Question: How was the Struggle of the Orders influential on later Roman politics?

Question: How was the Struggle of the Orders influential on later Roman politics? 

The Struggle of the Orders was a fight in the earl 400 B.C. to make Plebeians equal to the Patricians.  The Patricians were very powerful, rich, and well-known people.  They were the aristocrats of society and were put much higher above then the Plebeians.  The Plebeians were pretty much the rest of society that didn’t consist of the Patricians.  The Patricians had all of the political power and the Plebeians had none.  They really wanted a place in the Roman Senate.  The Plebeians kept fighting and didn’t give up.  Eventually they were giving a spot in the political office called the Tribune of the Plebs.  With their position one Plebeian can represent the whole entire group of Plebeians.  The single Plebeian had power to veto any law that a Patrician purposed that were not fair to Plebeians.  Because of the Patricians gained respect for the Plebeians.  Because of this simple change in the senate the Plebeians gained a lot of more political power they weren’t used to.  They finally had a place in the senate.  A lot of laws the Patricians had were unfair to the large majority of Plebeians.  Since the Plebeians were given this new found freedom they were able to make Rome a little bit of a better place for themselves.  They finally had a little bit more respect and felt like they had a place in the government where they could influence politics. 

Influenced by Ancient Rome

These columns in front of my house resemble the columns built in Ancient Roman structures.  People probably got the idea for these columns from the structures.

Alexander the Great

                Alexander the Great took over the throne at a young age of 20.  He began his reign by eliminating potential rivals.  This may have arguable been Alexander’s starting point of power.  Alexander the Great is debatably still known as the greatest ruler the world has ever seen; as a result of, the victories he accomplished, his army, and his love of power.

Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, was one of the wealthiest cities in Asia.  Alexander believed it to be their worst enemy among all of the cities, and he ordered his soldiers to attack.  The Macedonian soldiers followed through on their commands and began plundering the city.  Alexander ordered the palace not to be touched, but during a drunken rampage, the palace was set fire by many women.  The events that took place in Persepolis show the extreme power Alexander had.  He was able to barge into possibly the wealthiest city in Asia and take over.

In 331 BC Alexander entered Egypt.  His first order was to have a city designed and he founded his own name at the mouth of the Nile.  Alexander later on made a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amon-Ra in order to be acknowledged as his son, the pilgrimage was successful.  During his stay in Egypt, Alexander traveled across the desert to visit the oracle at the temple of Zeus Ammon; supposedly, the oracle told Alexander he was the son of Zeus Ammon and was going to rule the world.  The Egyptians made Alexander pharaoh, voluntarily.  Persia even offered Alexander a truce that came along with a gift of several provinces in the Persian Empire, but Alexander refused the gift and wanted the whole empire. 

In roughly 330 BC Alexander invades Afghanistan.  In Afghanistan Alexander faces many fierce battles and loses much of his army.  After four years of war in Afghanistan he passes through to Central Asia and gains reinforcements for his army.  He then proceeds to return to Afghanistan and he is able to capture Balkh, Qandahar, Heart, and Kabul.  While in Afghanistan Alexander marries the local chief’s daughter, Rokhsana.

Alexander invades India in a place called Punjab, land of the five rivers.  The kind ruling at the time was Porus, he had many princes under him who were forming a rebellion; as a result, they were thrilled Alexander was invading.  Porus gathered a great army and a war broke out.  A wide river separated the Indians and the Greeks, but eventually Alexander’s army passed through in the middle of the night.  Despite the Indians advantage of using elephants in war, Alexander’s army came out on top.  Despite the war Alexander was gracious to Porus and treated him respectfully.  Alexander continued through India, fighting battles, building temples, and founding cities.  Once city he even named after his favorite horse Bucephalus, the city was name Boukephala.  He also named a city after himself, Alexandreia. 

At the age of 32 in 323 BC Alexander died in the temple of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon at the age of 32.  Many would guess that he died due to battle injuries in war, assignation, or even due to a rebellion; however, Alexander the Great died because of a fever.  His story lives on and so does his legends.  With one of the strongest militaries in the world, Alexander was able to conquer just about everyone and everything.  He was power hungry.  He always wanted more power than what he had and could never stop.  Despite Alexander the Great’s obsession with power, he is arguably still known by some, the greatest ruler of all time. 

"Afghanistan and Alexander the Great." Afghanland.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.afghanland.com/history/alexander.html>.

