What if Alexander the Great Never Died Young?
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Alexander the Great built an empire that spanned the known world in the span of a decade. And then he died. It has remained through history as a "what if". Was Alexander near the end of his reign? Or was he just getting started? How could him surviving just a bit longer have transformed the ancient world?
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Alexander died because of a back injury. He carried his team so much
Nowdays he'd be the best Apex Squadmate in history
Alex is just Batman
i though he was poisoned
Alexander was great because he was good at strategy and his army was well trained. He did very little (if any) of his own fighting.
It would have been very foolish of him to engage in combat. Leaders lead, they don't fight. They only ever fight if they have to defend themselves, and they position themselves so they can't really be attacked.
@@krowman8458 The lifeline
Alexander would literally sail into the new world, conquer it, and then build a space ship and start conquering Mars
No, he would probably lose in banat
That's left for his heir, Elon the Great.
Aristotle taught him the world was round so he'd probably do it as soon as he conquered Rome so he could get to asia faster. Then he just ends up finding a new continent
I was gonna do that
Then go on the conqueror the sun itself 🥴👍
Oh god, ''The Holy Greek Empire,'' would be a thing.
Made by Germans
We'd have folk quoting "It was neither holy, nor Greek, nor an empire!"
Would the city of Byzantium still be referred to as the true successor to yet another empire?
@@kindadumb916 maybe Alexandria in Egypt is seen as the last true succesor of the Macedonian Empire
@@kindadumb916 Byzantium has a pretty excellent location, it probably would still end up being important.
Now do "What if Alexander the Great Never Died?" and see how far you can continue things with an immortal Alexander the Great.
He'll basically be the God emperor of mankind from 40k
well immortal just means cant die of old age so he'd probably die of liver failure after conquering all the land in this video + gaul iberia caucasus south arabia north india transoxiana
@@gamechanger8908 I know right!
@@aetu35 by immortal he means undying to both disease and old age
warhammer 40,000
"Then he did a backflip, stabbed the bad guy's neck and saved the day!" - some Macedonian soldier
“Tell me another lie” some other Macedonian soldier
@@AxxLAfriku so, right hand and left hand are their names?
Conquering the known world is super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Oooooou mixing greek and persian culture is tight¡
Ryan george
That "Young" in the title was cut off in the notification, so I thought "well, a whole lot would change if such a lucky bastard was also immortal."
lol
That's funny.
@Not RickRoll 👇 2 thanks
He would probably be regarded as a god and take over the whole of the known world(unless he got trapped under water with a stone around his neck)
reminds me of Perry Rhodan, where Alexander the great was given the same device, that makes the protagonists immortal, but it was switched off, causing him to die young.
"Can't imagine a mix of Greek with any culture"
* laughs in Greco-bactrian *
Then laughs in Indo Greek or Ptolemaic Egypt.
*laughs in hellenization*
Constrained imagination. Or simply not read up
Cries in Bamiyanese
YAY! Someone who knows about the Bactrian Greeks! I love that culture! Fighting nomads beyond the Jaxartes, and exploring the Hindu Kush...and the mixed Macedonian/Persian/Nomad/Indian armies you can form...sooooo coooollll!!
"He would wish to Greek culture merged with Persian"
I think I know what I will do in CK3 after the new update.
My plan is a steppe horde->Brittany.
i just want the new fucking dlc to release
wish to what?
@@mirzaahmed6589 merge Greek culture with Persian culture into a single United culture
I tried that in Imperator Rome and I got civil war later. Funny thing, they are only against it if they are the dominant culture and in other play through they are happy. They are are only against oppression if they are the oppressed.
The only answer to the question "Where would Alexander go next?" is wherever the most spoils of war to be had were. It's the reason why he didn't even bother with the Italian peninsula in his lifetime.
Soooo... India?
He would go to the Nether to defeat the dragon
yeah but sooner or later you gotta be pragmatic and secure your borders and/or link your colonies across the mediterranean to the mainland. That's what the Romans did later on afterall
@@dracodeanglicus3857 India lacked a centralized command structure of Alexander to take control of. While Indian and Chinese trade good were very valuable, he didn't need to conquer the whole subcontinent to secure a trade route. He had already established cities in India.
I wonder if there would something for him down on the Southwestern coast of Arabia, atleast we know that it already was "civilised" back then.
I'm 21 years old, and I'm amazed that he was leading a huge campaign at the same age.
Well, Mbappe conquered the world with a similar age, and with freaking France.
Alexander's father Philip spent 24 years turning Macedonia into the dominant power in the Balkans and building the best army West of China.
When Philip had just started the invasion of the Persian Empire he was assassinated.
So at age 20 Alexander had the unique benefit of his father's 24 years of war and diplomacy. Without his father s hard work Alexander would have had to spend at least a decade strengthening Macedonia.
@@sergiowinter5383 chad swizerland
Dude, most conquers around the world and throughout history did their greatest achievement in their 20s, some are even in their teens. I guess people around that age tend to be good propagandists and easy to motivate for war. Even if they don’t have a real cause.
