FAMOUS
CONQUERORS !!
(A series on the lives of
some famous conquerors of the past
...and the lessons they can teach us
today!
.....................................
Conquerors!
Men - and women - who led their followers onward to accomplish mighty victories. As Julius Caesar expressed it, or so
tradition tells us: they came, they
saw, and they conquered!
What motivated their exploits?
And what happened after their death that, in so many
instances, led to the decline of all they had achieved? Were the same
motivation and momentum found in their successors?
Herein we may find a lesson our day!
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
CONQUEROR Of
The WORLD !!
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He was only 20 years of age when he became King of
Macedonia. The unexpected
assassination of his father had suddenly thrust him into this awe-inspiring
role. It was 336 B.C.
Rumor had it that his mother, Olympia, had been
angry with her husband's choice of a younger bride and had arranged for the
deadly arrow to find its mark.
The truth may never be fully proven. But Philip II of Macedonia was dead and
young Alexander was launched upon a career that would carve his name into the
annals of military history.
More than that...
He would spread Greek language and Greek culture
across the then-known world. Before
long he would be known as Alexander, the Great, and the history of the
western world would never be the same again.
................................
HIS MOTIVATION
Historians find various strands that motivated the
exploits of this youthful genius.
* His father
had been a shrewd leader of men, " his success owing more to his arts of
deception, bribery and fraud than to his military skill and political
wisdom" (W.C.T., p.51). This same
Philip II had planned to overthrow the might of Persia when death intervened. Alexander would carry out his father's
desire.
*
Aristotle, one of the most famous of ancient Grecian philosophers, had
been employed as Alexander's tutor. At
his feet the teenager had imbibed a vast amount of learning. Judged by the standards of his day, the
young man was well educated.
* There was
an inborn courage, even recklessness, in Alexander. He would inspire his army by leading them into the thick of the
battle. He even wore a pair of white
wings on his helmet, which meant the enemy could easily identify him. And he would be first up the siege ladder into an enemy fortress. His bravery
won him the respect of his warriors
(A. Powell, p. 82).
He was a born leader of men, that rare quality not
all possesses.
.
But having said all that, a reading of the numerous
biographies concerning this brilliant man only seems to point to the same
motivation that inspired most other conquerors.
As Duncan Townson writes at the very outset of his
volume, Famous Generals, since earliest times Man has been an
aggressor, fighting for power and territory (p. 4). And Alexander the Great was no exception.
After his defeat of the Persian army at the famous
Battle of Issus (333 B.C.), one biographer tells us that Alexander was still
not satisfied (Townson, p. 9).
Within the space of ten years his army had conquered
more territory than any previous had done.
His empire, one and a half million square miles" (Nat. Geo., p.
65), held sway from Macedonia to India.
And tradition has it that there he wept because there were no more
worlds left to conquer.
..............................
HIS SEEDS OF
DESTRUCTION.
Never satisfied!
Alas for that person who fails to find contentment
in this life.
Flavius Arrian was a contemporary biographer of our
frustrated hero. He wrote, Alexander had no small or mean conceptions, nor
would ever have remained contented with any of his possessions so far, not even
if he had added Europe to Asia and the Britannic Islands to Europe (Nat. Geo.,
p. 65).
Although he may have thought of himself as a
demi-god, yet the love of riches and fame and power became the dominant factors
in his life. These were his real gods!
But in them he found no satisfaction.
* It was in
India, at the Beas River, that mutiny brewed among his men for the first
time. A faithful General pleaded with
him to let the men return to their families, to enjoy while they yet live the
riches you have won for them.
The great commander had failed to read these signs
of discontent among those who had loyally followed him across the world. He eventually acquiesced to the request.
* As his
decade of triumph had continued, so his character was seen to be changing. He had become harder, grimmer, and more
ferocious in his conduct of war (Bamm, p. 242).
During the conquest of Tyre, and the slaughter of
somewhere between 6000 and 8000 inhabitants
the Tyranian leaders were
executed along with the 2000 survivors of the fighting men who were crucified
(Wood, p. 70).
Seeds of destruction, indeed!
..
* Frequent
bouts of drunkenness likewise took their toll.
Whilst imitating the Persian monarchs in pride and
luxury, and requiring adoration from his subjects, like them he indulged in the
wildest debauchery of intoxication (C.W.T., p. 58). When he was drinking, wrote Plutarch, he could become
offensively arrogant and descend to the level of a common soldier
(Wood, p. 162).
It was during one such drunken orgy Alexander
quarrelled with his friend and foster-brother, Clietus, who had once been
instrumental in saving his life at the Battle of Granicus. Accounts of what exactly happened during
that quarrel vary. But all agree that
Alexander, in a drunken rage, slew his friend with a javelin...
Arrian also records the last days of a besotted
Alexander. Despite the fact that his
wife Roxanne was about to give birth to an heir, the great commander drunk
himself into delirium. Here was a man
who conquered the world but could not conquer his lust for strong drink.
And so he died, not yet 33 years of age.
* There is
another failing to be noted. He does
not seem to have made plans for the government of his empire after his death
(Peach, p. 74).
Before long Roxanne and her son were murdered.
Four Generals split the empire among themselves and
then waged war on each other for more territory. ( Read of the Prophet Daniels remarkable prophecy
in Daniel Chapter 8 ) The Greek culture and language Alexander had spread
continued. But the Empire fragmented
until it fell before the iron monarchy of Rome (Gibbon, p. 92). ( And read more about that in Daniel
Chapter 2 !!)
..
LESSONS TO LEARN
In today's business world many still follow in the
footsteps of Alexander the Great.
* There are
commercial genius (instead of military genius!), creative methods of achieving
goals (Alexander used strategies never seen previously on the world's
battlefields) and the inspiring of confidence among ones employees by setting
a worthy example.
* And there
are pitfalls to avoid.
· Greed. The love
of money is still the root of all kinds of evil.
· Lust for power.
· A lack of
compassion toward those who 'go under'.
· And that
perennial enemy, strong drink, an enemy that has robbed many a great man of his
leadership qualities and caused his followers to consider him a fool.
· A failure to plan
ahead. Of course Alexander did not
expect to die at the age of 32! Who
does? Plenty of time to appoint a
successor ... or so he thought. But the
last enemy, ever victorious, is Death.
And before him even an Alexander the Great must bow.
Another great king, Solomon
by name, was closer to the truth when he wrote, Boast not thyself of tomorrow
for thou knowest not what a day will
bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).
And that is a lesson we all do well to heed.
.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander the Great, by P. Bamm. Thames & Hudson. 1968.
320 pp.
The Greek World, by A.Powell. Kingfisher Books. 1987. 94 pp.
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, by M.Wood. Universityof California Press. 1997.
256 pp.
National Geographic Magazine, January, 1968. 65-page article by H. &
F. Schrieder.
Readings in Biography, by C.W.T. Published by John Parker. 1846.
408 pp.
Famous Generals, by D. Townson. Purnell Pub. 1975. 48pp.
The Greek Hoplite, by M. Windrow. Franklin Watts Pub. 1985.
32 pp.
The Warring States of Greece, by A. Burn. Thames & Hudson Pub. 1968. 144 pp.
The Greeks, by S. Peach. Usborne Pub. 1990. 96 pp.
Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, by E.
Gibbon. Vol. 2. Modern Library Edition. 1932.
1476 pp.
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