Besides his military abilities, what made Alexander successful? What were the most important consequences of his conquests? :: essays research papers

Alexander was successful because of his willingness and ambition to be the best that he could be as a leader. In the beginning of his success, him and his army were deprived of money so he sought quick and decisive battles to gain money and supplies from the conquered territory. Because of Alexander’s ambition to be on the top, he thought of countless ways to be victories in battle, Alexander â€Å"won a smashing victory in characteristic style: He led a cavalry charge across the river into the teeth of the enemy on the opposite bank, almost losing his life in the process and winning the devotion of his soldiers. The coast of Asia Minor now open, Alexander captured the coastal cities, denying them to the Persian fleet (Craig, 105).†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason what Alexander was so successful was because of his greediness. Craig states that while Alexander was in Tyre, Darius offered him his daughter and his entire empire west of the Euphrates River in exchange for an alliance and an end to the invasion but Alexander wanted the whole empire. So Alexander’s greediness motivated him to create more battles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alexander seemed to be a very curious type of person. Alexander was filled with plans for the future, â€Å"for the consolidation and organization of his empire; for geographic exploration; for new cites and roads, and harbors; perhaps even for further conquests in the west (Craig, 107).† As history has shown it, Alexander was one of the greatest generals the world has seen, â€Å"he never lost a battle or failed in a siege, and with a modest army, he conquered a vast empire. He had rare organizational talents, and his plans for creating a multinational empire was the only intelligent way to consolidate his conquests (Craig, 107).† Also, Alexander established many new cities, which these cites promoted commerce and prosperity and introduced Hellenistic civilizations into new areas, as stated in Craig.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alexander’s most important consequences of his conquests was when he came to Persepolis, the Persian capitol, which held splendid palaces and the royal treasury, â€Å"this bonanza ended his financial troubles and put a vast sum of money into circulation, with economic consequences that lasted for centuries (Craig, 107).† Also, as part of his grand scheme of amalgamation and conquest, â€Å"he married the Bactrian princess Roxane and enrolled thirty thousand young Bactrians to be trained for his army (Craig, 107).