Alexander the Great Part Three

I chose to learn more about the ancient figure, Alexander the Great, whose empire was one of the largest in history, and collapsed after his death. He was one of the greatest generals of all time, and he also had a talent for administration. Alexander inherited the Macedonian Empire and led a conquest that captured one of the largest empires in history. Alexander was a daring tactician who also developed well-designed logistical plans for his 12-year military campaign.

What country, or what army, would Alexander the Great lead today? Ancient Greece was divided and ruled by self-governing city-states for most of its early existence. Eventually, Greece was divided by the three city-state alliances; Macedonia was a Kingdom that arrived later in the history of Greece, but still, while Greece was active. Ancient Macedonia’s rise to power is important because it spread Hellenism throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Western Asia. Greece was ruled by three main city-states: Thebes, Sparta, and Athens. Alexander the Great was an amazing leader; however, his home and kingdom had issues with their succession- it was structural. Macedonia was ruled by a “not-planned” succession system. After his death, Macedonia was attacked by the Indians, who fought back. After Alex’s death, it can be understood that India revolted, and even later, the Athenians led a revolt, with the rest of the Greeks, against the Macedonians, which led to unrest in the former Macedonia territories, which caused some of the modern-day problems in the Middle East.

Macedonia was ruled by King Alex – the King of Macedon; there was an interesting way of observing the succession of Macedonian leaders. The ancient kingdom of Macedonia, which was not a relevant or a recorded kingdom until 350BCE, did not have a designated succession plan from one leader to the next. Because of this, the Macedonian kingdom had to come up with succession arrangements every year. [1] One of the highest positions in the entire Macedonian kingdom was the top cavalry general, a term called “Chiliarchy”. Ancient Macedonian leaders married some Persian princesses during their military campaigns.

Shandra Gupta was the founder of the Mauryn Empire, based on the territory comprising modern-day India. Gupta freed India from foreign occupation and maladministration. Shandra Gupta’s conquests led him to retake the modern-day Indian kingdoms back from Alexander’s succession. It was the only kingdom that was able to retake the land from the Succession kingdoms at this time. At the time of his death, he starved himself to death due to the extreme famine that encompassed the entire Maryn Kingdom. Afterward, the ancient Athenians decided to embark on a campaign to destroy the Macedonians in a massive revolution.

The Athenians, under the leadership of Hyperoralities, led a campaign for a revolution against the Macedonian’s.   The Athenians led the Greeks (also known as Southern Greeks) in a massive campaign against the Macedonians. They were eventually defeated; however, they built massive walls to defend their city and port. The ancient Athenians viewed the Macedonians as “barbarian” or less than due to the Macedonians not having walls, or more of the basis for civilizations, or civilized people.

King Alexander faced a succession crisis after his death. Modern-day India, called the Mauryn Empire then, led a massive campaign against the Macedonian’s; eventually freeing themselves. The Athenian’s along with the rest of the Southern Greek’s led a massive revolt against the Macedonian’s. The Macedonians did not have a formal succession system, which was uncommon, so they needed to have on-the-go systems. After Alex’s death, it can be understood that India revolted, and even later, the Athenians led a revolt, with the rest of the Greeks, against the Macedonians.

Citations:

Romm, James S. 2011. Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Alexander: The Making of a God. Dir. Hugh Ballantyne, Stuart Elliott, Mike Slee. Netflix, 2024. Streaming video.

Meeus, Alexander. “Some Institutional Problems Concerning the Succession to Alexander the Great: ‘Prostasia’ and Chiliarchy.” Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 58, no. 3 (2009): 287–310. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25598472.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Chandragupta. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved July 25, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chandragupta

·       [1]  Alexander, Meeus. “Some Institutional Problems concerning the succession to Alexander the Great”(Historia: Zeitschrift Fur Alte Geschichte 58, JSTOR, 2009), 287-310. 

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