Was Alexander's adventure really worth it? In your body paragraphs, you must cite specific examples to back up your thesis -- examples must include one from each of the following: Egypt, Persepolis, Afghanistan, India. Due Friday.
Alexander the Great was the noble and courageous ruler. He conquered much of the common known world today. He conquered Egypt, Persepolis, Afghanistan, and India. However as soon as he died almost all this territory was lost. Even though this happened Alexander the Great’s adventure was worth it.
One of the first Conquests Alexander made was the conquest of Egypt in 332 BC (Alexander the Great). After conquering Persia's naval bases all along the coastline of Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine, Alexander marched into Egypt where he remained for some six months (Fiddles). When Alexander entered Egypt they addressed him as a God. The called him the “Master of the Universe" and son of the deity of Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Because of this Alexander would call Zeus-Ammon as his real father and the currency that showed adorned with ram horns as a symbol of his divinity. While Alexander was in Egypt he founded Alexandria. Alexandria became the most prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after he died (Alexander the Great). Alexander left Egypt in the spring of 331. BC. Although he would never return alive to see the city he had founded, it became where his final resting place would be when his body was returned to their ten years later (Fiddles). Alexander’s conquest of Egypt was very important for his story. If Alexander had never conquered, or freed, Egypt of Persian rule he would of never made Alexander which has grown to be one of the most productive cities in all of Egypt.
One of the first Conquests Alexander made was the conquest of Egypt in 332 BC (Alexander the Great). After conquering Persia's naval bases all along the coastline of Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine, Alexander marched into Egypt where he remained for some six months (Fiddles). When Alexander entered Egypt they addressed him as a God. The called him the “Master of the Universe" and son of the deity of Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Because of this Alexander would call Zeus-Ammon as his real father and the currency that showed adorned with ram horns as a symbol of his divinity. While Alexander was in Egypt he founded Alexandria. Alexandria became the most prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after he died (Alexander the Great). Alexander left Egypt in the spring of 331. BC. Although he would never return alive to see the city he had founded, it became where his final resting place would be when his body was returned to their ten years later (Fiddles). Alexander’s conquest of Egypt was very important for his story. If Alexander had never conquered, or freed, Egypt of Persian rule he would of never made Alexander which has grown to be one of the most productive cities in all of Egypt.
After Egypt Alexander moved on to conquer Persepolis. Alexander Reached Persepolis in January. Alexander describes Persepolis as, “His worst enemy among the cities of Asia.” Once he conquered Persepolis he had his soldiers raid and loot the city. During this raid a fire broke out in the temple of Xerxes, destroying everything. (Destruction of Persepolis). There are many theories to why the Temple of Xerxes was burned. Many believe that this was just a drunken accident by one of his looting soldiers. Other believe that this was a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens from the Second Persian War. A critic of Alexander, Arrian, says “I too do not think Alexander showed good sense in this action nor that he could punish the Persians for a long past age (Alexander the Great). When Alexander returned several years later it is said that he claimed he regretted his act (Destruction of Persepolis). The events that happened in Persepolis unfortunaly show that that Alexander’s conquest wasn’t all that great and he destroyed an ancient civilization out of a past injustice.
However Alexander did not get to kill Darius as he had wanted to. Instead one of Darius’ generals, Bessus, betrayed Darius and killed him. Alexander was furious. He took his massive army and the Persians who left Darius to chase down Bessus into Afghanistan. Alexander perused Besus into Afghanistan until eventually one of Besus’ generals, Spitamenes, In 329 BC. Spitamenes handed over Bessus to Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s most trusted companions. Bessus was brutally executed (Alexander the Great). Alexander’s presence in Afghanistan was very prosperous to the Afghani people. At the time Afghan was a very small country. It consisted of mostly farmers without any writing skills. After Alexander’s presence there was art and sculptors and he established a new form of Government. Alexander greatly helped Afghanistan (Momad, Wahid).
The end of Alexander’s major conquests was in India. Alexander had to defeat the Indian king, Porus. Porus however gathered up a massive army and attacked the Greeks with elephants. The greeks had never fought elephants before. Alexander defeated Porus but Alexander was gracious towards him. He treated him like a king and they became friends. He built a city named, Boukephala, in honor of his horse, Bucephalus, which had died in battle and was buried there. Alexander was eager to press forward and invade the city of Lahore but his soldiers became weary and begged Alexander to go no further. Against his will Alexander was forced to turn back. However a soon as Alexander died all of the India people revolted against Macedonia so that all traces of Greek influences in India soon disappeared. His alters had vanished and the names of his cities had been changed (Marshall). Alexadner’s conquest in India did not really affect anything.
Alexander the great was a very noble and courageous ruler. He has conquered much of the common known world today. He had conquered Egypt, Persepolis, Afghanistan, and India. However as soon as he died almost all his territory had been lost. However the achievments Alexander achieved and the fact that he had pretty much conquered the entire known world at the time has made his name immortal and his adventures were definitely worth it.
Works Cited
"Alexander the Great." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_great#Egypt>.
"Alexander the Great: the Destruction of Persepolis." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t12.html>.
Fiddles, Alan M. "Alexander the Great in Egypt." Arab World Books Your Cultural Club, Arabic Bookstore and Arab Authors' Home Promoting Cultural Dialogue. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.arabworldbooks.com/new/alexander.html>.
Marshall, H. E. "Alexander the Great Invades India." About Hinduism - What You Need to Know About Hinduism. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/alexander.htm>.
Momad, Wahid. "Afghanland.com Afghanistan and Alexander the Great." Afghanland.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.afghanland.com/history/alexander.html>.
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While Wikipedia is fine as an encyclopedia source, none of the other sites you source would be considered authoritative (and encyclopedia information is just generic by design, so that really doesn't do much for you either). Before using secondary sources, you should really check with me. The use of such materials calls into question the authority of your entire essay. You could just have well used primary sources and succeeded in substantially bringing in authoritative evidence to back up your claims.
ReplyDeleteYou also fail to prove your thesis. From what you have written, the question remains whether these adventures were worth it. You do not provide a clear reason for why they were.