Alexander The Great In Afghanistan

Alexander the great was born in Pella, Macedonia in 350 B. C. His father who was the Macedonia King Philippe died when Alexander was 20 years after being killed in a Persia’s battle. He immediately replaced the position of his father. Alexander had several talents ranging from being smart, brave, proud and ambitious. His military and brave skills were witnessed when he took part in the battle at the age of 16. One of his ambitious dreams was to establish the world empire and become the ruler of the whole inhabited world. He had inherited his father’s idea to conquer Asia and wage a campaign against the orient.

(Hornblower S, 2002). Alexander the great had made several achievements in his interest to populate the world empire with a unity nation but on the other hand his governance had some setbacks. This paper highlights some of the real achievements and failures that Alexander the great made in his time for leadership. At the death of his father when he was 20 year old, he was proclaimed to be the Czar of Macedonia. He did everything to strengthen the armies military skills, developed the army’s organizational system and lead Hellenic Campaign to the Orient.

His army entered the main residence of Persia palace which was the most beautiful and had taken 60 years to be built. This action made Alexander to be the ruler of the whole orient. “Since the time he mounted the throne of Persian czars he started to demand from his subordinates to keep the oriental ritual of worship” (Alexander the great encyclopedia. ) During this period, Czar Darius was still alive and he settled in Ekbantak in Midia. Alexander sent his army to Persian Czar. Darius refused to take the battle and sought safety in flight.

His empire ended after his death as a result of a wound inflicted on him. (Kaplan R, 2001). Alexander the great also confronted the rebels in the Sogdian Rock of Sisimitr. The confrontation was faced with confrontation in accessing the solgdian noblemen who had settled in un sailable mountain which was filled with snow. These noblemen had a great influence on the population of Soldgiana. However with a promise of great reward to his warriors, 300 brave volunteers managed to climb the mountain, and reached where the noblemen had settled. The rebels surrendered as they were astonished by this action.

Alexander the Great led to the spread of the Greek Culture all over his empire which affected the law and the government for a very long period. He was an open-minded man in that he integrated more Persian/Asian ideas in his empower and military. He said that Asia found many things that are worthy to be copied. (Mirzaev R, 2006). The king also encouraged the cultural, political and religious development of the western thinking. This was as a result of conquering Darius Persian Armies eliminating the Persian threat in invading Europe. This had loomed for a number of centuries.

Alexander the great also lead to conquering the Macedonia to Modern India. However, Alexander the great cut the Gordian knot which established the physical force, power and brute reasoning, over spiritualism and religious mysteries. He was defeated in India. This defeat came about due to the distance from Europe and the lack of supply lines. It essentially established the borders of European imperialism during that era of technology which remained intact through the time of the Roman Empire. Alexander the great led to disintegration of the great empire after his death.

This is because his governance lacked the political and economic ties and instead relied absolutely on the military forces. He neglected his health to a point where he died. Before he died he had failed to provide an heir, and refused to designate an adult successor. His role would not have been taken by any other person because he eliminated aspirants that could have taken his role to succeed him. Neglecting to delegate his responsibility to any other person also killed his administrative system because he played all the duties alone.

Alexander the Great had made conquest in life which was very extraordinary. This was witnessed all the way since he was 16 throughout his life in the leadership. However the overall outcome was failure due to the collapse of his governance and the rise in the Roman republic. ( Donova D. C. ) A good leader makes a better leader that him/her. (Covey S. 95) One cannot lead alone; he/she should rely on others in order to get criticism and more enlighting in leadership. Delegation of some responsibilities ensures a strong leadership because the burden of leadership is shared to different people.

Delegation of responsibility also ensures that leaders focus and concentrate on certain important issues rather than shifting effort to all dimensions. Alexander the Great system of monopoly of powers led to the collapse of the government after his death. It was also followed by 50 years of warfare and also the collapse of his empire. The Alexander system of governance could have both positive and negative attributes that one can pinpoint in order to help one employ a right leadership.

Ambition and determination irrespective of the age are important leadership attributes that could be seen and copied from Alexander’s leadership. However discouragement of successors’, dictatorship and self-centeredness in leadership should be highly criticized as it can be learnt from Alexander’s leadership. Alexander should be the blame for poor leadership in Central Asia as it did not enhance continuity.

References:

1. Jeffery J. Roberts. 2003. The origins of conflict in Afghanistan. Greenwood Publishing Group Simon Hornblower. 2002.
2. The Greek World, 479-323 BC: Exploring Ethnic Identity on Curac Routledge Publishers Robert D. Kaplan. 2001.
3. Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Vintage Books Publishers R. R. Rawson. 2007.
4. The Monsoon Lands of Asia. Transaction Publishers Mirzaev R. 2006.
5. Alexander the Great in Central Asia. Retrieved on 11th March 2009