Was Alexander the Great actually that impressive? - Stephanie Honchell Smith episode artwork

EPISODE · May 17, 2026 · 8 MIN

Was Alexander the Great actually that impressive? - Stephanie Honchell Smith

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Alexander the Great transformed the world during his reign — but was he an embattled leader, or a ruthless conqueror?--Alexander the Great fundamentally transformed the world during his 13-year reign. He conquered Persia when it was one of the world’s largest empires, and he was considered a living demi-god by Egyptians and Greeks. But was he a brilliant, embattled leader, or a ruthless, power-hungry conqueror? Stephanie Honchell Smith puts this controversial figure on trial in History vs. Alexander the Great.Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Michael Kalopaidis, Zedem Media.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/was-alexander-the-great-really-that-great-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/was-alexander-the-great-really-that-great-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.zedemanimations.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann - they-them, Siamak Hajizadeh, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Christophe Dessalles, Heather Slater, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora, Noel Situ, emily lam, Sid, Niccolò Frassetto, Mana, I'm here because of Knowledge Fight Facebook group., Linda Freedman, Edgardo Cuellar, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Michael Burton, VIVIANA A GARCIA BESNE, The Vernon's, Olha Bahatiuk, Jesús Bíquez Talayero, Chels Raknrl, Sai Pranavi Jonnalagadda, Stuart Rice, Jing Chen, Vector-Dopamine math, Jasper Song, Giorgio Bugnatelli, Chardon, Eddy Trochez, OnlineBookClub.org, Eric Shear, Leith Salem, Omar Hicham, Adrian Rotaru, Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Niklas Frimberger, Hunter Manhart, and Nathan Nguyen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexander the Great transformed the world during his reign — but was he an embattled leader, or a ruthless conqueror?--Alexander the Great fundamentally transformed the world during his 13-year reign. He conquered Persia when it was one of the world’s largest empires, and he was considered a living demi-god by Egyptians and Greeks. But was he a brilliant, embattled leader, or a ruthless, power-hungry conqueror? Stephanie Honchell Smith puts this controversial figure on trial in History vs. Alexander the Great.Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Michael Kalopaidis, Zedem Media.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/was-alexander-the-great-really-that-great-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/was-alexander-the-great-really-that-great-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.zedemanimations.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann - they-them, Siamak Hajizadeh, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Christophe Dessalles, Heather Slater, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora, Noel Situ, emily lam, Sid, Niccolò Frassetto, Mana, I'm here because of Knowledge Fight Facebook group., Linda Freedman, Edgardo Cuellar, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Michael Burton, VIVIANA A GARCIA BESNE, The Vernon's, Olha Bahatiuk, Jesús Bíquez Talayero, Chels Raknrl, Sai Pranavi Jonnalagadda, Stuart Rice, Jing Chen, Vector-Dopamine math, Jasper Song, Giorgio Bugnatelli, Chardon, Eddy Trochez, OnlineBookClub.org, Eric Shear, Leith Salem, Omar Hicham, Adrian Rotaru, Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Niklas Frimberger, Hunter Manhart, and Nathan Nguyen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Was Alexander the Great actually that impressive? - Stephanie Honchell Smith

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Alexander the Great transformed the world during his reign — but was he an embattled leader, or a ruthless conqueror?--Alexander the Great fundamentally transformed the world during his 13-year reign. He conquered Persia when it was one of the...

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