Achievements and Failures of Alexander in Handling the Persian Empire

This article discusses the achievements and failures of Alexander the Great in handling the Persian Empire. It explores his military campaigns, conquests, and the impact of his rule. The article also delves into the reasons behind his successes and failures.

Running Head: History 0
Roman History

History 1
Introduction
Alexander was one of the greatest commander and powerful warrior of his times. He
accomplished many wars during his times as a king. He conquered the Persians, re-
established the league, and left behind an incredible legacy. He was the son of King Philip II
and his fourth wife and born in the city of Pella in Macedonia in 356 BC. He is often referred
to as “The Great” for his extraordinary strategic, leadership, and military capabilities. After
the death of his father, Alexander creased internal opposition to make sure to attain complete
control over Greece. He also began his renowned campaign, which resulted in the conquest of
the Achaemenid Empire and becomes one of the successful empires in history. He is known
for his military genius and diplomatic skills in dealing with several populaces of the regions
he ruled (Harrison 2018, 185-214).
He ruled the Persian Empire and parts of central Asia, which was a huge accomplishment in
his life. He has the most famous Hellenistic city established by him, which was named
Alexandria in Egypt (Tuplin 2018, 13-55). In the following, an effort has been made to
discuss the achievements and failures of Alexander in handling the Persian Empire.
Achievements of Alexander in handling the Persian Empire
The major achievements of Alexander the Great put a major emphasis on his qualities and
glorious military campaign. His accomplishments on the battlefield set his sights on the
Persian Empire, where he directed his army unconquered through Asia Minor. It is stated that
after the assassination of Philip II had emboldened several tribes such as Thessaly, Thebes,
and Athens to revolt. He is very quick to respond riding with south to Thessaly and forcing
them to surrender (Rizopoulos and Thomakos 2016, 15-21). Alexander was provided the title
of ‘Hegemon’ of the Greek powers against the Persians. They also succeeded in the
Achaemenid Empire, which Cyrus establishes was one of the biggest empires in history from
the Balkans and Eastern Europe to the Indus in the east. They maintained effectively through
the centralized bureaucratic framework, which is similar to provinces. He had minimized the
competitive advantage of the Persians and had reduced their deadly chariots. They have
continued to take a competitive edge against the Persians and fight more battles near banks.
Alexander and his companions have killed many high-ranking Persian noble, which is the
biggest success (Aneni 2018, 77-86).

History 2
He has also succeeded in the battle of Issus, which is determined as the main breakthrough in
a long campaign against Persia. It is stated that after the defeat of Persians at the battle of
Granicus, Darius III personally gathered a large army beginning up a battle with Alexander’s
army of Issus. Alexander and his Royal commissions attacked the Persian army and cutting
up the rivals on a terrain generated a quick retreat. After that, his elite cavalry led a direct
attack on Darius who was forced to run away (Gatzke 2015, 444-447).
Alexander also crossed the Tigris and Euphrates and moved the path towards the battle of
Gaugamela in which Darius III has gathered the vast army involving the optimum cavalry
from his eastern satraps. He struck the weakened center of the Persian army by attaining the
path to Darius. It is stated that the Battle of Gaugamela was one of the successive victories of
Alexander. He attained substantial wealth in the Persian capital of Susa and Babylon and
become the Persian Kings. Alexander was ambushed by the heavy losses, which were
inflicted on the Greek army and the Persians were finally defeated and encircled. This battle
was the last nail and had lastly succeeded the dominant Achaemenid Empire (Beaudoen
2017, 33-66).
It is stated that Alexander had seen the last battle with the Persian resistance in 328 B.C.
After his marriage to Roxana, this had maintained the relationship with the satrapies of
central Asia and turned the path towards India. Alexander has crossed the Indus to fight the
Battle of Hydrapes against Porus and defeating several tribes and clans in the region. In the
event of this epic battle had made Alexander so impressed by the bravery of Porus. After that,
they made a strategic alliance and appointing him as the satrap of his own kingdom. This
battle was the last battle among the great battle of Alexander and besides being a great
general and military tactician. He was popular for being persevering, diplomatic, ruthless, and
even kind at some junctures. He had those qualities that committed its long and over the
lasting campaign, which made him undefeated in battle (Caldwell 2018, 335-358).
Alexander “The Great” is regarded as one of the most influential people in their times. At the
time of his death, the empire of Alexander was the biggest state covering approximately
5,200,000 sq. km. Alexander and especially the Roman leaders who saw him as a role model
significantly appreciated his exploits in the ancient world. His conquests introduced
Macedonian rule to various parts of Asia and covered all other areas for the next centuries.
His campaigns also majorly put emphasis on developing trade relations and contact between
east and west (Gutas 2015, 326-350). He established about more than twenty cities that recall

