=--It is very difficult to know exactly what
Alexander's purposes were. Did he conquer for the mere pleasure of it?
Or did he have a plan? Did he wish to fuse into one all the peoples of
his empire? Was he following the example already set him by Persia? Or
did he, perhaps, imitate the Great King simply for vain-glory? And so
of his intentions we know nothing. But his acts had great results. He
founded seventy cities--many Alexandrias in Egypt, in Tartary, and
even in India. He distributed to his subjects the treasures that had
been uselessly hoarded in the chests of the Great King. He stimulated
Greek scholars to study the plants, the animals, and the geography of
Asia. But what is of special importance, he prepared the peoples of
the Orient to receive the language and customs of the Greeks. This is
why the title "Great" has been assigned to Alexander.
THE HELLENES IN THE ORIENT
=Dissolution of the Empire of Alexander.=--Alexander had united under
one master all the ancient world from the Adriatic to the Indus, from
Egypt to the Caucasus. This vast empire endured only while he lived.
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