Alexander the Great was the most famous and distinguished king in Western history. In just 13 years, he consolidated the Kingdom of Macedonia as an ally of the Greek city-states, defeated the mighty Persian Empire, and brought northeastern Africa and the Middle East, including Egypt, under his rule. Alexander the Great's forces also marched eastward, occupying the countries of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Alexander the Great has received an almost polarized evaluation in history. In this regard, he is similar to China's Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, and napoleon of modern France, and is regarded as a hero for his exploits, but on the other hand, he is constantly suspected and even blamed for his enthusiasm for conquest and killing, and in the era of pacifist ideas.
Alexander was an important achievement of Greek education. In his book Alexander the Great, Hans Joachim Gelk, a German historian, archaeologist, former director of the German Archaeological Institute and an internationally renowned expert in ancient Greek studies, pointed out that the most important thing in Greek education is to read Homer's epic poems, so that the ideas and values contained in them are deeply imprinted in the hearts of students.
There is no doubt that Alexander was very obsessed with the stories and characters of Greek mythology. He emulated the conquests and toils of these gods, and wanted to surpass what they had achieved. He felt called upon to compete with these ancestors... He must go to the borders, to the end of the known human world. This is a good explanation for why Alexander's conquest of the East was clearly beyond the ability of the empire to rule and govern at the time, but the emperor was still obsessed with it.
Alexander the Great's choice was certainly inspirational for those who were equally ambitious at the time and for generations to come. The astonishing success of Alexander's conquests was that before and after him, few conquerors were able to achieve the great feat of destroying the Mongol conquests, and as the book Alexander the Great points out, it was not anything that was enough to be achieved with impulsivity and bravery, but the result of Alexander's respect for knowledge, "systematic and professional preparation", a clear planning of the war, and the transformation of grand goals into a combination of achievable goals.
Moreover, "in ordinary political dealings, Alexander calculated coldly according to the simple logic of friendliness or hostility, tenderness or punishment, promotion or destruction." Many kings did not have this, whether it was Timur, who was also good at conquest and shaped a stronger color of terror, or the kings of the Ottoman Empire who repeatedly threatened the heart of Central Europe, or even the tyrants and overlords of ancient civilizations scattered around the world with various social and cultural temperaments, most of them could not meet Alexander's standards in this regard.
But we also need to note that behind the "personal icons" of kings such as Alexander and Napoleon, behind this great man who shook the world and changed history, hidden is the suffering of thousands of people. ”
The book Alexander the Great is relatively short. In concise and colloquial language, the author first introduces the reader to Alexander's upbringing, especially the influence of Homer's epic Greek education on him, and the political mind shaped by the political struggles at the court. Next, the author recounts the military and political deployments made by Alexander's father, Philip II, in bringing about Macedonia's de facto control over the Greek city-states.
Alexander's own conquest career is of course the main content of the book, as mentioned above, his own strategic vision, combat deployment and political skills, indeed at that time far exceeded the kings and generals of other countries he encountered, and Alexander also took the initiative to guide the content of Homer's epic, that is, the struggle between civilization and barbarism to his conquest. For many centuries afterwards, this technique was borrowed by the conquerors of the Western countries—whether Napoleon led his troops to fight in Egypt or across the European continent, he always emphasized the political legacy invented by Alexander.
Books Reviewed:
Title: Alexander the Great
Author: (de) Hans-Joachim Gelk
Translator: Wang Shiwen
Publishers: Social Science Literature Publishers - Yong&Ong
Publication date: July 2021
