Alexander the Great: 2016

Even as a young leader, Alexander had the qualities and capabilities to lead his people to countless victories. His foundation was solidly built by Alexander’s tutor in Macedonia, Aristotle, from which he derived many battle plans. Alexander the Great deserves his name because his valiant strategies and ideas have proven highly successful and outlasted the test of time.
One of the many battles won by Alexander and his army was the conquest of Asia Minor. Alexander’s army was extremely versatile in the strategies used, such as the Macedonian cavalry and phalanx. Clark G. Reynolds agrees with this by saying, “The infantry would institute a skillful fighting withdrawal to open a gap in the enemy’s line and to gain the higher ground. This difficult maneuver thus created a flank, on which Alexander’s men would then rush.” (Reynolds). This “difficult maneuver” not only displays Alexander’s talent in training his soldiers to work as a single organism, but also displays Alexander’s attention to specificity which was important in his rise to power. Any opposing army would not be able to cover the weakness Alexander created. From a great deal of practice, Alexander perfected his strategies to implement the element of surprise that could overtake any army, no matter the size.

Alexander the Great faced many opponents much larger than he was, not only in numbers, but in strength as well. Though, he somehow always managed to find a weak point in his adversaries. David J. Lonsdale states, “At Issus, Alexander faced a Persian army significantly larger than his own. The most plausible figures come from Curtius, who concludes that Darius’ army totalled 120,000. In contrast, Alexander had under his command 26,000 infantry and 5,300 cavalry [...] And, with such superior forces Darius must have been confident of ending the Macedonian’s invasion in the coming battle. However, before he had the chance to move through the coastal narrows and into wider terrain beyond, Alexander rapidly marched north and trapped the Persian king on narrow ground” (Lonsdale). This specific battle acts as evidence that Alexander could overcome an enemy army four times larger than his. Instead of choosing a more predictable attack, Alexander chose to be one step ahead of Darius and closed his army off. His quick and innovative thinking made Alexander a step ahead of his opponents. Not only did he tower over others, but he became a great leader to many.

King Porus surrenders to Alexander

A great leader must have the ability to unify his followers. Alexander had this quality and used it to his advantage as both a battle warrior and leader to his people. Arrian retells, “I could not have blamed you for being the first to lose heart if I, your commander, had not shared in your exhausting marches and your perilous campaigns; it would have been natural enough if you had done all the work merely for others to reap the reward. But it is not so. You and I, gentlemen, have shared the labour and shared the danger, and the rewards are for us all.” (Arrian of Nicomedia). By giving this speech, Alexander tried to incite his men to follow him after eight years of conquering across the continent which shows that he identified with his men and tried to unify his army with words of encouragement. He said that, “You and I, gentlemen, have shared the labour and shared the danger, and the rewards are for us all.” Alexander built morale by telling his men of all the land they have conquered and expressed the thought of how much more they could conquer together. Alexander knew that he could not win his battles alone, so instead of treating his soldiers as lesser humans, his strategies of bringing people together proved successful. His men would be some of the most well trained, versatile, and hard working fighters of their time.

From both Ancient and Modern sources, it is widely known that Alexander was in fact great. Plutarch tells the story of Alexander, “To Philip, however, who had just taken Potidaea, there came three messages at the same time: the first that Parmenio had conquered the Illyrians in a great battle, the second that his race-horse had won a victory at the Olympic games, while a third announced the birth of Alexander. These things delighted him, of course, and the seers raised his hopes still higher by declaring that the son whose birth coincided with three victories would be always victorious.” (Plutarch). When it was foreseen that Alexander would always be victorious, even Plutarch, author of Plutarch’s Lives, agreed. He believed that Alexander was destined for greatness and had a future full of triumphs and wealth which has proven true.

Alexander’s myriad of prosperous battle plans has manufactured a reputation for him. Not only as a great battle warrior, but also as a great leader. Alexander has triumphed over countless adversaries bigger and stronger than he was. He cultured his social and speaking skills in order to have the ability to unite his men which any great leader should be able to do. Alexander has influenced many great leaders today and inspired great strategies that surpassed all others.

Alexander the Great

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016