I'm 32, at my age he died.
If "Alexander the Great" would have not died of illness at a young age, He would have conquered the whole world, except for Australia. Him and his army would have been defeated and forced to surrender, to the great Emu horde.
No, they would breed
@@errorcringyname4044 Okay im Greek and even I thought that was funny!
Girls with a time machine: I'm your Granddaughter
Boys with a time machine: I'm telling you, Alexander, there's a whole different continent far to the west beyond the Atlantic
"Also, there is no end. Its a freaking globe, man! A globe! And there's more just like it in the heavens! You can take it all, Alexander! "
"I have everything you need for you to achieve this, here have all this and I'll stay to help!"
I would go back in time and give Alexander’s army AKs and RPGs and let them go fight the Persians
@@patrickkirby6580 With basic training and steady supply of amo, all of mainland Europe and Asia could be their
@@fildariusv7045 *ALEXANDER THE WORLD!*
"True love, never has a happy ending, because there is no ending to true love." - Alexander the Great
Wow losing a friend did hurt him a lot
@@aubergistealacave1790 “friend”
@@aubergistealacave1790 have you ever heard of sappho and her uh... "friends"? well thats the same premise for alexander the great. 💀
@@cleo5610 Pretty sure they're memeing, genius
@@LordVader1094 there's no way he's not, even cody did the quotes thing
“When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.” - Plutarch
Always one of my favorite quotes.
@Абдульзефир Yeah, I agree. There was so much more to conquer and assimilate into their society. Such a shame.
The New World? Subsaharan Africa? Australia? Russia?
@Абдульзефир True, his empire was big but not that big
Wasn’t if when he was specifically at the border of India because he thought that was the end of the world?
@@Longshanks1690 He stood on the edge of the Black Sea. Or the Aral Sea, not sure which one.
I think Alexander would have wanted to go east again and continue into unknown exotic and oriental lands. That's what I think would have driven him. I'm not convinced he'd have been much interested in going north over the Balkans any time soon - perhaps later in life. Yes he knew of the Italian peninsula and would have liked to go there too but he seemed very driven on eastward expansion. Had his army not mutinied he would have kept going into India - although I think that's likely where his journey would end. I don't see him passing the Himalayan mountains or venturing into the hostile jungles of southeast Asia where he can't properly utilise a phalanx or flank with efficiency. The only reason he doesn't decide to go east again in this timeline is if he has a change of heart over time - a sort of "been there, done that" attitude, in which case yeah I can see him marching on Italy, Carthage or the Balkans
India during that time was under the rule of Nanda empire. It was pretty strong with 250k soldiers and thousands of elephants and strong cavalry. Many his generals advice him not to proceeded in India by seeing strength of Nanda empire. Who knows what would have happen if he would have proceed further in India
@@adweetiyamohapatra7326 Yeah I agree. I think the strength of the Indians was one of the factors that made Alexander's men mutiny and force him back west
@@Joker-yw9hl Yes that's true bcz nobody wants to go a hot and humid unknown land just to lose.
if he went east he would have to learn new military tactics so maybe he might lose a few battles before learning his lesson, although considering his history I doubt so
Just one statement and a question
1. I'm glad you say he could've only gone so far. Hed of been crushed if he tried to press into China and S.E Asia. The Nandas already gave him tons of trouble
2. Do you think he may have wanted to go south of Egypt to conquer Ethiopia to have a nice sea trade region to go alongside the Arabian square the video has?
I always liked the idea of Alexander living for decades longer and creating a Hellenic empire that stood as an alternate version of the Roman Empire. Like an unstoppable ancient version of Genghis Khan.
Greek ideas spreading way WAY earlier would be absolutely tremendous
@@anadaere6861 History would play out in a similar way regardless
@@AimForMyHead81 not even close.
@@AimForMyHead81 lol no
Probably one of the history's biggest "What If"s because it's so far back in history that Alexander living longer creates a really big butterfly effect
He probably get his ass kicked by Rome because he'd underestimate them and everybody who is underestimated Rome has gotten thoroughly beaten up by the Romans
@@floridaball4896 they were not even really the Rome we know today, Rome would be utterly destroyed.
@@natebox4550 Yep, Alexander was around 330 BC. Julius Caesar on the other hand, was around 30 BC.
@@floridaball4896 sorry but Rome does not stand a chance
@@floridaball4896 no he wouldn't Rome didn't even had the entire Italian peninsula back then
One of my favorite Alexander the Great quotes over the subject of logistics in military campaigns.
“My logisticians are a humorless lot… they know that if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.”
Luckily for them he never invaded a Russia
Isn't that what the bad guys do in the movies? Kill their own soldiers because of a mistake?
@@LePedant It is pretty unlikely for a great conqueror to be a good person, yes
@@LePedant you haven't watched game of thrones yet .