"Alexander the Great." Macedonia FAQ. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://faq.macedonia.org/history/alexander.the.great.html>.

"Alexander the Great Invades India." About Hinduism - What You Need to Know About    Hinduism. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/alexander.htm>.

"History of Iran: Burning of Persepolis by Alexander the Great." Iran Chamber Society.    Web.    10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.iranchamber.com/history/persepolis/burning_persepolis_alexander.php>.

"Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Main Page." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/asbook.html>.

Question: What compels someone to lead others?

Question: What compels someone to lead others?

Power is something that compels people to lead others.  At first the person want to lead others to do what’s right and make a good difference.  At some point a realization sinks in that these people have the power to command people and become a great leader.  All great leaders have a lot of respect and have power over a lot.  To lead others and be good at it they must demand respect.  To earn respect, they conquer and do good things for their people.  Through conquering they are just leading more.  Maybe the person aspiring to be a leader wants to lead simply because they have a good idea for their people.  They think they can make a change so instead of waiting around to make the change they put it into action and begin leading.  There is also a scenario where someone may not agree with the current leaders’ judgments or decisions.  In this case someone could be compelled to lead so they can get the other person out of the leadership position and do what they think is better.  All of these cases begin as power.  In order to become a leader you must earn power, which is very compelling.  Eventually, whether or not the original thing that a person was compelled by was power, they begin to go power crazy, just like any good ruler.  Any good ruler gains so much respect and power that there comes a point where they can’t stop.

Question: What do you think should have been done after Alexander's death?

Question: What do you think should have been done after Alexander's death?

After Alexander’s death people should’ve easily been able to recuperate and find a new leader.  First off, Alexander should’ve thought ahead and planned something in case he could’ve died.  Consider he lived a very dangerous lifestyle he should have really considered the idea of himself dying.  The problem with Alexander is he seemed to consider himself to be god-like and maybe thought he was immortal.  They should have taken Alexander’s most high appointed official, general, or assistant and made him king.  Possibly if they had a different law system people could’ve voted someone in to the king’s position.  They were in a tough position to be in, but it would have been very easy to find a logical solution if they weren’t all consumed with power also.  After seeing the respect and treatment Alexander had they wanted that power too.  They saw that he considered himself to be invincible and wanted to live that lifestyle also.  Because of this everyone wanted to be king so everyone fought over it.  If they would’ve just come to a logical and good decision everything would’ve gone a whole lot smoother.   

Question: Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

Question: Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

It would be incredibly hard for a force and power like Alexander the Great to exist today.  Back in Alexander’s day the government was a lot different, but their government helped shaped the way our government is today.  Some main differences is that the king or leader had a lot more power given to them then what our president might get today.  There was really no one that could challenge the kin’s authority or decisions; whereas, there are many people who can disagree with the president and stop him from doing something.  In other parts of the world political leaders are given more power than in the United States, but it would be very hard for them to take over as much land as Alexander did.  We have newer and more modern weaponry that results in a more gruesome and challenging war.  Because of this if someone were to attempt to take over most of the world there army would have to be unbelievable.  A lot of people would also challenge someone’s authority today if they attempted to take over large areas of the world because many people wouldn’t like the idea of a single ruler with all the power.  As you can see I don’t believe that a force like Alexander the Great could exist today.

Question: How did Alexander create his own myth?

Question: How did Alexander create his own myth?

Alexander created his own myth by doing something no one had ever done before.  He went to the town and untied the Gordian knot.  The knot seemed impossible to undo and many people couldn’t do it.  Alexander stepped up to the challenge though and was able to untie it.  People made up many different stories on how he did it.  One story involved him taking a piece of the shaft and undid the Gordian knot.  Another story said that he took out his sword and said, “There is no rule saying how the not needs to be undone.” And slice it.  On his journey to the Gordian knot Alexander was able to trudge through the ocean with a full army and visit oracles such as the oracle of Didyma in a treacherous journey.  It was evident that he has great luck.  Many people worried that Alexander wouldn’t be able to undo the knot and it would make him look bad, but he proved them wrong.  Alexander the Great achieved many things people didn’t think was possible.  These things were so impossible they became a myth, but they hold some realities to them.  Another thing that made Alexander create a myth for him was how he undid the knot and many stories were told about it.  No one is exactly sure what story is true so it has become a myth that has yet to be uncovered.  Alexander the Greater created a myth for himself by the impossible things he achieved.