Alexander the Great's Nation Building: Enduring Challenges Explored

This essay analyzes the problems faced by Alexander the Great in his nation-building efforts, focusing on the challenges of integrating diverse cultures and maintaining stability within his vast empire. It examines issues such as governing conquered territories under Macedonian law, managing cultural differences, and ensuring the satisfaction of subjects from various backgrounds. The essay further compares these historical challenges with contemporary issues in culturally diverse regions, highlighting the enduring relevance of Alexander's experiences. The conclusion emphasizes that the problems encountered by Alexander continue to impact modern nation-building endeavors. Desklib provides access to similar historical analyses and academic resources for students.

Running head: ALEXANDER AND NATION BUILDING
Alexander and Nation Building
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ALEXANDER AND NATION BUILDING
The Greek Emperor Alexander the Great is considered to be one of the greatest rulers
of all time in the history of the world itself. Alexander the Great, using his powers, not only
captured almost all the kingdoms of the world itself but also had involved himself in the
process of the nation building for all of his subjects under his rule. However, it should be
noted that the Great Emperor had faced a lot of problems while involving himself in the
process of building the nation itself. The problems which Alexander had faced during that
time could be seen happening in the present day scenario in many different countries and
cultures of the world as well. These problems are being faced by the nation builders in the
modern day also. This is what the readers in the essay will try to analyse and find out for
themselves.
The purpose of this essay is to analyse and determine the problems faced by
Alexander during nation building and how such problems are affecting the nation
builders in the present times.
When the readers start to analyse the subject matter of the problems that were faced
by the Alexander III, it is found by the readers themselves that even the Great Emperor had
faced a number of problems while he engaged in the process of nation building. These nation
building processes were started by Alexander the Great so that he would be able to provide a
particular living space where all the subjects from the areas he had conquered could live
peacefully with each other (Worthington, 2015). However, in the course of building the
nation for his people, the emperor had to face a lot of problems. The main causes of these
problems will be analysed by the readers themselves in the essay itself.
When the readers start to analyse the essay based on the problems, they find that the
majority of these problems had aroused due to the emperor’s idea of putting all the subjects
of his conquered states into one single nation itself. The main problems which the emperor

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had faced during his time was the problem of hoe to keep all the subjects of his kingdom into
a single empire itself. This problem proved to be a major problem being faced by the empire
himself because of the fact that there were not enough space for the people of the conquered
states to be kept in a single small state, so it was difficult for Alexander to govern the states
and the subjects of these stated who were under his rule. Another problem which Alexander
the Great came up with during his rule in the areas is the fact that all of these areas were
being governed by the laws of Macedonia itself (Yardley, 2015). As a result this, the subjects
under the rule of Alexander and the Macedonians were not happy with the type of law which
was present in the country itself. Though under the rule and the governance of the
Macedonians, the subjects of these conquered lands wanted a government which would be
equivalent to the rule of the Government which these subjects had in their own countries
before being occupied by the Macedonians themselves.
Thus, in order to satisfy these clients themselves, the emperor had to start making
laws which would allow him to govern all the areas under his control with the same equality
and the prosperity which he had used in the governing of the other conquered lands. The
problem which the emperor had to face once again in this case was the fact that there were
many different countries that Alexander had captured in his conquests (Heckel, 2014). Thus,
it was difficult for him to establish a type of governance with the rules and the regulations so
that all the subjects in the different countries under the governance of Alexander himself
would like it for themselves. These problems faced by the emperor in his days is significant
of the fact that the task of building nations is an important and difficult task to do and the job
should be performed carefully and diligence itself. Thus, it can be stated this is one major
problem which have affected the rule of Alexander the Great in his time (Heckel et. all,
2014). Other problems which he might have faced in his time includes the problems of
maintaining the satisfaction of the subjects of the areas under his control itself. This is

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because is natural that the people who live under the rule of a ruler or a king might not be
satisfied at the rules and the regulations introduced by the King. This is because of the fact
that the people do not like to be under the rule of the ruler and it becomes the duty of the ruler
to ensure the fact that the subjects who are under the rule of the King are happy and satisfied
with the rule of the King itself (Worthington, 2015). Thus, this forms a problem for the ruler
themselves because of the fact that the rules and the regulations which might be made by the
ruler might be liked by some of the subjects of his kingdom, while at the same time, they
might be disliked by the other members of his kingdom as well. This is another of the
important problems which had been faced by the emperor Alexander during his reign from
the various states which he had conquered himself (Heckle et. all, 2015). The problem of
culture was the third problem which Alexander the Great faced during his reign as the
emperor. This is because of the fact that all the areas which Alexander had captured had
different cultures of their own. When Alexander started making the rules and the regulations
in these region itself, they faced the problems of their cultures being replaced by a culture
which was completely foreign to them as it was the Greek culture. Thus, the fact can be
stated that the people belonging to the different cultures of the times were not really happy
with the introduction of the Greek culture into their countries even if the countries of the
people belonged under the rule of the Macedonian empire. It ios because of these reasons that
Alexander faced the problems of having to build a culture for the subjects themselves so that
all the people belonging under his rule can be satisfied about the rule of the emperor. Thus, if
the readers summarize the problems which were faced by Alexander himself, it can be stated
that the emperor had to face a lot of difficulties in his life when he was concerned with the
problem of building a perfect nation for all his subjects where they could live with each other
peacefully (Worthington, 2014).

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If the problems which were faced by Alexander himself, were to be compared with
the problems that are occurring in the culturally dissimilar regions of the world itself, it can
be stated by the readers that the problems of those times and the problems of the current
times are similar in a lot of ways. This similarity can be explained in the terms of the same
problems happening in the countries and their cultures and how such problems are related to
the problems faced by Alexander in his time when he conquered all those areas himself. This
is what the readers will analyse in this part of the essay itself so that the problems can be well
understood by the readers themselves (Heckel et. all, 2014).
The reason for such problems is the fact that the people living in different countries
under the same ruler, they expect the fact that they will receive the best available benefits
from being under the rule of the ruler themselves. But when the subjects find that their
culture is being changed for a new culture which are alien to them, they are like to revolt
against such culture as such culture is likely to cause problems to them and their culture. This
is the case which is happening in the present times between various countries which make
them not accept the cultures of the other countries which are in their place itself. Thus, the
problems arise between the countries not accepting each other’s cultures, which can be said
to be similar to the problems of the problems which were faced by emperor Alexander when
he tried nation building with the areas which he had acquired as part of his conquests of the
areas of the past itself (Worthington, 2014).
From the above discussions, the following facts can be concluded by the readers
themselves. These facts include the points that the problem of nation building had played an
important life of the emperor Alexander the Great himself. It is because of these problems
suffered by Alexander during those times that the individuals in different countries are
becoming aware about the problems of nation building. Thus, the essay can be concluded by
stating the following facts that the problem of nation building by Alexander had not only

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affected him during those times, it also affects the people and the nations in the current times
as well.
Reference List
Heckel, W. and Yardley, J., 2004. Alexander the Great: historical texts in translation. Wiley-
Blackwell.
Worthington, I., 2014. Alexander the Great: Man and God. Routledge.
Worthington, I., 2014. By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of
the Macedonian Empire. Ancient Warfare and Civilizati.