Cao Cao understood the importance of hiding his lack of supplies from his own soldiers. He won many campaigns being a breathe away from starvation.
What I want to know is: how long would Alex's empire last? He loved conquering, but did he love administering a realm that could've been as big as the Roman and Parthian Empires combined?
Fun fact: One of the earliest known recorded alt-history scenarios was a rant by Roman historian about how the Romans would have beat back Alexander if he had survived.
Well lucky for Rome he didn’t go west instead of east
Rome was just a bunch of sheep herders barely able to speak
@@andyorfanakos8169 No my dude they managed to deal a lot of damage to pyrrhus of epirus one of the greatest generals in history
@@Cecilia-ky3uw True...but Pyrrhus is still no Alexander. Plus, Alex had something that not even Hannibal had--an excellent practical knowledge of siege engineering. Goodbye, Walls of Rome!
@@dphalanx7465 the phalanx will lose eventually against the romans, the thing about them is that they have infinite soldiers in comparison to alexander, as alexander was only campaigning with his greek soldiers and mercenaries, if rome headed east real fast, alexander would be in trouble
@@dphalanx7465 ie alexander was returning from his campaigns, he was still far off, recruiting the persians will be very difficult not to mention dealing with a rome who had good enough commanders and a fuck ton of soldiers to throw at him
Well, perhaps it was the fact that he died at the height of his achievements that helped to create the much of legend around him.
For example, it would also be interesting to ask the reverse question. What if Napoleon had died at his height, between 1809 and 1812?
the *whatever* coalitoon would happen and smack the french empire prob
France would skip a couple of years up to the Bourbon Restoration, then events would proceed as they did irl.
Or better yet, "What if Napoleon died while invading Russia?"
Russia's "winter" reputation is already insufferable to listen to. Just imagine how blown out of proportion the whole myth would be, if that same winter had claimed one of the most notorious conquerors in European history.
@@jacob4920 what makes you believe that the Russian winter being fatal to armies a myth? We have proof from people who still live today do we not, who experienced it themselves?
@@vegetableman3911 Russia's winter is not fatal, Finnish winter is way colder than Russian winter, Charles XII, Hodor the mustache guy, and Napoleon, all three of these invaded Russia in summer but before they could deafeat Russia, winter arrived, Russia is too big to conquer it's not the winter that helps the Russians, it's the sheer size of Russia.
"There is nothing impossible to him who will try." - Alexander the Great
@@jackienation12 a hot bot you say?!
@Massimo 2.0
The War Of The Heavenly Horses is the closest we'll ever get.
@Massimo 2.0
I am pretty sure he was. His men on the other hand were tired.
@Massimo 2.0 China would be a tough egg to crack, especially for the battle tactics of Alexander. China was pretty strong during Alexander's time, even being divided. Their political rule was mostly stable and the Chinese states had lots of experience fighting each other. A Macedonian threat from across the world would need to cross some of the harshest terrain on Earth to reach China. An enemy as foreign as Greeks, Persians, etc would also hasten the unity of China and the loyalty of Chinese generals against a threat that is completely foreign to everything they know.
Ο τολμών νικα?
I think you forgot one thing Alexander in his later years used a lot of auxiliaries since his domestic Macedonian forces were thinned out during these long campaigns.
Indeed. Alexander's genius was that he incorporated new formations into his army. By the time he got to Punjab, he had Hoplite Infantry, Persian Cavalry, and Scythian archery for artillery. The man understood the importance of joint formation operations.
@@davidford3115 Combined Arms Warfare in Antiquity.
As a man fascinated with Persian Empire, I always had mixed feelings about Alexander. He ruined the best empire in history, but he also was a great fan of Cyrus the Great and he kept the 10k Immortals as the royal guard. If he lived long enough, maybe he could've forged an even greater Greco-Persian empire.
That would never happen. The closest to that is what he did. Let them hold most things of their traditions but still under a huge influence of Greeks. And I wonder what you mean by "best empire"....99% of regions he freed, they accepted him like a savior. One thing that shows that they didnt consider it as a bad conquest
Ain't no way mofo really said that the Persian Empire was the greatest
@@FushiguroTojiiGreater than the barabarians of greeks and romans💯
@@SpeedDemon_Editzzz
I barely remember shit about the Persian Empire. The only notable one I know they did was allow the Hebrews to return to Judea. Unlike the more historically, scientifically, and culturally influential Greek and Romans. Also, every kingdom or empire called outsiders barbarians. I have no doubt that the Romans, especially those of the Eastern variety, called Persians the same thing.
no one actually realizes how impressive alexander the great is, literally conquered the known world and never lost a single battle
@Not RickRoll 👇 2 what?
@Danito FG yeah well the known world that mattered, mainly the persian empire cause it was the greatest empire of it's time
Except Italy and vast land up of Greece but yeah still extremely incredible
@@Anonymous-yr1hv if you're talking about Battle of the Hydaspes then no, that was the closest he was to defeat, stop reading hinduvatu propaganda
@@Anonymous-yr1hv lol lmao sure
"A weeb for the Persians." Truly an enlightened individual haha
I never thought I'd hear Alexander the Great and weeb in the same sentence... dude was the OG otaku 🤣
@@CanuckGod alexander is literally just a dragon ball fan, change my mind.
