Alexander, most commonly known as ‘Alexander the Great’, such were the extent of his conquests, was also something of a mythical figure, with many people believing him to be of a divine nature (including Arrian and Alexander himself) – could this have clouded Arrian’s judgement with regards to the extent of the praise he bestows upon the subject of his study? Modern historians such as J.R. Hamilton, while appreciative of Alexander as a truly great general, are certainly not as wholly praiseworthy as Arrian. Focusing on the battles of Issus and Gaugamela, two key conflicts during the Macedonian campaign against the Persian Empire, we can perhaps determine the extent to
Alexander the Great Biography Alexander the Great was born in July 356 BC in Pella, Macedon. Alexander’s father, Philip of Macedon, had seven wives. One of them was Olympias, who was Alexander’s mother. She insisted that Alexander was the son of Zeus. With Alexander the Great’s birth into royalty, he was bound to take a leadership role in the near future (Alexander the Great Alexander of Macedon Biography).
The Ancient Roman Military’s Keys to Success Mitt Romney, a very influential politician of our time, once said that one must “insist on a military so powerful no one would ever think of challenging it.” Although Romney is a modern politician, the idea of military dominance is ancient, dating back to the time of Ancient Rome. The Romans knew that their empire would only be successful with an intimidating and powerful army, and upon being threatened, decided to reform their military so it would become one of the greatest in history. Ancient Rome was successful militarily because of the size, organization and discipline, and tactics and strategy of their infantry forces. Like every other great empire, Rome didn’t simply become great overnight. From 650 BC to 509 BC, an Italian tribe referred to as the Etruscans dominated the Northern Italy, including Rome.
First of all we’ll look at Harald Godwinson. He had a strong claim to the throne because he was a blood relative of Edwards. He also had experience of power and he was very popular with the English. But when Edwards died Godwinson was expected to mourn his dead relative, instead he rushed to fight for the throne, instead of respecting his loss he was rude and disrespectful in his race for power and people were not happy with this. This section is all about Harald Godwinson!
And fortune tellers were saying that Alexander who was born in the midst of three victories, must become invincible. Likewise, he became the world wide known, almost invincible king of Macedonia as fortune tellers said. He expanded Macedonian borders from Macedonia to Asia Minor and Egypt, and Mesopotamia, and then Persia until Indus River. He bounded together such a vast land together successfully. Even if he died at the age of 32, he had always been a successful and genius statesman, commander and contributor to the socio-cultural life rather than brutal warrior so that he became Alexander the Great.
The great Athenian Empire was formed through the important actions of individuals and events. Whilst no one individual can take the credit for the formation on the Empire; certainly influential people such as Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon, Pausanius, Miltiades and Pericles all play very important roles in the formation of the Athenian Empire. Other factors, such as the coastal Greek states choosing Athens (contrary to Thucydides’ belief) over Sparta and the Persian threat helped keep the allies in line and enabled Athens to steadily take over. Whether it be through political reforms or military campaigns, these individuals played a crucial part in the formation of the powerful Athenian Empire. When assessing the individuals during the pentacontaetia, it seems logical to start with Miltiades.
Germany’s aggressive behaviour was the main reason for the outbreak of World War One This above statement causes a lot of debate. Germany’s aggressive behaviour was one of the main reasons for the outbreak of World War One, but was it the biggest reason? This is a question that many people have tried to answer, however I believe that it is a matter of opinion and there is no right or wrong answer. Germany’s aggression was not the only thing about Germany that many countries feared but also its ambition. Germany had only been a united country since 1871 however by 1914 it had built up a strong army, navy and had the beginnings of an overseas empire.
His decisive victory did not just come down to pure luck, however; both Alexander and his Persian opponent Darius had painstakingly made preparations in order to ensure that his numerical superiority could be used to its full advantage. The tactics of Alexander must also be taken into consideration when pondering on his victory. Perhaps the most important immediate outcome for Alexander was that he finally got to fulfil both his and his father’s desire to occupy the Persian Empire, as he moved into Babylon. Although the precise location of Gaugemela is not certain, Darius began the preparations firstly with the choosing of the location for the battle; he picked a flat plain, where he could ultimately use his forces to the best of their abilities, at the base of a hill. He then continued to level out the plain so it was now flat, in preparation for his scythed chariots, whose advantage would be that they could cut the opposing forces in half with their blades or at least make holes in the opposing forces.
Oliver Cromwell became the most important general on the Parliamentarian side and Prince Rupert on the Royalist side. Oliver Cromwell was famous for his well thought out tactics and his well disciplined army, where as Rupert, the kings nephew, made decisions without thinking them through and was not always in full control of his men. Before the war, Oliver Cromwell was worrying whether or not his army would want to fight the king because in those days it was said that the king is Gods representative. The king also had much more money because he was supported by some very wealthy men, so he had more money. However, as the war went on, the king’s money dwindled away, and Parliament raised taxes, therefore they had more money than the king.
Question: To what extent were Alexander’s military successes a result of strength and skill of his army or the weaknesses of his opponents? Alexander the Great succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. From a young age Alexander started to show his leadership skills and came to command a portion of his fathers great army by the age of 15, whilst his father was away fighting.