“They could see Alexander himself, an unmistakeable figure, attended by his suite with an almost ecstatic reverence.”
Alex was very young at this point in his rein but already had established himself as a great leader among the Greeks and greatly feared by the Persians. “Things soon turned in favour of Alexander’s men; their experience and the weight of their attack began to tell, added to advantage of the long cornel-wood spear over the light lances of the Persians.” This also describes the equipment that Alexander and his troops were using which gave them an immediate advantage over the Persians. In Plutarch’s version of the Battle of River Granicus he states:-
“It is said that 20000 foot soldiers and 2500 horsemen died on the Persian side, while according to Aristoboulos, losses among Alexander’s men amounted to 34 dead of whom 9 were foot soldiers.”
I expect that Plutarch has over exaggerated, as these figures are rather unbelievable however they do highlight the fact that these sources are most probably biased to create more support for Alexander. Determination is a necessary requirement for a great leader and in the Alexander Romance description of the Battle of Issos in 333BC we are informed of Alexander’s great determination.
“Alexander raced ahead to battle, full of enthusiasm, and drew up his troops against Darius”
This extract also shows us that Alexander was very dedicated and committed, which is a favourable quality in a general as it means he is more eager to fight and determined to win. In Arrian’s description of the Battle of Granicus it says, “With Alexander’s triumph plain before their eyes, were determined to equal his success.” It is probably that these sources are biased, however this shows us that Alexander had an incredibly high status even 300 years after his reign.
The detail that Arrian uses when describing the Battle of Gaugemela, makes it seem extremely realistic and accentuates his fighting skills:-
“Alexander’s rapid approach…. Alexander in hot pursuit.”
Alexander had gained an extremely advantageous combative ability, even though he
Was still only very young. He had also acquired sufficient linguistic skills:-
“Fellow soldiers, even if our numbers are small, our intelligence, our bravery and our strength are great in comparison with those of our foes the Persians.”
This shows that Alexander was a good speaker and tried to boost his soldiers’ morale by making speeches, which congratulated their efforts. Overall I think that all the sources of Alexander, which are available to us, portray him as a great and victorious leader. However this is probably because when Alexander was alive he had created a very respectable image of himself, which made him more popular among his people. There is no doubt that Alexander was a successful leader and his victories prove this, he was very young when he died and had achieved much more than most previous leaders, however we must remember that the sources from which we obtain this information about Alexander are presumably quite biased as the writer would have wanted to make it seem that they were close to Alexander and that their account was personal.