Son Wukong in this bitch
Any sane man would weeb for the Persians.
@@CanuckGod I see you've never seen Fate/Zero
Yes, this is the exact reason why he's my favourite Rider in the Fate series.
It's amazing this one man had such an impact on the world that thousands of years after his death myself, my father and grandfather all have his namesake.
"Through every generation of the human race, there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it, are made free, and those who are conquered by it, are made to suffer, until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them." - Alexander the Great
*JESUS,PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................*
*JESUS,PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................*
*JESUS,PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................*
*JESUS,PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................*
based
I'm still trying to get my head around what would happen if Cyrus the Younger was able to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes and not accidentally got shot by his own troop at Battle of Cunaxa. Well, Anabasis would've never been written, the ten thousand Greek mercenary would be rich and settled, and Alexander wouldn't have access to that book, which is somewhat helpful for his conquest of Persian Empire.
Tbf, Alexander likely still would have marched on Persia, as his father had intended to before his own premature death.
He probably still would have conquered the Empire, as he was just too OP, with those 8/8/8/8 stats; perhaps more interesting is what happens with the Empire between Cunaxa and Alexander? I’m guessing Artaxerxes attempts to flee east and continue to fight from there, but is ultimately unsuccessful.
However, Persia under Cyrus the Younger is in a worse shape than in the actual timeline; I bet he offers the Greek mercenaries substantial lands and his loyal staraps increased autonomy in return for their support. I can see the Greek mercenaries being set up in Anatolia and the Levant, perhaps even in Ionian City States…this, in connection with the increasingly independent staraps, leads to a degeneration of central authority throughout the Empire.
Long story short, Alexander actually has an even easier time conquering the Persian Empire in this Cunaxa timeline than he did in reality
Some Greek mercenaries will go to Italy and conquer thurii
@@warlordofbritannia Is he? Artaxerxes isn't quite as charismatic nor as talented (OK, I'm biased, Xenophon likes to play up his employer as the good guy).
@@dyingearth
It’s naught to do with his abilities - Cyrus would have to pay off his supporters somehow, and the above, I think, is the most likely outcome; especially if Artaxerxes is able to conduct a long term resistance, sapping Cyrus of both material and moral support
@@warlordofbritannia Cyrus was winning in that battle, and I actually see him either killing or capturing his brother. It really wouldn't take much (in terms of the national treasure) to pay off and settle the mercenary. I do agree, paying off the satraps that declared for him would be much more costly. I have every confident (as do Xenophon) that he could pull it off.
I wouldn't be so sure about the "No Christianity" angle. Christianity was more Greek than Roman for a long time, with Rome being more like the westernmost outpost. Without Romans, I'd rather say that the centre of Christianity would be even more in the eastern Mediterranean than it was in our history, but other than that not much would change. Imagine the Byzantine empire that was always Greek-Byzantine and never Roman.
Without Rome, there wouldn't be an *Eastern Roman Empire, because there would first have to be a Roman Empire. The Greeks were usually a very disunited people, it was the Roman Empire which made them unify into a cohesive state with a Roman identity. Without Rome, maybe the Seleucids would have the best bet to become a Greco-Persian Empire, but would have to recognize the independence of cities like Athens, Sparta, Thebes etc.
@@Michael_the_Drunkard : Well, the whole premise here is that Alexander would make an empire. Rage against the author, not me. (I don't agree with you on this but, meh, I'm not in a mood for an argument).
And I am sure Constantinople would not become Greece's biggest city, it would stay as Byzantium, still important but without its legitimacy as the 2nd Rome.
@@Michael_the_Drunkard Cool. I didn't claim anything like that.
Wouldn't Alexander (or his descendants) purge the Christians to a further extent than the Romans due to the whole Alexendaer the God thing?
If Alexander had lived more, he'd have definitely gone deeper in India... And man!! That would have been a brutal war for both sides, cuz Chandra gupta 1 was super strong at that time (and the Indians had elephants...).
Really enjoyed this video, Cody! Really fascinating “what if” scenario to ponder and I loved your take about how the bedrock of literally everything could have changed.
Also, you get major points from me for mentioning Alexander’s “friend” Hephaestion. A lot of historians like to over look him for... um... reasons
Thanks Trey!
Hi trey
@@AlternateHistoryHub Yeah, when?
@@AlternateHistoryHub when Ethiopia
Ah yes Alexander really liked his friend thighs.
Alexander's deification may actually impact not just Europe. In our timeline Greek settlers from Alexander's empire near India have later converted to Buddhism, and brought some Hellenic culture to it. Greco-Buddhism is belived to influence some of the Buddhist traditions that were later spread to East Asia, and became heavily integrated with it's cultures (to the point that Japanese wind god Fujin can actually be traced back to the Greek god Boreas).
