Alexander the Great endorses Republicanism

What if Alexander the Great is influenced by the thought, that people should govern themselves and instructs his subjects to reorder his Empire after he is gone ?
 

Skallagrim

Banned
He wouldn't be himself if he throught like that. We'd be looking at a different man, who wouldn't do the same things he did in OTL. And even supposing he hits his head on a rock during the campaign and has a personality shift due to brain damage - which is a thing that can happen - his generals would just ignore any republican talk, and divide his empire roughly as per OTL after his death.

Someone else may have some clever way to make this happen, but I have trouble envisioning it.
 
It would be the same as Claudius trying to restore the Roman Republic.

Republics in those days didn't work very well above the city-state level.
 
I don't think it is entirely far fetched - just, unexpected.

Lets say he survives his poisoning/bout of Malaria - but is now permanently weakened physically, and as such focuses on the Empire that he has built with his father.

He could do worse than take a leaf out of his fathers book and restructure the Empire like the Hellenic League - have himself ruling as King in Babylon and Macedonia, but rather than a system of appointed Satraps, have elected rulers, but have his Generals in the region with some powers i.e. requisition supplies as long as a note of reparation is given, stuff like that. He still has unequivocal say because of his army, and it allows the local Satrapic Republics to have a small force to handle banditry and provide some sort of reserve levy.

Plus, it also ensure he can set up seperate hierarchies between his Macedonian settlers and Generals, and the Satrapys. The Royal Cities (for lack of a better term) are under direct rule of the King (in practical terms, through his Generals), and provide a strong local base to counter the Satrapys. Throw in the responsibility of a Royal City Governor to collect the appropriate tithes of the local Satrapies, and handle some level of disputes, and the position of a Royal City Governor is still a pretty good deal.

In short, if Alexander wants to reign in the power of his Generals, as he might clock onto if he isn't a bullish personality-driven warlord anymore, elected Satraps isn't a bad way to go, he just needs some other way to reward his Generals (especially those who are already Satraps when he recovers from his illness)
 
Assuming that Alexander goes a little batty towards the end then yes I'd say it's possible. However, I don't think anything would come of it. I suspect we'd see exactly the same situation as our history where his generals basically ignore his last requests and orders. There simply wouldn't be any large support for Republicanism, especially among people fighting to be emperor.
 

longsword14

Banned
Alexander the Great ? Or is it Alexander the Drunk ? Ruler claiming to be the son of god, having a great portion of power in his hands after gains through force tries to compromise his own base ?
People in the Aegean are first flummoxed, then they rebel.
 
The idea of a "Republic" didn't exist in the Hellenic world in the first place; most Greeks at the time lived in city-states ran by direct democracies. If you meant something like the Roman Republic; it was based entirely around a single city-state, and I doubt something would ever work with Macedon even before Alexander, much less after his conquest of the Persians.
 
The idea of a "Republic" didn't exist in the Hellenic world in the first place; most Greeks at the time lived in city-states ran by direct democracies. If you meant something like the Roman Republic; it was based entirely around a single city-state, and I doubt something would ever work with Macedon even before Alexander, much less after his conquest of the Persians.

Thats not exactly correct. There were as many different types of Greek city state governments as there were Greek city states.

What the OP was likely hoping for is something akin to the various leagues of the Hellenic world.
 
What the OP was likely hoping for is something akin to the various leagues of the Hellenic world.
Maybe if Alexander is much less successful. Despite initial victories the Macedonian army is fought to a stalemate. Eventually the two sides sue for peace which results in the Greek cities along the Anatolian coast gaining independence, albeit under Macedonian protection, which was the initial justification for Alexander's invasion. Fearful of potential Persian reconquest Alexander begins restructuring the Greek City-States into a league to provide common defence and pool resources, although in practice this amounts to Macedonian domination over the cities who are forced to contribute money and soldiers to Macedon or else. Alexander dies young and Macedon descends into civil-war. Seeing their opportunity to rid themselves of Macedonian control a large number of the Greek City-States launch a rebellion wresting control of the league and its resources from Macedon and throwing their weight behind whichever claimant to the Macedonian throne is willing to accept this state of affairs.

Not quite the same as Alexander restructuring his Empire into a republic, but it might revitalise the Greek Polis system and give it the means to defend itself from outside incursions.
 
What if Alexander the Great is influenced by the thought, that people should govern themselves and instructs his subjects to reorder his Empire after he is gone ?
Edit: What if Alexander further is lectured on the political system of a certain "Res Publicae" in the Italian peninsula by travellers ?
 
Edit: What if Alexander further is lectured on the political system of a certain "Res Publicae" in the Italian peninsula by travellers ?
Actually, if we go by what is one of the oldest AH ideas, if Alexander turns his attention West towards Italy and Magna Graecia instead of towards Persia it could lead to some sort of Hellenorepublicanism on the grounds that the Diadochi States that emerged in the aftermath of Alexander's conquests IOTL were effectively a fusion of Hellenic culture and Persian/Mesopotamian ideas of ruler-ship (large cosmopolitan empires united behind a deified Emperor) and so if he conquered the young Roman Republic he may end up adopting some of its trappings for the sake of legitimacy, which his successors may build upon.
 
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