Let me start off by saying the Alexander has a pretty great name, but that wasn’t the only reason he was great. He also set some of the foundations for modern day culture. Also, what I don’t understand, is why he’s being questioned on his greatness now by historians. Historians gave him that title! (Pick one side and stay with it guys, come on). 1He also controlled most of the known world according to this map.
I mean look at that empire, although it soon crumbled after his death his legacy lived on for a long, long, long, time. So, um… how is he not great?
Let me start with some info so you know what I’m talking about.
- He was the son of King Philip of Macedonia who took over Greece
- At the mere age of 20 he set out on an 8 year conquest to conquer Persia (the biggest empire at the time) and it’s neighbors.
- Just years after finishing he sadly died
- He was forever after remembered as great even by Roman Emperors. Julius Caesar even cried over what Alexander had achieved at such a young age!
He was great, and you may already believe me but I’ll prove it to you some more, starting with the fact that he set the foundations for the modern world. To start, 2 his expeditions ended up changing the ethnicity in the area he conquered because some of his soldiers settled in towns along the way. His empire also mixed many cultures together creating something new and unique that lasted long after his empire fell. He also founded around 70 cities and those didn’t just disintegrate after his empire fell. Do I really have to say any more? Well too bad, I am anyways!
He was also rated “Great” by professional historians. But now because he conquered (which involved killing) he is no longer great in any way and should be stripped of his title? He was still a GREAT leader and cared deeply for those that were on his side. Which makes sense, if you wanted to take over a city would you treat the citizens that are fighting against you with the same care as your soldiers… “NO!” at least not during the battle. He also obviously did more good than bad overall (remember not only my opinion, the Romans, some historians and everybody who calls him “Alexander the great”). No I’m still not stopping yet.
Finally, he had a legacy that lived on for thousands of years after he died. 3Which included him being so important that a Roman emperor had sewn in pictures of Alexander to his clothes. With the fact that he and his soldiers helped to shape Buddhism into what it is today because many Greek things were added to the religion. He practically turned Asia-Minor into what it is now because he laid the groundwork and it flourished. Some historians may say he’s no longer great but I hope I have proven it to you, the reader, that he’s still as great as he ever was.
Sources:
2From a quote by Kasi Khushnawaz, a native of Northern Pakistan.
3From a list of Alexander the Great’s legacy and it’s importance.
