What made Alexander great? Randall Collins answers with this list:
- His father’s army and geopolitical position
- Tiger Woods training
- The target for takeover
- Greek population explosion and mercenaries
- Alexander’s victory formula
Alexander is famous for having conquered the Persian Empire, but it’s his father who prepared the expedition — only to be assassinated at the farewell party.
Alexander famously received his education from Aristotle — but his real education was his military apprenticeship under his father.
The target of his conquest, the Persian Empire, was only able to be taken over because the Persians had successfully forged an empire — and could easily be replaced by another conqueror.
At this time, the Greeks had too many armed young men looking for work — often in Persia.
Collins suggests that Alexander’s victory formula was to establish emotional domination as quickly as possible.