Alexander the Great

 

In western perception, Alexander the Great is marveled as a legendary conqueror and a military genius. Greek influence and bias, as well as the lack of insight from the Persians, has caused this reputation in the Western world. However, from the Persian perspective, he's really not as great as his title makes him sound. Persepolis, the city of the Persians, was razed to the ground by a drunk Alexander, with a Greek courtesan egging him on. It was supposedly for revenge on Xerxes, a Persian ruler, who burned the Acropolis down. Alexander the Great's conquest is seen by the Greeks as the first of many other conquests  to civilize Persia and bring it culture, but in reality, Persia was a sought-after conquest, not because it needed to be civilized, but because of the vastness of its riches and its empire.  It was the greatest the world had ever seen. In the Peloponnesian War, Persians gained an advantage when they found out they could set the Greek city-states up against each other. Persia financed Sparta's victory against Athens, and more than 10,000 Greek mercenaries were recruited for Persia. The Persians portrayed Alexander as a reckless, young man, a "destroyer," although Alexander did end up having a great amount of respect for the Persians.