Alexander the Great's Impact on the World

Alexander the Great is without doubt one of the greatest military leaders of history. Not only did Alexander of Macedon conquer enormous areas of the known world but also he demonstrated dynamic leadership and masterful strategy on a large scale and tactics on the battlefield. During his life, he ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen, which stretched from ancient Greece to India. The son of King Phillip II of Macedon, Alexander was educated by the philosopher Aristotle and first led Macedonian troops at age 18. Many times Alexander was worshipped as a god in some of the countries he ruled. He had a huge impact on world history spreading the seeds of western culture and philosophy across the world and has legends and stories about him in over 80 languages. He was head strong, violent, extremely brave, politically cunning, loved by his men, and a gifted leader. Few individuals have had the sort of impact on history that Alexander did. With his death, what was called the Hellenic Age becomes the Hellenistic. No longer was Greece a minor collection of city states, but a mighty empire. The western world, for better and for worse, became almost a single place, united by a common culture that left its mark on language, literature, and politics.

Alexander extended the boundaries of European civilization as far as India, and left behind a definite impact on the history, art and religion of the areas he conquered. Alexander sparked what is known as the Hellenistic period. This period was the pinnacle of Greek influence in the ancient world; the Hellenistic period was the time after Alexander’s death when Greeks, Persians and other cultures were mixed together with Greek culture being the main influence. Before his death, Alexander created a unified ruling class for his huge empire; he placed a mixture of Persians and Greeks in charge of different satrapies in his empire. He encouraged the inter-marrying of Greeks and Persians and the result was the