two races would blend when the couple had children. He used his marriage with the Bactrian Queen, Roxxanne, to achieve this goal by setting an example for his people in attempt to help unify his territory. Many Macedonians did not approve of Alexander’s goal because they did not believe in joining two races and thought of themselves as a “master race”.

Alexander’s empire did not survive long after he died because he named no heir and supposedly said that “the empire should go to the strongest”. Because of this, chaos broke out in the kingdom as his generals all fought for control. Eventually, three major successor kingdoms formed: the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in Persia, and the Antigonids in Macedonia.

The fact that Julius Caesar was in tears shows us that Alexander’s legacy was so strong that it carried on for more than 300 years. So many people respected Alexander the Great and his conquests that even Julius Caesar envied him and his successes as a king.