The life of Alexander the Great is a unique example of how a person’s ambition can help achieve great conquests. The personality of Alexander the Great causes various disputes about his achievements and defeats. There are positive and negative aspects in the biography of the great conqueror, but this does not deny the power and of this impressive personality’s significance in Greece’s and the world’s history.
The main of main achievement is the construction of the Macedonian Empire. Before his Asiatic campaign, Alexander wanted to secure his northern frontiers. Thanks to a series of victories in the north, Alexander took complete control of Greece in just two years (Alexander The Great biography, 2021). The ruler’s conquests brought his people dominion over parts of Asia. The rapid advance through the Mediterranean basins allowed Alexander to gain even more power (Alexander the Great, n.d). Many of the conquered territories were under the influence of Greece for an extended period of time. The Alexandrian Empire included many new cities built by the ruler (Alexander the Great, n.d). The famous city of Alexandria in Egypt is also worth mentioning, which has become an important cultural symbol in history.
Discussing the negative aspects of his biography, it is worth noting the vanity of Alexander and his irrational desire to become a god. Such confidence in their mightiness led to failures and irrational decisions of the conqueror. For example, the defeat at Politimetus was a severe blow to Alexander. Critics also argue that Alexander’s plans are too absurd (Alexander The Great leadership, 2022). First, Alexander the Great needed information about the population and area of those countries and parts of the world that he would need to capture for world domination (Alexander The Great leadership, 2022). In general, massive empires only live a short time because it is impossible to keep them in one normal state and manage them because of their heterogeneity and the impossibility of the power to monitor all the processes within the state.
In conclusion, the incredibly inflated ambitions of Alexander the Great were both a plus and a minus of his personality and approach to rule. On the one hand, with such goals, the conqueror achieved significant results. On the other hand, the further collapse of the empire and some failures during the battles were also caused by his inadequate needs. Thus, his ambition was both his greatest strength and most dangerous weakness.
References
Alexander The Great leadership: Greatest of world conquerors. (2022). Web.
Alexander The Great biography. (2021). Web.
Alexander the Great (n.d.). [PowerPoint slides].