History 3
its name. Most significant among these was Alexandria, which became the cultural and
intellectual center of the Ancient West. He has figured in both popular and high culture from
his time to his day. He has considered as the popular generals in history, also his military
tactics are still taught in military academies. The earliest example has been found in 2500
B.C. in Sumer through Egypt, which is normally associated with Greek strategy. The most
successful was the Battle of Marathon that fights and moves in a close formation. It is stated
that it improved the Phalanx formation by delivering better training and masking the
formations movement. He projected the overthrown of the Persian Empire without requiring
the support of allies. These accomplishments were not the work of Fortune but of his own
character, personal courage, military acumen, and intellectual brilliance. He always desires to
learn probably from the Aristotle teachings and enthusiasm. He fought his battle from the
front and exceeded his own expectations to create a multinational empire Iordanidis 2018, 12-
32).
Failures of Alexander in handling the Persian Empire
Alexander the Great Empire stressed across continents and his accomplishments transform
the nature of the prehistoric world. For all his military power and growths as a conqueror was
the greatest failure in the overall history. His arrogance was majorly responsible for his own
premature death and was personally culpable for the failure of his imperial enterprise. He was
the king of the society where the ruler was central to the welfare of society as a whole. When
the King failed, the Macedonian Empire imploded. For the welfare of the people, he needed
an adult successor but he declined to offer one man for the same. The consequence of warfare
after his death was the destruction of his empire (Caldwell 2018, 335-358).
The kingdom of Macedonia claimed its mythic dynasty from a relative of Heracles
surrounded by other significant stated such as Thessaly and Chalkidike, which was
dominated by the mighty Persian Empire. The administration of his conquests was left to
ineffectual satraps with the demise of the charismatic leader, which devote the army to
disarray. The Perdikkas, Antipater, and Antigonos, who declared himself as a legitimate
successor of Alexander after the decisive battle of Salamis, ceased Alexander power. He was
followed by a disastrous series of all kinds and the invasion of the Galatians. This
provocative and unconventional analysis presents Alexander as widely resisted and detested
in the Persian Empire (Mullen 2018, 233-253). A hubristic dream of world conquest led
Alexander to ignore the empire he ruled. He failed to provide an inheritor, an adult successor

History 4
and abolished aspirants to that role. His incapability to delegate responsibility has crippled his
administrative framework. It is stated that Macedonia was Alexander support but his wars left
so weakened and devote the energy to compounding chaos in Greece (Blanshard 2018, 675-
693).
His domain proved difficult to manage the control without the military resource, which is the
biggest failure of the times. Alexander conquests may have been extraordinary also then their
results were a failed management of empire, eventually collapse, and the rise of the Roman
Republic. The management of his satrapy deliberate the reflection of lack of awareness and
understanding of establishing Persian method as their balance of Persian and local institutions
have lowered to manage nominal control and legitimacy in those areas. The warfare and
revolts developed by these changes in infrastructure and administration were disastrous to
that army. Behind the decline, the major reason was the heavy tax burden upon the state,
which eventually tends to decline of the economy. Alexander also faces failure in many
subject nations, which never attempted national identity (Sandrock 2017, 346-364).
His lack of understanding creates rebellion in satrapies and resentment, which were failed in
gaining control and power. It was an immense failure of him as he did not generate a long-
term empire and ended up in destabilizing the region. The major influence of conquests was
the Hellenistic world that destabilizes the classical age of antiquity and Alexander failed in
managing the Persian Empire. They eventually fell to the Romans who became the dominant
civilization of the world. His conquests reformed many things and generate his reforms
without the faults of Alexander in managing the empire. His conquest during the third
century had a profound social, political, cultural, and economic influence on the world.
Another reason was the stability of the empire, which led to the decline of the Persian
Empire. He was not capable of generating a stable economy and foundation for a new
political system. Similarly, change in the social landscape also tends to impact greater
classics and tends to decline the revolution and administration of the empire (Shahar 2016,
290-306).
Another reason for failure was Porus that made him defeated and took the Persian to crust the
rebellion by an attack against Greece. He has to fight at every point of its direction and
demonstrates the extraordinary solidarity of the Persian Empire. He faces failure at empire
building and at the end, alleged failures led to disaster. The military exploits of Alexander
were facing difficulty in foreign imbalance as well as issues associated with the succession

History 5
issue. His foreign expenditure tends to vulnerability to foreign conquests (Llewellyn‐Jones
2016, 1-5). His entire career was a failure involving the defeat from failure as well as count
defeat from his successors at every point. At last, Alexander has invaded the Persian Empire
as his generals murdered Darius III and after that, he claimed the Persian throne. Then also,
he failed to manage the officials and institutions of the Persian Empire. After his death by one
of his successors, Seleucus attained control and power of his territory. Alexander has greatly
ruled the empire for only thirteen years and left an enduring legacy for the whole world. The
Alexander greatest battle with the Porus, which made him surrender as victory is not been
easy for him. However, it was Alexander last and greatest battle, which was fought against
Porus in the world (Kholod 2018, 177-197).
Conclusion
Alexander “The Great” was an earliest Macedonian ruler also one of the greatest military,
brilliant, charismatic, and diplomatic minds. He had a major influence on Asian and Greek
culture and majorly inspired many people with his great achievements. In the above
discussion, it has been stated about the Alexander major accomplishments and failures in
handling the Persian Empire. He was the legitimate ruler of the world, which has defeated the
strong armies. He fought various battles like the Battle of Granicus River, Issus, Tyre &
Gaza, and Gaugamela. He has considered the biggest generals in the overall history. He faces
failures in handling the Persian Empire with the lack of stability and trust. Porus also plays a
major role in the declining of the Persian Empire. Despite his victory and failures, he is
referred to as one of the most influential and powerful leaders in the world.

History 6
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