Alexander The Great Legacy

Alexander, the young king of Macedonia, was the greatest military commander in all of history to ever to drive an army into battle. He was not only inspiring, but he also patient, brave, clever, and never went into battle without strategic planning, which is what made him The Great Alexander. He believed he could unite people, through the sheer force of his will, and he did just that. Alexander the Great also conquered huge territories during his reign. Why was he so successful? Alexander was successful in his conquests due to his superior tactics.

During his lifetime, Alexander made many outstanding achievements, based on his strong beliefs, towards the growth and protection of Greece. Of all his accomplishments, his advancement in military

He began his military training under his father’s request, who was at the time leading Macedonia to victories fighting Ancient Greece. After the death of his father, Alexander did the unimaginable; he attacked Ancient Persia with just a little over 45,000 soldiers versus the 200,000 of Persia (Rufus, Quintus 169-175). Alexander began this Persian war in 334 BC during which he was only twenty-two years old. King Darius III, wanted to make sure that the battleground favored his army, so he can use his feared scythe-wheeled chariots. In order for him to use those chariots, he needed a level and flat ground, and so he ordered it to be made even flatter by ordering the terrain plowed and leveled. Alexander, being aware of this, took away King Darius’ advantage by ordering his army to shift to the right hoping to move the Persian army away from its leveled field.Unable to use their chariots on the rugged terrain, the Persian army was thinned from the front and the rear and so Alexander took charge from the rear, causing Darius to run from his army, giving victory to Alexander (Green, Peter 82-87). Although, capturing Persian properly, Darius was on the run. Before Alexander could get to Darius, Bessus, who was Darius’ trusted general, killed Darius, to claim himself as the new Persian Emperor. Alexander pursued Bessus into northern Bactria, essentially claiming the region

Between each land and city they traveled, he made sure there was a solid supply chain, he also sustained food, weapons, and communications. Throughout his travels, he took with him engineers, doctors, poets, scientists, slave traders and most importantly, a historian, who wrote up his achievements which were then sent far and beyond so his name would be always cherished (Foreman, Laura 34-41). During time of battle, he led his men from the front lines, where he was easily seen by the opposing commanders. This made it easier for the enemy to know where to strike the most and where to avoid sending their forces. This also provided inspiration for his troops, giving them hope no matter what the outcome of the battle will turn out to be. He was continuously showing his army what it meant to be courageous and was injured many times, but he continually pushed himself to harder and harder beyond the limits. He once said that: 'It is a lovely thing to live with courage and to die leaving behind an everlasting renown '. He was keen and perceptive in military strategy and also one of the greatest at analyzing the battlefield, taking it to his advantage, no matter how small his forces may be. In spite of being surprised by Darius ' strategic tactics, Alexander showed cleverness of mind by having his army arrive at the battlefield before the enemy had a chance to prepare their defenses or tactical