So, if Alexander would had became a major Greek deity, his cult could have even reached China and Japan (though, in a *very* modified form).
*P.S.:* Oh, and Persia being more connected with Europe may also result Buddhism spreading to the West, especially without Christianity becoming dominant.
Japanese God Fujin is actually Indian Hindu God Vayu
I read this really cool book back in middle school called the collected What If, and it literally explains it exactly like you. You did a really good job, assuming it's not plagiarism.
God-Emperor Alexander, so all the marines look like the Minotaur Chapter, I love it
You should of done “if Alexander the Great had a will and testament”
This would have been some legit stuff
More like “If Alexander the Great Generals actually respected his potential will and Testament and not kill his family members”
"What last will and testament?"
- all Alexander's generals unanimously
aka: nothing would have changed since noone would actually enforce it
@@hebl47 Yes, his generals hated him, he forced them to marry Persian noble women which the generals didn't enjoy much.
🟪SERCH ADITYA RATHORE- HE ALSO MAKES INFORMATIVE CONTENT LIKE ALTERNATE HISTORY CLUB
Gotta say I loved that 40k reference. Alexander would really have made a good Emperor of Mankind
Nah........ he needs more luscious hair......
According to some people, in the 40k timeline he was Alexander
🔲SERCH ADITYA RATHORE- HE ALSO MAKES INFORMATIVE CONTENT LIKE ALTERNATE HISTORY CLUB
Well researched and thought out. Respect.
Excellent video! Thanks!
I think you missed one detail. Alexander, if he lived, wouldn’t need his spears to conquer. He had Egypt and Persia, the ancient world major economic centres. He could literally buy out snd bankrupt kingdoms into becoming client states (like how Darius the first did). There wouldn’t have been an end to how much he could of gained.
There would have been revolts if he not only gave the wealth to his Greek supporters and others in his military machine but literally bought kingdoms as well. The conquered areas need to kept stable enough and completely draining them of wealth would not be wise long term.
Epicurus once stated:
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for"
greed bad
gratitude good
Matheus once stated:
"Greed bad
Gratitude good"
Love your Channel
I have been waiting for this for years
Cody: “Alexander conquered the known world.”
Also Cody: “Here are other parts of the world Alexander knew about and didn’t conquer.”
The Native Americans be chilin on the other side of the globe
People tended to downplay the parts of the world they didn't rule (some still do).
Like our part is all that matters. The rest of the world ... meh.
There's a story about a king called Jahangir in India who was presented a map of the known world by the British.
When he saw it his only concern was, "which part of this is mine?"
@@PunishedKrab Most of Asia, Most of Africa, all of the Americas lmaooo.
@@adarshmohapatra5058 honestly, based
@@adarshmohapatra5058 that's sounds so cool tho
“What if Alexander lived?”
Every Alt-History Reddit: *Greco-India in Pakistan*
There was an Indo-Greek Empire centered in Pakistan and Northwest India in real life bruh
It already existed. I'm guessing Alexander might've gone further into India, maybe down the Indian western coast to secure trade and gold. Alexander didn't care much for Italy because at the time it had almost nothing of value there.
This is not alt-history.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Greek_Kingdom
@@LautaroArgentino Ah shit.
@@TravisBroski it was super important culturally, too. For example it is believed the Greeks were the first to create sculptures of Buddha. Since before that the Indians would represent him with other icons.
There's also super interesting things which illustrate how religion and culture in the ancient world tended to work. For example art of Herakles as the protector of Buddha.
“After the conquest of Carthage they would have connected it with Alexandria”
Which one bud
All of them, because then it would say "All roads lead to Alexandria."
One possibility that I can imagine is that Buddhism finds its way into the Greco-Persian world and becomes the basis of most religion in the West.
Honestly zoroastrianism would have
Caesar's first nine battles were all victories, but he still lost one or two. Had Alexander lived on, he likely would have lost the honor of being undefeated, losing a battle at least once or twice.
Quit while you're ahead, eh?
“You either die a conqueror, or live long enough to be conquered”
-Turkish Batman
Like Napoleon too.
I dont know, there really wasnt any other power in the world at that point which could probably stand up to a reformed and refreshed Macedonian army like what Alexander had- he had just finished conquering possibly the strongest nation in the world, and had he not been worn down by 13 years of fighting and attrition, he probably would have kept going through india until he hit the roadblock which would have been China with its manpower reserves that would make the rest of the world look like city states in comparison.
Realistically the only organized nation state with an army that could meet him on the field of battle and put up any kind of real fight would have been carthage, which was itself still in its ascendency and probably nowhere near as powerful as when it went toe to toe with the Roman Republic.
So discounting something like him being killed mid-battle by a stray arrow or being ambushed in an extremely disadvantaged situation like Varus, I doubt he would have broken his win streak.
