By: Katelyn Gauthier

By Katelyn Gauthier

Paving the way for Alexander

the Great: (1) Technological

Changes• New weapons: Common weapons of the time

proved no match for new and improved steel weapons which were introduced in the Mediterranean

• New combat: First demonstrated in Greek warfare, the ideas of “cohesion,” “organization,” and the relentless desire to win, proved fatal to more primitive versions of warfare

• The “War Machine”: the idea of a group of men fighting together as a single machine in warfare, which was demonstrated by the Athenians and came to be known as an army, proved to eventually be responsible for the “triumph of the West”

Alexander the Great –said to be the first to exercise

these new technologies

• The foundation for the eventual success of Alexander the Great was first laid by Alexander’s father, Phillip II: In creating the Macedonian army, Phillip II, successfully transformed

Macedon from a state of civil and foreign unrest into a superpower.

• Alexander the Great’s power was first initiated when he “Inherited both his father’s throne and his ambitions”: Alexander inherited the throne when his father was assassinated

In honor of his father, Alexander strove to defeat Persian power

• Began with an already strong army 43,000 soldiers on foot + 5,500 soldiers on horse = largest Greek army

ever

• Alexander the Great was responsible for the

simultaneous fall of nine cities

• Continued his conquest, eventually seizing the

Persian capital

• His empire was said to have reached its limit after

the invasion of Bactria

• The growing success of Alexander the Great was halted shortly after his men refused to cross the

Beas River which separated them from the lands of Ganges

• His life came to a sad end when he literally drank himself to death

• With no heir to the throne, Greece was divided, and most of what Alexander had fought for eventually

crumbled

• The achievements of Alexander the Great were said to have died with him

• Became renowned not only for his conquests but also for his exploration and travel which

some consider to be synonymous with wisdom • Served as a model for future rulers, such as

Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Napoleon• Set a unique example by focusing on unifying

rather than conquering • Is said to be the inspiration for properties adopted by empires from the time of ancient Rome all the way to the construction of the

United States