Greatest General of All Time

[Conrad_Jalowski]

Yes, the romance behind Alexander's Asiatic conquests is truly great. The battles at the Granicus River, the battle of Issus, Siege of New Tyre, Siege of Gaza, Guagamela, his multiple engagements with the Scythic tribes alongside the Jaxartes River and the battle of Hydapses against King Porus are examples of Alexander's tactical proficiency and great strategic insight. However, many have apotheosized Alexander to a degree that I find to be repulsive.

One could say that Alexander's legacy to the world was the sheer chaos, disorder and incessant wars that arose after his death in 323 BCE in the Diadochian conflicts or the Wars of the Successors with the battles of Paraitacene, Gabiene, Gaza, Salamis, Rhodes, Ipsus and Corupedium. Alexander is irrefragably a military commander of the highest order or the first degree; however, Alexander lacked the political acumen to consolidate his gains and to establish a stable foundation for his colossal empire. Again, the empire of Alexander III fragmented on his death in 323 BCE [Ptolemies, Seleucids, Antigonids, Attalids] with the lack of a designated heir or successor and the adherence to a satrapial structure which would eventually lead to internal revolts and dissensions among the governors or satraps.

Instead, Alexander III should have consolidated his gains in Mesopotamia, Media and Susiana as opposed to the continuation of his frenzied conquests in the Orient. If Alexander III ceased his Asiatic conquests and became content with the subjugated territories in the greater portion of Anatolia/Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, Cyrenaica [A dependent state], Mesopotamia and Media, he could have consolidated his gains in the regions of Atropatene, Adiabene and Gordyene and fully subdued all the regions in Anatolia as he had not yet subdued all the minor or petty kingdoms in the Anatolian region or the kingdoms of Bithynia, Pontus and Cappadocia which were autonomous and were not placed under his sovereignty. Alexander III could have formed a stable and enduring empire if he did not extend his hegemony deeper into the Orient. A highly stable though smaller Greco-Macedonian Empire in Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Mesopotamia, Media and Susiana would have halted the Romans in their eventual conquests.