Alexander the Great was one of the most successful emperors in the history of the world. Like his father King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander was a formidable military leader. Philip II developed Macedon’s military immensely and wanted to conquer the Greeks and Persians even had wide success defeating every Greek city-state except Sparta.
Unlike other emperors of vast empires at the time, Philip and later Alexander saw themselves as liberators instead of conquerors. This was somewhat true, as Philip lowered taxes in Greece but made it mandatory to send soldiers to help bolster his army. Although he was a well-liked and respected emperor, Philip was assassinated by one of his own men so Alexander took over the throne.
Alexander was a highly intelligent man, partly because he was tutored by Aristotle the philosopher. Once he became emperor, Alexander consolidated power, dealing with his rivals in Macedon and re-conquering rebellious Greek city-states. Despite not being ethnically Greek, Alexander’s goal was to spread Hellenistic culture. This was Greek-like culture but different from Hellenic culture which was classical Greek culture and its traditions that the Greeks themselves actually practiced.
Alexander started expanding his empire, taking Asia minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Egypt, the Persian Empire, and parts of India. After subduing these vast swaths of land, he built cities and implanted Hellenistic culture wherever he went. Alexander was not known as a brutal conqueror and showed his military intelligence by using brilliant engineering tactics. In 331 BC, after obliterating Persia, he looted the empire so thoroughly that all of their riches were brought back to Macedonia. Dying in 323 BC, he is remembered as one of the most effective military leaders to have ever lived.
Alexander’s death brought a struggle between his generals in deciding who would succeed him as emperor. Ultimately, this led to the downfall of Alexander’s once mighty empire, as it was split up between his generals. The Hellenistic period lasted from the death of Alexander the Great to the death of Cleopatra (325 – 30 BC). Philosophy, arts, and medicine flourished during this period.
