In terms of his military mind, combat leadership, and conquest campaign, few monarchs in history can compare to Alexander the Great. By ushering in a new Hellenistic age of Greek culture and influence, the King of Macedon constructed an empire that stretched from Greece and Egypt to the Indian subcontinent, forever changing the ancient world. And all of this by the time he died at the age of 32, raising the question of what Alexander could have accomplished if he had lived longer.
If Alexander had continued east, he would have met the Chinese during their ‘Warring States Period’ and therefore met the mighty Qin State, which would unify all of China a century later. Yet, given the low morale of his army, he was unlikely to have made it to China in the first place (Brooks, 2019). The warriors refused to go any further after years of warfare in foreign regions distant from home.
While incorporating foreigners into Alexander’s administrative and military institutions would have made day-to-day control of his empire easier, it also led to increased resentment and mistrust on behalf of Macedonians. In order to impose his will, Alexander favored harsh punishments, which, combined with his prolongated absences, could not have increased the popularity of the ruler. However, Alexander’s treatment of his childhood friend Harpalus, whom he provided with multiple governmental positions throughout his rule, implies that he wasn’t above letting personal relationships cloud his judgment. This fact, however, is hardly surprising given Alexander’s rapidly deteriorating mental state, who has been grappling with paranoia and isolation in the later years of his rule.