What Is Alexander The Great Really Great

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Derrick Dent Why does Alexander the Great deserve the title for being so “Great”? What does it mean to be “great”? Google defines it as “Of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.” Merriam Webster dictionary says one of many things, one that applies to Alexander “Powerful; influential.” Why was he so great though? Is it all just an exaggeration or was it actually true? In just twelve years, Alexander the Great conquered vast territories and dominated lands from west of the Nile to east of the Indus. He brought the Persian Empire, Egypt and much of the Middle East under his control. Alexander was the son of Phillip I prepared Alexander for a military and political future. He was very well educated by…show more content…
Alexander’s destruction of the Persian monarchy created opportunities for Greek administrators, engineers, intellectuals, merchants, soldiers, eta al and those who followed Alexander and his successors could participate in the new political unity based on the monarchy’s principles. His successors used force to establish military monarchies that dominated the Hellenistic world after his passing. Autocratic power became a regular feature of those Hellenistic monarchies and was part of Alexander’s political legacy. It is obvious that his vision of empire inspired the Romans who were the real heirs of his legacy. He left not just a political legacy, but a cultural one which resulted in Greek language, art, architecture and literature which spread throughout the Middle East. Urban Centers which were founded by Alexander and his successors became spring boards for the diffusion of Greek culture which spread in the east. Alexander’s legacy created the clash and fusion of different cultures, which is one of the basic characteristics of the Hellenistic world, which makes Alexander the Great,

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