@@WelcomeToDERPLAND The Chinese were divided at this point which could've caused them issues resiting. It would've been interesting to see exactly what happened. My bet is if he could play the kingdoms off each other. That he would've won and if he couldn't he wouldn't have. So the outcome would come down more to politics then actual battle.
Yet many Romans still loved Caesar to the point that they very nearly burned Rome down in their grief while stacking up his pyre - and then tried to massacre all his assassins before they fled.
"Friend." Fairly certain they were roommates too.
Sigh, can we stop implying that? The ancient Greeks didn't see such closeness as "sus" they just didn't. As an example the medieval Western Europeans went to sleep in large groups and if they had to stay in a communal place to sleep they'd lay right next to strangers. The ancient writers would have mentioned such a thing considering they both had wives.
@@darken2417 Frederick the Great also had a wife because that’s what was expected of men. Doesn’t change the widely proven historical consensus though
@@marcino457 yes, I too like to just assume the sexuality of historical characters on conjecture or incidental evidence, or just make shit up as I go along.
@@HarrDarr I'm sorry, are you implying it would be impossible for the GREEK Alexander the Great to be into both men and women?
@@pucaboo1591 I'm saying that you have no fucking clue what he liked and any statement on it is tantamount to projection.
I actually did this as a project for History class in high school! I had him live until reaching the American Atlantic, and, for some reason (I assume from getting lost until they reached water again), his army kept heading East until they reached Macedonia again.
Then he would be Alexander the Greater
4:08 Cody’s definitely a massive jojo fan
lol i barely noticed that
If he never died young then him and future napoleon would be battling aliens in space
with laser guns and nukes
Edit: He finally got 2 million subscribers! This is a very good day for him
I honestly need to see that
FGO Lostbelts Intensifies
If Alexander the great conquer France the revolution doesn't happen so nobody cares about Napoleon
@@sergiowinter5383 his relatives and parents would care.
@@oldchannel.466 He does seem like that odd uncle that doesn't receive very many visitors though
Humankind came out day one on gamepass, had no idea it was, i was super hpyed! Iv been waiting on this game for a while, im glad a fellow cody was looking forward to it too! Ill see you in history brother!
There was an Alexander the Great in 40k, his name was Solar Lord Marcharius, he pushed his army to the Eastern edge of the galaxy. His generals refused to go further and he wept, falling to his knees. He died on the trip back to Terra.
"Oh boy, here I go conquering again"
-Alexander
Eat, sleep, conquer, repeat - Alexander
Wasn't that Brock Lesnar@@sergiowinter5383?
LoL
Interesting enough, if i remember correctly this question is probably the earliest historical "what if" ever recorded. Titus Livus wrote a brief history of what would had happened if Alexander decided to pull a Pyrrus and expand in Italy instead of the East
Well, you can't have "what if" scenarios about what didn't happen yet, and Alexander the great is quite old
Yea you're right!
@@sergiowinter5383 It is still true tho, Titus Livus did write the first still recorded alternate historical scenario about Alexander and for a good reason, Alexander forged an empire in just 13 years for what took the persians several generations
@@fildariusv7045 What?
Cyrus the Great conquered the 3 superpowers of his time, Media, Lydia and Babylon all under 10 years. When he was 40 years old, and he had no preparation for it. His father Cambyses I didn't have 20 some years to update the military and prepare it for taking over the Median Empire, Cyrus just rallied against Media once its King wanted Cyrus' head. He didn't have time to prepare for Lydia's invasion, he just heard that they invaded and immediately rushed to confront the invaders, and took them out in less than a couple months. Even after he conquered Babylon. He would go on campaign to subdue the Scythians. While we don't know for sure how he died, whether Herodotus speaks the truth, or Xenophon is correct, we do know that there was only one other nation at the time of his death, that could challenge him. Egypt.
He was unable to conquer Egypt as he was busy securing the massive amount of territory he had just conquered in such a short time, and conquering Egypt would fall to his son Cambyses II.
So, to summarize, Cyrus the Great conquered not one dying superpower, but 3 superpowers, and he did it in less time than it took Alexander to conquer the one. And Alexander was invading a state in turmoil, with an army that had been built up for years, and a road system built by the Persians to make travel extremely quick.
This is why Alexander admired Cyrus. This is why he aspired to be like him.
Actually, the earliest one would be “What if the Trojans looked that gift horse in the mouth.” They should’ve suspected something was amiss when the words “Greeks” and “gift” appeared in the same sentence.
😁
As always, great video!
What I'd love to see next is a video asking "What if Antarctica was inhabitable?"
There wouldve been at least four major wars fought over it, by now.
And he got his wish.
Congrats on 2 mil!
"With the right attitude, self imposed limitations vanish." - Alexander the Great
so he's literally just every anime protagonist ever.
"I'm going to break my limits, by never giving up."
4:10 My JoJo reference sense is tingling! What could it mean?
Tingling with the ripple of Hamon.
You are becoming a zombie, obey Dio.
“A weeb for the Persians.”
