Throughout the human intellectual history, social, material and political forces have played a pivotal role in providing the necessary conditions for the making of a leader. Macedonia and Rome are still grateful to its legends, which are still alive in the books of history. Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip 2 of Macedonia. Alexander became the ruler of Macedonia after his father was assassinated. On the other hand, Julius Caesar was son of Gains Caesar, Governor of Gaul. He later on, became dictator of Rome. Although, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar showed similarity in their childhood life and leadership qualities, they are completely different with regard to their rise to power and education.
Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar both grew up in an environment that had elements of tension. Alexander’s mother Olympias, was a non-Macedonian, while other wives of his father were Macedonian, which always resulted in a conflict between his parents. This provided Alexander an unfavorable environment to grow up. Similarly, Julius Caesar also grew in a stressed situation. Due to the Rome’s large size, low wage labor was entering the country, leaving many native workers unemployed. As a result, Civil War broke out in Rome, creating turmoil all over the country.
Furthermore, the early lives of Alexander and Julius Caesar reveal to us that both exhibited qualities of leadership and heroism in their personality. When Alexander was a young boy, a horse named Bucephalus, was offered to his father for selling. But no one among Philip’s men was able to control the horse. At last, Alexander asked his father to give him a chance at taming the wild beast, to which he agreed. Alexander was successful in riding the horse and bringing it under control. At this, he received the applause of the entire crowd, including his father, who told him that he would one day prove to be a great leader. Another event which reflects his leadership qualities is the courteousness with which he received the Persian ambassadors, during the absence of his father. Similarly, Caesar at the age of 19 defied Sulla by refusing to divorce his wife and thus taking a stand against oppression. Moreover, when he was in the military, he was also awarded with the highest honor ever granted to a soldier at that time. All these facts show that Alexander and Julius Caesar both displayed traits of leadership and courage from the very beginning.
In addition, Alexander and Julius Caesar were different with regard to their establishment as military leaders and rise to power. Alexander the great had a Royal background and was heir to his father’s throne. His royal background provided him with the opportunity to become adept in tactics of war, which helped him throughout his career. Alexander was a great conqueror and wanted to rule the World. Although, short in time-span, during his reign he made many conquests and expanded the boundaries of his Empire. On the contrary, Julius Caesar belonged to the original Aristocratic families of Ancient Rome. He was not heir to the throne. He is known in history as a dictator because he became the ruler of Rome by rising through the ranks of military and politics. Throughout his life mostly he struggled to gain power inside Rome. He indulged himself in politics despite being aware of the dirty business that it was. He used the best political and military strategies to eliminate his enemies inside Rome. As a result, slowly and steadily he gained power and became a dictator at the end. Roman citizens started bestowing him with honors, as he did a lot of reforms.
Moreover, Alexander the Great was educated to a very high extent whereas; Julius Caesar was not highly educated. Alexander was tutored by Leonides, his uncle, and the great Greek Philosopher Aristotle, who were the great teachers of his time. Alexander not only received knowledge of morals and politics from them but they also taught him literature and increased his interest in science, medicine and philosophy, which helped him throughout his life. It was due to this learning that whenever, any of his friends got ill; he prescribed him/her the proper medicines and course of diet to the disease. On the other hand, Julius Caesar was not very highly educated. Although, Caesar traveled overseas for education and was able to communicate in many languages, “the Commentarii de Bello Gallico”, which is Julius Caesar’s firsthand account of the Gallic wars, shows that he was not highly educated. Because later on, the analysis of his book showed that it was written in a very simple and direct prose. Ergo, it is not wrong to say that Alexander and Julius Caesar showed variation in their level of education.
Two enlightened identities subject to two distinguished eras, yet tremendously congenial to each other with regards to their early years and certain characteristics such are leadership qualities. Whilst Alexander was of Royal decent, Caesar was the son of a noble and aristocratic family. The pair of them was subject to tense familial conditions in their early years. However, Alexander completed his tutelage with Aristotle, the renowned Greek philosopher, and commenced with his conquests whereas, Caesar traveled overseas for education and upon return practiced as an orator/ lawyer. He, too, climaxed as a conqueror, loved and faithfully followed by his troops as he, like his patron Alexander, led them into the teeth of the wolf and saw and conquered.
Written By: Imran Tahir ( Bsc Student Lums)
Posts
