Alexander The Great Research Paper

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Who is Alexander the Great? There are some who describe him as one of the greatest generals in history, others may say he was aggressive and ambitious ruler who took extraordinary risk in battles; however, the majority agree that he was a brilliant man, with wise leadership and astute strategies. He achieved large success defeating the Persians and Greeks, he assured the Mediterranean Sea and conquered Asia Minor and Egypt. Alexander the Great was king of Macedonia who succeeded in conquers and in expanding its own Empire, leaving an impact greater than his father in the world and inspiring later rulers to do so as well. Born in 356 B.C to parents King Philip II and Queen Olympia, the most important wife from at least 6 others; he…show more content…
Qualities such as courage; he showed to be courageous at the young age of twelve, when he tamed the horse that other skilled men considered it to be too wild. Later, that same horse became his esteemed and loyal Bucephalus who accompanied him in battles. Alexander also showed his army to be courageous by inspiring them and fighting by their side even in battles where they were outnumbered, although Alexander was seriously injured several times, he did not quit nor he became timid or afraid to return to battles. At the same time, Alexander was involved and cared for his troops; he noticed them, also differentiated them by name, and rewarded them for accomplishments. Despite this, he used himself as an example of labor; he executed physical work, strategic planning, and trained his troops by improving their skills. Furthermore, Alexander was a visionary; meaning his plans were at great scale due to the general plan was to unify the world under Macedonian rule. Although Alexander had a general idea of the mission, he was highly attentive to details, he observe, was perceptive, and used common sense to provide solutions to frightening situations…show more content…
This last meeting is known as the Battle of Gaugamela, and it happened the 1st of October 331 B.C.E. Although Alexander planned to march his troops towards Babylon he discovered that Darius was present at Gaugamela; therefore he change course and move north in order to meet the Persian King. Nonetheless, King Darius had learned his lesson from the previous battles and he prepared carefully for this battle. The Persian’s army involved all men from all over the empire; this army is estimated to be from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand to approximately a million. Due to the high number of soldiers, Darius had chose Gaugamela for his advantage, the field was wider and he could arrange a better distribution of his troops. Darius also kept his soldiers awake during the night due to fear of an unexpected Macedonian attack, which did not occur; meanwhile Alexander was preparing for the battle and made sure his soldiers were not hungry or tired. In the battle day, Alexander took position in the right flank and encouraged his men to fight for Macedonia, along with Parmenio who took position on the left flank; in the center were the rest of the trained soldiers. As soon as the battle began Alexander guided his side towards the right, and as a result of this the Persians followed him in the intent to
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