Alexander III was more commonly known as Alexander the Great, was one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. Alexander, born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympias, a princess of Epirus (1). The exact date of his birth is unsure, but was probably either July 20 or 26, 356 BC. He was said to be a direct descendent of Zeus. Alexander became the pupil of the great philosopher, Aristotle. When Alexander was 16, Philip II went away on a military campaign, and left Alexander in charge of his kingdom. This was Alexander’s first taste of power. While his dad was away, Alexander found out about a rebellion by the Illyria tribe, so Alexander went and put a full stop to that. (4) Theory has it a Macedonian noblemen assassinated Philip. Another theory is Alexander and his mother planned his assassination, because they lost royal favor.
Alexander had to pass through many obstacles to get to the extent of his powers and kingdom. When Philip had died, Alexander found his new empire in disorder. Alexander had many enemies. He had enemies in home and abroad. Many people were dissatisfied with his ruling and were threatening him with rebellion. To solve this problem, he killed anyone posing a threat to his regal power. Alexander confirmed being the Captain-General of the campaign in Persia as well as becoming the Captain-General of the League of Corinth. Alexander had army men from all of his provinces.
Ptolemy was one of the generals for Alexander. Alexander was an expert at organizing his units for complex battle maneuvers. Unlike usual leaders, he joined his men in battle.
Alexander’s position as a military leader changed throughout his conquests. He started out as a crusader, trying to have revenge for the destruction of Greecells precious buildings. He ended up with the goal of expanding his empire and the knowledge and practice of Hellenic culture throughout it. After the death of Alexander, his kingdom split apart into three Greco-Macedonian kingdoms. Alexander’s officers wanted to wait for Alexander’s child to see if it is a boy or girl. If it were a boy, it would rule. The ordinary soldiers, on the other hand, wanted to give rule to Alexander’s half-brother. They finally agreed to have a joint rule between them. Then the son of Antipater, one of Alexander’s generals, had both heirs killed.
Alexander’s reputation for an excellent conqueror lived on. The Romans and Napoleon both did a lot like Alexander in battle and studied his strategies. He had great educational influence too. He brought Oriental knowledge to Western Europe. Since the Orientals already figured out many calculations, the Europeans did not have to rediscover anything they just built what the Orientals knew. He also had a great influence in art. Since he conquered India, Hellenic architecture was adapted to Indian Buildings and statues. Early Christian art also had also a Hellenic style. Even the statues of Buddha were modified to fit the Hellenic style. Alexander was a very influential ruler.