And a simp for Conquest.
3:24 this is the Drina river house in Serbia, i have been here many times and have a vacation house near it, thanks for including it man!
I like this Alexander guy, reminds me of me.
@Sergio Avalos
Not yet
@Sergio Avalos
The algorithm will decide your fate.
@Sergio Avalos
*not*
*yet.*
Yes, but you are old
You are more like Caesar
You forgot to mention at the beginning that his father really set everything up for him to do what he did, not to take away from alexander but a nod to Phillip would have been Good lol
We are but ants standing on the shoulders of giants.
A single man can win a war, but he cannot fight one.
40k and Alexander in one video auto like and sub, well done!
I had him on my Fantasy Conquerors team. The season-ending death really messed up my roster
Nice pfp
"A purge of Alexander's heirs."
Yeah this suggests that simply conquering more shit wouldn't have created a stable dynasty. He needs to go home and either please or conduct a purge of his generals (or purge the disloyal ones while pleasing the loyal ones).
his gnerals were mostly loyal especially those of his generation
The only man who could have unified all the tribes of men. There was something unique about his nature, no matter how brutal or contrived. Somehow, he just made things work.
Except for Posoin/Alcohol/Grief/Illness/All of the Above/Any Combination of the Above/None of the Above and his liver/will to live.
Maybe he really was a demigod.
@@legateelizabeth if so, the Gods sure have a weird sense of humor
No, he was lucky
"Somehow, he just made things work." Like Bethesda? So full of bugs...
“The celts would eventually be pushed north never to be seen again.”
Galatians “are we not celts?!?”
8:20 literally busting the wild horseman on me. learned that piece non stop in high school and when i heard its theme it was like a vietnam flashback but enjoyable
Considering he marched his army through the desert on his way back from India and took serious casualties in doing so, I actually don't think him going into Arabia would be all that successful tbh.
Perhaps not, but also remember that all of the valuable land of Arabia is along the coasts, which would make logistics somewhat easier as he could be supplied by sea
And some say he marched his army through the desert as punishment for their mutiny.
He would March through Egypt, as shown in the video.
Alexander was rebuilding his army with recruits from conquered terrority and if the Diadochi War was anything to go by his veterans still had it in them. He'd realsitically take it I think.
Heck yeah, have been wanting this scenario for ages
Excellent video.
alexander the great was such a chad that his dads belt feared him
I figured that as Alexander's conquest was in such a short period of time it was likely that as long as he tried to expand into some region the other would be rebelling and demanding that he intervene. Eventually, in this coming and going, his generals and soldiers would become more and more worn out, leading to the collapse of the empire.
He would become the average EUIV player in real life
Less likely as Alexander keeps on winning
So... just like every empire built solely through conquest that has ever existed.
There seems to be quite a few famous people named Alexander that would be interesting scenarios if they didn’t die so early- Alexander II of Russia, Alexander the Great, Alexander Hamilton
happy 2 mil!!!!
Thanks for the Emperor of Mankind from Warhammer 40K reference. Caught me off guard and was fantastic.
We know he was great at the conquring but being able to hold it all together is something else entirely. He was groomed for taking Persia but not for ruling Macedonia.
Well even in our timeline- while "Alexanders empire" instantly collapsed and fractured into the diadochi states, they still managed to keep a hellenic and macedonian rule over the remains for hundreds of years, usually until being conquered by rome or the ascendant persians centuries later, if his subordinates were able to keep what remained of his empire cohesive and together for hundreds of years after his early death, I have no doubt someone worshipped like a god and so beloved like Alexander would have no problem doing the same- at least for his lifetime, especially if those same subordinates were placed in governing capacities.
@@WelcomeToDERPLAND if not he can always go conqur it again.
khan has entered the chat
khan left
khan's domain left
@@matheussanthiago9685 Khan never really died since every third person on this planet is his decendent, being a known ancestor of 1/3rd of the world is quite an achievement
This exact thought crossed my mind yesterday.
🔵SERCH ADITYA RATHORE- HE ALSO MAKES INFORMATIVE CONTENT LIKE ALTERNATE HISTORY CLUB
7:53 HERESY!!!
you got your own 40k reference, i got mine
yoooo congrats for 2 mil
"With some luck" and pluck. Don't think I wouldn't notice that Phantom Blood reference, Cody. I've got a fever, and the only perscription is more JoJo.
Speaking of which, have you ever contemplated doing your own "What If?" regarding scenarios in JoJo? You've clearly shown an interest in it.
Also, while once upon a time I would have gladly jumped into Humankind, I don't quite have the time to invest into an Amplitude 4X nowadays, even though I still kinda love them. My love for boomshoot was rekindled with the emergence of DUSK, and now I'm currently working my way through all the Quake expansion content that dropped on the 25th anniversary. But maybe some day, I'll dive into the Civ-esque stylings of Humankind.
The term "with some luck" has been used for decades lol.
