Why Was Alexander Needed To Invade Persia?

What would cause a 20-year-old, immediately after punishing the people who murdered his father, to invade Persia and eventually conquer it all? Arrian tends to believe and convey that it was a conquest of retaliation. Alexander wanted to invade and conquer Persia as they tried to conquer Greece 150 years earlier. One reason for this is because he wanted to continue with his father’s plan, but also so he could prove that Macedonians are just as much Greek as Athenians or Spartans. However, an underlying reason that Alexander would do this was because he wanted to become the King of all Asia to prove that he could accomplish the feat. Arrian shows that there are several reasons why Alexander invaded Persia, but he also contradicts himself and

Alexander’s successes were numerous, and he had only faced extreme resistance a handful of times before he met the Scythians. This group challenged him immensely and declared victory over him in one of their early engagements. After this, the Scythians were basically taunting Alexander and it forced him to go against his advisors and attack them yet again. This time around, he was victorious as he caused the Scythians to retreat. The real reason that Alexander wanted to conquer the Persian Empire was not only retaliation or revenge, but also as a test of his true abilities. In addition to this, Alexander also wanted to commence the invasion because it was what his father had been planning to do for quite a while. Arrian shows that Alexander thought of his invasion not as a personal grudge but purely business as usual. This act doesn’t fit with the motto of revenge especially since it’s shown that Alexander has extremely little respect for Darius. Arrian said “They think Darius is dead and they are mourning him.’ On hearing this Alexander sent Leonnatus, one of his Companions, to them, telling him to explain that Darius was alive, that he had left his arms and robe in the