Alexander the Great

Even when Alexander was a child, he was completing tasks that were worthy of being called good. When he was merely twelve years old, he made a bet with his father that he could tame a horse that no other man in the town could tame, if he did it he could keep the horse. Alexander tamed the horse easily, and he kept the horse throughout his life and used it in many battles. He was also a good student, he was taught by the famous Aristotle and he has memorized the Iliad by heart. He was a much respected child and had a male lover by the name of Hephaestion.

Even though he was a good child, his life wasn't easy. Being the king's son he had a lot of stress and his parents hated each other. King Philip II, his father taught him all he knew about war and how to be a good king, and then was murdered on the second day of his daughter's wedding. Alexander then inherited the throne at only twenty years old. Alexander had all the children of his father's lesser wives slain, because he found out that they were plotting to overthrow him and take the throne.

Alexander then instituted a common currency throughout most of Greece, and made plans to create a sort of Universal Brotherhood. Alexander had many achievements through war; one of them was that together with his father, they developed the Phalanx. Which was a type of formation used by soldiers in wars; it was a box like formation and made it so approaching enemies couldn't see the actual number of soldiers. After his father's death, he invented many other war maneuvers. Together with his father's knowledge of war and his new techniques he created the most advanced army of its time.

Alexander fought in many wars, one of them was the war in Mesopotamia, and this was an important war because Alexander learned how to command a very big army, commanding his biggest army ever with 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry. It also started the conflict between Darius and Alexander. It also brought new war strategies into the world, with Alexander creating a bridge to cross the Tigris River.

Another war that he fought was the Siege of Gaza. Gaza was a very well protected city, with huge walls as to stop Siege Towers from being effective. Alexander knew of this so he created huge mounds of dirt so his battering rams could strike at the top and weaker parts of the walls. Alexander also built Siege Towers on top of the hills, which took Gaza completely by surprise so they surrendered right away. That proved that Alexander could overcome any obstacle.

Another one of the wars Alexander fought was the Invasion of India. The Indians weren't nearly as powerful as Alexander so they lost very quickly. But King Taxiles of India became friends with Alex and gave him some war elephants to use, which were a very powerful weapon. The war in Asia Minor was one of Alexander the Great's most important battles, because it was his first real battle in Asia and he didn't know much about the terrain or enemies there. That battle was very good because he became friends with Troy after getting recruits and allies from them. In the Battle of Issus, 30,000 Greeks faced 100,000 Persians. This battle was good and important because when the evil Persians lost, it made Persia lose a lot of its power.

The last war was the Siege of Tyre. Tyre was an island with eighteen foot deep water around it, and huge fortified walls. Alexander's many attempts at trying to attack with boats failed each time, and eventually decided to make a bridge to march across. The bridge took a month to build, and the siege of Tyre lasted another month and they eventually surrendered. This was good because that bridge it still there today, and connects Tyre to the mainland. Alexander eventually died of a fever in June of 323. After his death his kingdom was split into multiple territories, creating many different areas. One of the most important facts about Alexander the Great was that he spread Greek culture all through Europe, the Middle East, and most of North Africa.

Overall, Alexander the Great was the greatest warrior of all time. He was such a powerful war general, and leader that the Egyptians crowned him pharaoh and declared him a god at one point. He also founded many cities, including Alexandria which is a huge center of learning. It has a huge library with over 500,000 books. Six of the many cities he founded still exist today. That is why Alexander the Great, throughout his rule did more good then harm.