We're at the point where someone will sneeze and some dude will say it's a Jojo reference
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn the multi-verse itself, if ever proven real already is a jojo reference
jesus christ included in it
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn Yeah, but there was literally Bruford's sword with the word Pluck on it. Someone should have gone to Specsavers.
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn Well, if these "it's a Jojo reference" didn't exist I wouldn't know such good anime.
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn the sword was the JoJo reference not “with some luck”
Right before you hit the huge milestone of 2 mil, I just want to say thank you so much. Your videos are really high quality, and have only improved. Your videos have sparked my interest in history and world politics, and I bet the same with so many other people. Thank you Althistoryhub, keep it up!
Of all the dramatic possibilities for how Alexander died, I think the most likely is that he drank himself to death.
I don't think it is at all unlikely that he got a bad brew that was either too strong or toxic in any number of other ways. He wasn't shopping at Bevmo.
No poison, betrayal, or mysterious circumstances are necessary. He was fundamentally a frat boy.
How have I not found this by now
2 videos within a week? You’re on a roll dude! Finally woke up?
I was just watching a documentary on Alexander the great, I feel important
7:55
I knew Cody is a man of culture !
Welcome , son of the Emperor :)
Nice video!
Some recommended ideas:
What if gregor strasser had gained power?
What if robespierre remained in power?
“We don’t know exactly how Alexander the Great died.” I’m going with the interpretation he got trapped in an Egyptian pyramid in India and was sent into another dimension with dragons and dark magic until a nameless Pharaoh saved his trapped spirit 2,000 years later.
Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will know what I’m talking about.
He got the mask of stone and become Dio.
A Babylonian proto-Assassin killed him with poison. Assassin's Creed II was quite clear about this.
I think he was kidnapped by aliens/time travelers so that they could use him to play wargames
@@louisduarte8763
There were no Proto-Assassins in the AC universe. Ithani was described as an Assassin, part of the Babylonian Brotherhood.
Dude was summoned into the throne of heroes to fight gilgamesh and king arthur in japan get your facts right!
Is it just me or do you just get soo happy when he releases a video?
Just asked myself this question today and boom a video made yesterday! New sub thanks! I wondered about this for awhile, like was his army powerful enough to keep going through India? Or what happens against Eastern Asia?
Finally one about Alexander the one
I highly recommend reading Peter Green's book "Alexander of Macedon," which greatly diminishes the invincible demigod image created by Alexander's own propaganda and replaces it with a flawed but pretty darn brilliant man. For instance, it brilliantly sheds light on how much of the preparation for his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire was actually done by his father Philip, who Alexander probably murdered, and much of the internal strife among the Macedonians. Alexander was ingenious in the expansion of his empire no doubt, but he could not keep that up forever and the consolidation of the realm still remained. The nobility was already at the time of his death quite divided, probably leading to his murder, and that's only the Greeks and Macedonians. So I think if had he lived, he would actually not have had a lot of time left for expansion. I really think the alleged opinion of Octavian on the Alexander weeping quote says it best: strange that Alexander did not regard it as a greater task to set in order the empire which he had won than to win it.
What if Ancient Persia Industrialized?
@@christiandauz3742 Technically speaking wasn't the world's first "industry" opened in ancient Persia.
@@whoisjoe5610
Just imagine how different the world would be had the Persian Empire Industrialized. Slavery would disappear and technology advances at a rapid pace
The Persian Empire soon reaches 21st century tech in several decades. Persia controls most of the world
@@christiandauz3742 The issue with this thought is that the reason technology advances that go really far ahead never reach beyond oddities or local marvels is because of slavery. Why invest in this local weirdo with some strange steam machine that whirs around when I can just buy 3 slaves to do the same task? And won't be as expensive to run?
Ancient industrialization is a neat little thought, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, cause there are tons of little tech where we can see the brilliance where they are so close, but it never crosses over. But there are very good reasons it doesn't.
@@frfras7 The Macedonians at the time certainly distinguished between themselves and other Greeks, as did the non-Macedonian Greeks. The reasons for antagonism towards Alexander also differed depending on which tribe or city they belonged to. With these points in mind, I thought it proper to distinguish between the Macedonians and the other Greeks.
He could also drop a mixtape, or an epic poem about his conquests.
D
Technically Alexander never said he was a god or demigod. After visiting the temple of Dias (Zeus) he was asked what he was told. Alexander basically said, "believe what you want," and his men then said "only the truly divine are humble enough to not draw attention to their divinity." And then Alexander basically went with the flow, ultimately succumbing to his own propaganda.
Although, while Greece may have headed west, I think its far more likely he would have pushed ever further east. If he had been successful in conquering the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan, he would have heard legends of lands on the other side of the Himalayas with riches and resources beyond his imagination.
Had he been successful, he may have been the first European to make contact with China.
There was very little in the west for him. He continued to push east because when Persia fell he heard of the riches of India. Europe in 330 BCE would not have been an attractive prize.
“What if Alexander the Great never existed” would be crazy