Alexander The Great Had a Positive Effect on His Empire

Great leaders often leave a lasting impression. Some even speak profoundly. For example, Alexander of Macedonia stated,“I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion” (‘Alexander the Great Quotes’). He was a famous king who did not fear anyone or anything; he was very powerful and had one of the biggest empires in history. By conquering Persia and Egypt, Alexander the Great had a positive effect on his empire through the development of Hellenistic culture. This culture served as an age of improvement that developed many mathematical, scientific, and medical ideas.

Before becoming a king and conquering other areas, Alexander was born in 356 B.C.E in Macedonia . Alexander the Great was born into a royal family. His parents were Philip II and Olympias (‘Alexander,’ Britannica). Born into a royal family, he was motivated to become the great king because of his upbringing. Coming from a royal family, he acquired a better education than others. In fact, Leonidas, a relative of this mother,strained him in math. Additionally, he received philosophical training from Aristotle (‘Alexander,’ Encyclopedia). From this education and his family, he acquired the knowledge to become a powerful conqueror.

When Alexander became king and started his journey conquering, he began with Persia. Alexander the Great wanted to fulfill his father’s dreams of taking over Persia (Nardo). Without his father’s idea of taking over Persia, he would have never had the thought of conquering Persia during his time as a king. Alexander pushed towards Persia, but the people tried to stop Alexander and his army from taking over their empire (‘Alexander,’ Britannica). The people of Persia looked weak against his army and the strategic plans of action he had. This demonstrates how well educated he was and how his parents raised him. Then he started to push towards the capital of Persia but, the king of Persia, Darius, stopped him (Nardo). Darius fell quickly to Alexander’s army and his strategic plans (‘Alexander,’ Encyclopedia). Clearly, Alexander the Great was capable of defeating more powerful people other than the commoners of that empire. Specifically, after Alexander won the battle, Darius fled in fear (‘Alexander,’ Britannica). Alexander, still pushing forward, found Darius, and killed him (‘Alexander,’ Encyclopedia). Now, he has made it to the capital of Persia, Babylon, and took over without a fight. Finally, after eight years he conquered Persia which increased the size of his empire and demonstrated to others how successful he is.

During his conquest to Persia, he passed through Egypt and saw how weak they were. Once he arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians hailed him like a god (‘Alexander,’ Britannica). Since he was already getting treatment like a god, it was obvious he was liked by the Egyptians. The native priests recognized him as their pharaoh (Nardo). During this time, the people of Egypt called Alexander their pharaoh which demonstrates his level of power he had while he was alive. Alexander stayed in Egypt to help organize their army and hired Egyptian governors (‘Alexander,’ Britannica). Then, he built the city Alexandria, which became the center of Hellenistic culture.

Along with building a city, Alexander the Great also created the Hellenistic culture. Hellenistic culture is a blend of four different cultures which included, Greek, Indian, Persian, and Egyptian (‘Alexander,’ Encyclopedia). The reason for so many different cultures was because Alexander the Great conquered all of these places. This age led to many discoveries and advances in math, science, and medicine (Ellis and Esler 150). With the discovery of this popular culture, it demonstrates Alexander’s ability to not only conquer but create. Archimedes is a famous scientist who created the “Archimedes Screw” (Ellis and Esler 151). The “ Archimedes screw” had one sole purpose when it was created during the Hellenistic culture. It’s purpose was to lift water to higher levels for irrigation (Ellis and Esler 151). During this time period in the Hellenistic culture, a new theory was created. An astronomer named Aristarchus argued that the Earth orbited the Sun and that the Earth rotated on an axis (Ellis and Esler 151). This theory he made was called the heliocentric theory. One doctor named Hippocrates studied the cause of illnesses and how to cure them (Ellis and Esler 151). His studies helped many doctors and scientists to see where the illnesses came from and how to cure them.

Alexander the Great had several achievements during his lifetime. He was a smart and powerful man who was able to conquer many empires and discover a new culture along the way. His empire stretched from Greece to India. His Hellenistic culture spread Greek ideas throughout these empires and combined them with that of his conquered lands. Hellenistic culture made many improvements in the areas of math, science and medicine. Alexander the Great’s contributions to his empire continue to influence the world today.

Cite this page