Ben's Post

1.                 Ben Justice

            It is the ninth year of our march, and I am tired of walking around all of Asia conquering cities that aren’t worth anything to Alexander. We have attacked and defeated the Aspasioi of Kunar valleys, the Guraeans of the Guraeus valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner valleys. In the battle with the Aspasioi, Alexander was wounded; he was hit in the shoulder by an enemy dart. When attacking the fort of Massaga, Alexander was seriously injured in the ankle. Alexander ruthlessly murdered all of the Massaga and reduced all their buildings to ruble. There was a similar tragedy later when battling the Ora. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. Alexander followed close behind and captured the strategic hill-fort after four bloody days. Later, Alexander crossed the Indus and won an epic battle against King Porus. Alexander was impressed with Porus’s bravery and made him an ally. Finally all of us decided enough was enough and we refused to march farther, Alexander tried his best to persuade us to keep marching east, but we refused, unmovable. He agreed to start the long road back. We are finally going home.

2.    All of the cultures blending and mixing in Alexander’s empire, I think helped him. I believe that through conquering all these cultures, and fighting some valiant opponents, Alexander may have learned new tactics to better his warfare. For example, in his battle against King Porus, surely Porus had some areas of his fighting style that were better than same areas of Alexander’s. In this Alexander learned new tactics that led to his great success, and unbeatable army. On a non-warfare note it helped to unify a vast place.

3.    Robert E. Lee, the great southern general in the Civil War who commanded the Confederate army of Northern Virginia. He served in the United States military, distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War, and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. When Virginia decided to secede from the Union, though Lee wanted to fight for his country he would not fight against his family, neighbors, and brothers. I think he should be highly respected for this, and some people at the time probably saw him as a traitor, but he knew what he though was right, and that’s what he did. Alexander also must have had some people who disliked him in his time because he was a cruel leader, but he did what he had to do to get the job done. Both of these people are thought of differently now than they were back in their times, but in different ways.

Citations:

"Alexander the Great Welcomes You to His Home Page." The Great Homepage of Alexander, or Something Like That. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

"Alexander the Great." Britannica School High. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013.

   Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/

   272799>.

Brown, Bryan. Alexander The Great. Junior Scholastic 113.15 (2011): 20. History Reference Center. Web. 18 Sept. 2013