Alexander the Great

Many empire and civilizations of the ancient world came and went under different leaders. Some fell because of war, and other fell because of an instable government, and some could do it all. Alexander the Great will forever be remembered as one of the world's most effective and well-accomplished military and political leaders, by leading the Greek people to glory during his short-term rule. Other societies kings or dictators couldn't balance running their empires, protecting the people, and satisfying their needs. Alexander the Great managed to balance all of the above.

The ancient world was full of conflict and war, which led to the demise of many ancient civilizations. During these violent times Alexander the Great was an efficient military leader by securing Greece's safety with his advanced armed tactics and removing his enemies.

Alexander had a lot of responsibilities thrown at him after Philip's death. The army had chosen Alexander to be king at age 20. Thebes saw this as an oppourtunity to retake their independence, but Alexander acted swiftly starting a revolt at thebes to discourage any rebels. Shortly after he started a campaign that would take over much of Europe, and he started his conquest at Persia, his main enemy. Persia's empire stretched over most of the known world, so conquering Persia meant a big head start by overthrowing the current largest empire. He only had 30,000 infantry and 5000 cavalry. This campaign would help Greece thrive with culture and goods. His strategy for his campaign showed his ingenious

intelligence for war. He began with some battles he knew would be quick and swift, so he could increase wealth and supplies. Then he focused on cities located near the coast so he could achieve control of ports, this way the Persians wouldn't be able to make landfall. If the Persians couldn't dock, Alexander had the upperhand. Then he would take the fight right to the middle of his opposition. This demonstrated his mental warfare. Scaring the enemy by being ruthless and reckless.

Alexander had a lot more tricks, which he used to make battles effective, such as the way he grouped his men, and the way they fought. He formed his men in separate phalanxes. A rectangular formation of about 6000 men, carrying spears about 12 meters long. The men on the outside of the formation had heavy armour and shields, and the men in the center had light leather armour, as they were not exposed to enemy contact. This achieved two things. First the armies were more effective strategically. They could mobilize in different directions apposed to one giant mass of men attacking at once. And secondly, it was cheaper because fewer men had to wear armour. Alexander the Great also learned to adapt good ideas from his enemies, an example being the short sword. His men used short swords because they could get under the enemies armour when stabbing. They used to use long swords but they needed a longer swing, so it wasn't effective fighting many men at a time.

To keep his troops in top physical and mental condition he made sure they kept to a strict schedule. Each man had to maintain and repair his own armour and weapons. Whenever they weren't in battle, the practiced on each other, building their skills. Another important thing he realised to keep word of his success was communications with the people. He set up strategic military posts to relay information back to Greece. By upholding a strong military structure, and conquering his enemies, Alexander the Great almost completely eliminated a threat of a major battle on his empire. This helped the Greeks keep piece of mind about their safety, effectively giving him one less thing to worry about when leading his people.

Alexander the Great made sure to keep a glorified image of him so his following and popularity would not start to wane. He was on a decade long campaign. Keeping funds flowing and support from people of his empire was crucial if he wanted to continue to uphold his military strength. War is expensive. Alexander always associated himself with his favourite warrior, Achilles. Achilles was the heroic son of Peleus. He was a mortal born from a God, with many sensationalised war stories tied around his name. Achilles was a good choice to be related too, as it made Alexander seem like a hardheaded man, when apparently his personality was quite childish. Alexander had Greece's currency changed to himself on one side, and Achilles on the other to further push the image. He also kept a professional historian in his company, Callisthenes of Olynthus. This man had published a book on Greek history several years earlier. Alexander's main reason for this was to have Callisthenes write about his great actions. He wrote several books entitled "Deeds of Alexander." This main later protest about having to write false tales, so Alexander