WORLD CIVILIZATIONS

Joseph Castillo
Student Identification Number
HS150 World Civilizations I
Assignment 03 and Title
Date of Submission
The Conquests of Alexander the Great

In just under thirteen years, Alexander the Great lived great campaigns of uniting the East
and the West. Being born into his father empire, Alexander had much bigger dreams of grandeur
and upon becoming king he soon grew his empire to stretch from the Balkans to what is known
today as Pakistan (Jarus, 2013). Alexanders father was Phillip II, king of Macedonia and his
mother was Olympias who was the daughter of king Neoptolemus. Alexander was bred for
greatness and trained from a very young age. Alexanders father always knew that he would
succeed him and take over his empire one day. Phillip II primed his son Alexander from his early
childhood for a future in politics and military might. Alexander was extremely well educated by
the none other than Greek Philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle taught Alexander and his friends about
science, poetry, drama and politics but he always knew Alexanders heart was in the military.
Along with being educated by Aristotle, Alexander was also trained and educated in military
strategies and warfare from two of Macedonians fiercest generals Parmenion and Antipater.
The young Alexander and his father King Phillip had a very strained relationship. At one point
Alexanders father took a new wife and Alexander and his mother Olympias left Macedonia and
stayed with her family in Epirus ("Alexander The Great," n.d.). After Phillip II was assassinated,
Alexander became king of Macedonia at the early age of twenty. As stated earlier in our text

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book Connections: A World History (Judge and Langdon, 2009), Alexander was groomed in
military tactics from an early age and was given control of the cavalry at the important battle of
Chaeronea at the age of eighteen. He fortified not only Macedonias frontlines but also crushed
the Greek rebellion forcing the Greeks to acknowledge him as King Philips rightful successor
(Judge and Langdon, 2009, p. 155).
After getting Greece under his control Alexander set his sights on Persia to finish what
his father had planned was not able to accomplish. Embarking on military conquest into Persia
was extremely risky. Persia had a very large and resilient army. Alexander set his sights on an
epic military takeover by entering Asia Minor. Alexander was in command of well over forty
thousand men of which five thousand were cavalry. Alexanders army consisted of a multitude of
highly trained seasoned men with various military training. Alexanders reasoning for conquering
Persia was because he claimed to want to protect the Greek culture from the barbaric ways of the
Persians but in truth he attacked them so he can pilfer their money (Walbank, n.d.). Alexanders
first major victory against the Persia Empire was won at the Granicua River. According to our
text book Connections: A World Of History by Edward Judge and John Langdon, Alexander
had amazing insight in planning out his military strategy and anticipating his enemies next
move (Judge & Langdon, 2009, p. 155). Alexander believed he was protected by the gods and
that he was the second Achilles and could not fail in battle. By the subsequent spring, Alexander
and his army controlled the western half of Asia Minor. At the Battle of Issus, Alexanders and
his men were outnumbered by the Persian troops and the Persian emperor believed that this just
might be the battle Alexander and his men lose. Even though the odds were stacked against the
Macedonians and Greeks with Alexanders daring and fierce leadership they once again prevailed
victorious. With Alexanders ever growing hunger for power he then set his sight towards the

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south. Alexander soon conquered Syria Palestine and Egypt and even took the title of pharaoh of
Egypt. One of the impacts that Alexanders conquest had on Egypt was that he founded a city
named after himself; Alexandria. During the Hellenistic period the city of Alexandria held one of
the most impressive libraries of the ancient world ("HISTORY OF ALEXANDRIA," n.d.).Soon
many immigrants from eastern Mediterranean flock to this new capital city Alexandria causing it
to become a bustling cosmopolitan centre. Even after all this success in battle Alexander wanted
to conquer more lands .Alexander and his army continue to ravage through Afghanistan all the
way into India. The tables now have started to turn against Alexander, as he set his sights
towards the eastern sea his men grew weary of battle. Alexanders army have been conquering
lands for the past eight years far away from their families and homes and had enough. Alexandra
was now forced to turn back due to the lack of support from his once fierce army; he made it
back to Persia. While in Persia Alexander tried to combine both Persian and Greek cultures and
took on many wives. Soon in Greece Alexander was despised, many Greeks believed he favored
Persian people and their culture over the Greek people. Alexanders dream of having the Greek
culture infiltrate all of Asia fell short. Alexanders disappointment in his army for not pushing
forward reared itself in his over indulgence in alcohol and celebrations. Alexander died at the
young age of 32 in June of 323 B.C.E. from a fever and within 12 days was unable to speak and
walk. It is speculated that his death was brought about from wine that was made from a
poisonous plant ("Mystery of Alexander the Great's death solved? Ruler was 'killed by toxic
wine' claim scientists | Science | News | The Independent," 2014).
In closing, it appears that Alexanders own ego might have done the greatest damage to
his legacy. The culture that Alexander championed in creating is known as the Hellenistic
culture. Unlike its former Hellenic culture, Hellenistic culture is a medley of Greek, Persian,

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Egyptian and India. Through the plundering of Persia, the post Alexander monarchies built
harbors and roads which helped facilitate trade. Alexanders conquest opened up a gateway for
many cultures to exchange goods, commerce, foods, and intellectual ideas. Many Greek thinkers
benefited greatly from the new ideas in science, mathematics, and physics taken from the East.
Due to the expansion of the Hellenistic culture, the Greek language became the common
language of traders. Now with one common language many traders were able to understand one
another and exchange ideas, cultures and information. As spectacular as Alexander the Greats
conquest were by spreading Greek poetry, politics, philosophy and culture to the East, there were
far reaching negative effects also. Alexander and his army literally wiped out the Persian Empire
without replacing it with a culture that helped the Persian people (Judge and Langdon, 2009,
p. 157). Due to the Greek cultural expansion into the Mediterranean the Chattel slave trade
increased. Small groups of people who became wealthy due to the success in trade implemented
slave plantations (Clark, 2012). After reading and researching this fascinating assignment, I
cannot help but think was Alexander so Great? and I think the answer would depend on who
you asked.

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5
References

A+E Networks. (2009). Alexander the Great - Ancient History - HISTORY.com. Retrieved from
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/alexander-the-great
Alexander The Great. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-thegreat-9180468#king-of-macedonia
Clark, D. (2012, April 27). THE IMPACT OF ALEXANDER THE GREATS CONQUESTS.
Retrieved from semiramis-speaks.com/the-impact-of-alexander-the-greats-conquests/
HISTORY OF ALEXANDRIA. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa03
Jarus, O. (2013, September 27). Alexander the Great: Facts, Biography & Accomplishments.
Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/39997-alexander-the-great.html
Judge, E. H., & Langdon, J. W. (2009). Connections: A world history (2nd ed.). New Jersey, NJ:
Pearson.
Mystery of Alexander the Great's death solved? Ruler was 'killed by toxic wine' claim scientists
| Science | News | The Independent. (2014, January 12). Retrieved from
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mystery-of-alexander-the-greats-deathsolved-ruler-was-killed-by-toxic-wine-claim-scientists-9054625.html
Walbank, F. W. (n.d.). Alexander the Great | king of Macedonia | Britannica.com. Retrieved
from http://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great