Can you imagine how it would be to rule ½ of the world. Personally, I think that would be amazing. Alexander the Great experienced this very achievement, when he completed his ultimate mission of conquering the massive Persian Empire. Alexander had 2,000,000 square miles of land and he could do anything he wanted it with it.1 But how did he get there?
Read on to find out.
Have you seen Alexander’s war tactics. They are brilliant. Here is an example. When he reached India to conquer it, he was almost stopped my elephants. But, you see, Alexander is not the kind of person who just gives up. So, he came up with an ambitious plan. Alexander moved his troops in different directions to keep his enemy confused. Then, Alexander felled all the elephants and the people were trampled under them. SMART! With most of the people stuck, Alexander could kill them easily. The Campaigns of Alexander by Lucius Flavius Arrianus states: “Porus’s elephants were now boxed in, and the damage inflicted by them fell on friend no less than foe, with men trampled under as the beasts twisted and turned.”
All these skills are very helpful to conquer land.
Speaking of conquering land, Alexander conquered a lot at young age. Now, most people think that that is not such a great achievement but if you think about it, being able to rule ½ the world, 11 years after you start is pretty cool.1 He went from Macedonia, all the way to north India. That is the whole Persian empire plus some!2 But, Alexander did have many “fights” along the way. He fought in the Granicus River, Issus, Damascus,
Gaugamela, and Bucephalus.3
Many ancient leaders would have been selfish and want everything to themselves but Alexander was not. When his army had to cross a scorching desert, they couldn’t find any water. As they trudged along, tormented by thirst, a part of the infantry, found a trickle of water in a shallow gully. They scooped up the water, put it into a helmet, and gave it to Alexander to drink.4 According to The Legend of the Helmet by Lucius Flavius Arrianus: “Alexander, with a word of thanks for the gift, took the helmet and, in full view of his troops, poured the water on the ground. So extraordinary was the effect of this action that the water wasted by Alexander was as good as a drink for every man in the army.” Because of Alexander’s actions, none of the soldiers felt bad.
You can't get more great than Alexander the Great.
1The Chart of Alexander’s Legacy – Created by Various Sources
2History Alive! The Ancient World – Textbook
3The Map of Alexander’s Empire – Created by Various Sources
4The Legend of the Helmet – Lucius Flavius Arrianus, The Campaigns of Alexander
