Alexander III of Macedon (356BC-323BC)

Alexander III of Macedon (356BC-323BC) was a person.

• AKA: Alexander the Great.
• Context:
  • They can be a Militarist and lead one of the most successful military campaigns in history.
  • They can be a Charismatic Leader with the ability to inspire loyalty among their soldiers and subjects.
  • They can be a Cultural Unifier who spread Hellenistic Civilization across different regions of the world.
  • They can be a Philosopher-King, having been tutored by Aristotle and influenced by Greek philosophy.
  • They can be a Brilliant Strategist.
  • They can be a Ruthless Ruler.
  • They can be a Conqueror who built a vast empire stretching from Greece to India.
  • They can influence the political landscape of the ancient world, including the rise of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.
  • They can influence future military leaders, such as Napoleon and Julius Caesar, who studied his campaigns and tactics.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 356BC, born in Pella, Macedonia, to King Philip II of Macedon.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 340BC, at age 16, served as regent of Macedonia while his father campaigned, marking his first significant political responsibility.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 336BC, ascended to the throne of Macedonia following the assassination of his father, Philip II of Macedon.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 334BC, began his conquest of the Persian Empire, crossing the Hellespont into Asia and winning the Battle of Granicus.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 331BC, decisively defeated Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela, leading to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 326BC, reached the banks of the Hyphasis River in India, marking the easternmost point of his conquests.
  • Alexander III of Macedon, 323BC, died in Babylon, possibly from illness or poisoning, without a clear successor to his empire.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Julius Caesar, a Roman general who admired Alexander but operated in a different cultural and political context.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte, who sought to emulate Alexander's conquests but ultimately failed to maintain his empire.
  • Darius III of Persia, who was defeated by Alexander and is often remembered in contrast to his military prowess.
  • Hitler, whose conquests were driven by vastly different ideological motivations and outcomes.
• See: Military Academy, Violent Political Leader, Macedon, Hegemony, League of Corinth, Shahanshah, Persia, Pharaoh, Ancient Egypt, Lord of Asia, Alexander Mosaic, Aristotle.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great Retrieved:2016-6-6.
  • Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Aléxandros ho Mégas ), was a King (Basileus) of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonand a member of the Argead dynasty. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II, to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt into India and northwest South Asia. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle until the age of 16. After Philip's assassination in 336 BC, Alexander succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander's surviving generals and heirs. Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name , most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century and the presence of Greek speakers in central and far eastern Anatolia until the 1920s. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics. He is often ranked among the most influential people in human history, along with his teacher Aristotle.

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