Conqueror, yes. King, yes. Great, yes. Perhaps the greatest leader in history, Alexander The Great. What can you say about the man, young, but wise. Determined to get what he wanted no matter what. People ask the absurd question “is Alexander Great?”
Is that even a question?
He did an unbelievable amount in his 13 years of power. Alexander was chosen as king when he was twenty years old. That same year he defeated the Persian Empire. At the time of his death when he was 33, Alexander had taken over about 2,000,000 square miles of land, which is ONLY 200,000 miles less than the Roman Empire. According to History Alive! The Ancient World textbook, he had established 70 cities. And his main city Alexandria, had become the center of trade in the empire.
Alexander thought of himself as an equal to his army. The Legend Of The Helmet explicitly emphasizes his selflessness. Alexander and his army were in the desert searching for water. They were so thirsty and on the verge of dying. Then after a long time, they found water. The army gave Alexander a helmet full of water, but that was the only water left. He was grateful, but he couldn’t accept it. Alexander poured the water on the ground. The man did this because he knew his army wouldn’t be able to have some water even though they are going through the same thing he is. Lucius Flavius stated “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.”
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You would expect the people Alexander took over to hate him right? Well, the Hindu Kush disagree. Kasi Khushnawaz, a person who was quoted in In the footsteps of Alexander The Great, states “He conquered the world, and was a very great man, brave and dauntless and generous to his followers”. People were proud to have Alexander as their ancestor. They were proud that they could say “Yes, Alexander is my ancestor.”.
So in conclusion, what have we learned. I believe that I have more than once proven that he was a great, brave, generous, loving, ruler. Opponents thought he was ruthless, but allies thought he was the best man. The man, the myth, the great, Alexander.
