Alexander the Great: Villain or a Hero?

For every good deed there's always a bad deed. This was the case for Alexander the Great. Alexander was very successful during his time, ruling a large empire that ran from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River. However, his road to success was a smoke and mirror act. His cruel acts weren't acknowledged by the people that supported him.

Alexander's success began when he proceeded to expand his territory over Thebes. Alexander's goal was to conquer Thebes at any expense. He brought his 30,000 troops to conquer Thebes. King Phillip, Alexander's father, had attempted to conquer Thebes earlier but he failed. This made Alexander the Great want Thebes even more. When Alexander and his army arrived in Thebes, they defeated Thebes and destroyed the city. Alexander enslaved all Theban families and sold 20,000 women and children into slavery. Alexander ordered his troops to destroy every building in the city and they gave no mercy. While that was happening, he prepared Theban men for future invasions against different people so that he could conquer their land as well. Alexander was unstoppable and he had a motive that nobody could interfere with. After Alex's success in conquering the land that his father never could in Thebes, he moved onto his next victim.

After claiming Thebes Alexander moved on to conquer the Persian Empire, the largest empire that existed at the time. Alexander knew he wanted the Persian Empire because they were a powerful rival for they wanted for control over profitable trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean. In order to conquer Persia, Alexander knew he had to put on a good fight. At the Battle of Issus, King Darius, the ruler of Persia had 70,000 troops which outnumbered Alexander by 30,000 men. But this didn't mean anything; Alexander still had a chance of getting what he wanted and he sure did. Three years after the Battle of Issus, Alexander captured and destroyed the Persian Capital and claimed the right to rule Persia. Although Alexander conquered Persia, he still allowed the people of Persia to continue practicing their religious traditions and he even adopted Persian customs. But he treated the people of Persia very harshly. Alexander and his troops attacked the Phoenician city Tyre. They captured 30,000 people that lived in the city and enslaved them. These Barbarians also slaughtered 40,000 men. Alexander was filled with joy; he had another victory over