Alexander the great racist or friend of barbarians?

Question

anyone knows specific cited sources online to prove he was friendly towards the people he conquered and did not see them as inferior barbarians and slaves? i need this cause on facebook im challenged by a racist who insists alexander the great was promoting/imposing greek culture and was rejecting foreigners but i generally know that he liked to wear persian clothing (unlike any other greek general) and he enjoyed the cultures he met with.

Answer 1

  What a way to ask a question...like asking weither you walked to school or brought your lunch.  Are there no other options?

Answer 2

I feel this answer will give you insite in the information you need. Good Luck.

Modern opinion on Alexander has run the gamut from the idea that he believed he was on a divinely-inspired mission to unite the human race, to the view that he was a megalomaniac bent on world domination. Such views tend to be anachronistic, and the sources allow for a variety of interpretations. Much about Alexander's personality and aims remains enigmatic. There were no disinterested commentators in Alexander's own time or soon afterward, so all accounts need to be read with skepticism.

Ancient sources are generally written with an agenda of either glorifying or denigrating the man, making it difficult to evaluate his actual character.

It is further claimed, in response to the view that Alexander was generally tolerant of the cultures of those whom he conquered, that his attempts at cultural fusion were severely practical and that he never actually admired Persian art or culture. To this way of thinking, Alexander was, first and foremost, a general rather than a statesman.

Answer 3

Neither.  He was simply an astute leader who knew how to use tolerance as a tool for political success.  Still he differed from all other leaders at that time - when national cultural boundaries were clearly delineated and almost insurmountable, he realized hr could fasttrack his imperial ambition not by annihilating other peoples but by  coopting their culture and get them to toe the line.  His liking to wear Persian clothes should be explained under this light. Centuries later, his technique was utilized by the Romans who allowed foreign conquered people were allowed to run their own local rules and practice their own religions for as long as they paid their taxes and tributes  and refrain from rebelling.  Unfortunately, Alexander died young and his elaborate schemes for world domination ended because his policies were not adopted by his lieutenants.  All things considered Alexander deserves every inch his title of being The Great.                                  

Answer 4

Barbarians? You gotta be kidding

Nations Alexander invaded were the most sophisticated, highly

developed civilizations. Greek civilization was built by studying

achivements created by oriental people, too.

To Persians and Egyptians, Greeks seemed like barbarians.

--------------------------------------...

Well, if you used the term of barbarians as the term that

Greeks used to call all other races except for themselves,

Then my answer would be this

--------------------------------------...

He did not care about race or civilization.

He just wanted to build a huge empire

To do so, he had to be genorous to different culture

Therefore he somewhat tried to be a cosmopolitan

But when he tought that violence coule be the easier way,

he did not hesitate to use it.

Just like Cyrus the Great, the emperor who built Persia,

Alexander used tolerance and gerousity as powerful weapon.

Check the Bible, then you will see that Jews described Cyrus

the Great as the savior sent by God. Tolerance can be very

effective if you know how to use it right.

Answer 5

Slavery had nothing to do with racism at the time, it was just a practised way of life so don't confuse the slavery from 2 hundred years ago with the slavery practised in ancient times. Alexander probably  knew how to use culture as both a tool and a weapon. His legacy is great to be sure in the expansion of Greek culture ... especially in Eygpt.  

Answer 6

Al was responsible for the blending of Persian and Greek cultures that was called Hellenistic civilization.  This Hellenistic civilization is the aspect of Greek culture that is most familiar to us today.