The Age of Alexander
The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Hellenism immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 B.C., the influence of Greek civilization continued to expand over the Mediterranean world and W Asia. The wars of the Diadochi marked, it is true, the breakup of Alexander's brief empire, but the establishment of Macedonian dynasties in Egypt, Syria, and Persia (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae) helped to mold the world of that day into a wider unity of trade and learning.
The Hellenistic period was an international, cosmopolitan age. Commercial contacts were widespread and peoples of many ethnic and religious backgrounds merged in populous urban centers. Advances were made in various
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B.C. Pergamum was also prominent, and there were other cities of influence (e.g., Dura).
In the Hellenistic period, although the cities were no longer independent, as they had been in the Hellenic era, they were the centers of trade and craft industry. It was in the cities that the descendants of the Greco-Macedonian conquerors became a professional class of rulers and soldiers and merchants, which provided a cultural and economic bond throughout the area, even though political unity did not survive the death of Alexander. Among the Greek ruling class, the old loyalties to the Polis had given way to a dedication to the profession. As the administrators and the merchants of their world, in spite of being in the minority, they had an influence out of proportion to their numbers. The city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander, located on the Mediterranean at the mouth of the Nile, became the most prominent center of commerce and learning. The library in Alexandria became the depository for recording many of the literary and scientific achievements of the time.
Although women continued to have a subordinate status, some lucky few of the wealthy and ruling classes, would have the opportunity to become involved in commerce or in intellectual activities. For the
Alexander the Great was king of the Macedonians and one of the greatest generals in history. As a student of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, Alexander was embedded with lasting interests in philosophy, politics and warfare. As king, he settled problems by immediate action, making quick decisions and taking great risks. His armies overcame these risks by sheer force and by the ingenious tactics instilled in them by Alexander. He and his armies conquered the Persian Empire, which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to India and formed much of what was then considered the civilized world. Through his conquests, Alexander helped spread Greek ideas, customs and laws throughout Asia and Egypt and adopted a uniform
The culture and political environment created by Alexander’s Empire made the competition of Greek city-states almost obsolete. This competition being gone helped to create a mentality more focused on being part of a vast Empire, rather than being the citizen of a certain city-state which had till this time been a predominate part of Greek culture and politics.
Alexander quickly gained the approval of the Macedonian army to become king and ruler of Macedon. Alexander ordered to kill anyone possible to claim the kingship so no one could take his spot. Alexander soon began his campaigns starting off with the Asian Campaign, in the early 335 B.C.E Alexander's army defeated the Persians for the first time they met, army of Darius III. Alexander gained control of the Asian empire. He soon became the ruler of Asia and in 333 Alexander yet again met Darius III and outnumbered his army and finally called himself the King of Asia. He continued his campaigns and in 331 B.C.E Alexander pushed into Egypt and without a fight the egyptians recognized him as a pharaoh, ruler of ancient Egypt. There he found the city of Alexandria which is known as a center of Greek culture and commerce. Towards the end of Alexander's campaigns Alexander became “King of Babylon, King of Asia, King of the four quarters of the world.” The time came where Alexander finally defeated his enemy Darius III when he was killed by his own assistants to avoid death, but Alexander gave full respect and punished them for breaking the Persian law, and Alexander the Great was finally Kind of
Through 336 to 323 bc, Alexander was the king of Macedon. Alexander The Great always wanted to have supreme power over humans. He also led a group called the Corinthian League. This league entrusted Alexander with many military power to fight with Persia. A little while after, he proceeded to conquer the Persian Empire, making himself one of the best military leaders in ancient time. In October, 335 bc, Alexander decided to go back to Macedon and get ready for his expedition in Asia. He had numerous amounts of troops with ships. Alexander’s resources were much more superior to Darius. He had a very well trained army. Alexander had a huge expansion on his empire called Hellenism also known as a spread culture from Mediterranean to Asia. His army troops made passages through mountainous areas leading to an expansion of trade routes from Europe to Asia. These routes allowed religious and cultural trading between the east and west. Alexander’s group had a safe trade route in the cities where no one had to fear. Alexander defeated a very large Persian army. He also conquered Syria and after Syria, he conquered Egypt in 331 bc. Alexander the great succeeded in making the biggest Western Empire in Ancient time. Alexander also united the Greeks together. The spirit of
In Egypt, there was increased trading activity between the Egyptians and Phoenicians. Alexander authority in the system of executive was evident, where he restructured the system of organization in a effective manner and retained the ancient system of local government as explained by the Eternal Egypt website (n.d) He engaged some Egyptians into the military ranks and appointed some Greeks into the Egypt government. This interaction was a major turning point in the Egyptian culture, especially when he established a province called Alexandria which was dominated by Greeks and
Referring to the textbook, the assassination of Philip II led to twenty year old Alexander becoming the King of Macedonia. He is commonly referred to as "Alexander the Great". He, like his father, had a dream of invading the Persian Empire. The textbook mentions that Alexander had claimed to be descended from the Greek Hero, Heracles. Alexander also mentioned that he was pharaoh of Egypt. Going in order of the timeline, Alexander gained control into Asia minor whenever he defeated Persian king Darius III at the battle of Issus 333 B.C.E. From there he he extended control over Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Another battle with the Persian led to victory, whenever he fought at Gaugamela in 331 B.C.E.. The next move was to take over the Persian treasuries in Babylon. Darius had fled and Alexander was on a quest to find him, but Darius III was killed by his own men. With the control of the persians, he pushed his boundaries into Northwest India. Winning a brutally fought battle at the Hydaspes river, took a toll on
His legacy was due to more than just his military abilities and conquests. His ideology and methods regarding politics and culture were essential and helped with his expansion of Hellenism. The blending of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian culture allowed for unification under one rule, as their religious beliefs were not denied. As he conquered and took over different empires, Alexander founded cities which served as cultural centers of trade. The city of Alexandria, which to this day is known as a historical landmark, contributed to early Christian history and the development of a cultural and diverse empire.
Acted as ruler of Macedonia from 336 to 323 B.C. Alexander the Great unified Greece, regenerated the Corinthian League and occupied the Persian Territory. Alexander the Great was born in the Pella region of Macedonia on July 20, 356 B.C., to parents King Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympia, daughter of King Neoptolemus. The youthful leader and his sibling were upraised in Pella 's royal court. While growing up, alexander the dark-eyed and curly-headed hardly ever saw his father, who spent most of his time involved in army crusades and extra-marital relationships. While Olympia acted as a influential protagonist model for the boy, Alexander matured to begrudge his father 's nonexistence and philandering.
Alexander the Great was known to be a fierce man, whose main focus was his thirst for conquest to expand his empire, but according to Hammond, Alexander was a “statesmanlike vision”, whose charming personality and intellect earned him the appreciation and respect of his subjects (Hammond, Preface). To his advantage Alexander used intellect and personality to overcome nationalism and racism to build his great empire, proving his devotion and leadership qualities. In N.G.L. Hammond’s book, The Genius of Alexander the Great, Hammond refrains from writing about Alexander’s achievements, conquests, and struggles throughout his career from a biased point of view. Hammond’s main purpose for writing this book is to evaluate the life of Alexander in
Alexander the Great wanted to combined two main cultures together. He wanted to combined Greek and Persian cultures together.(Alexander Legacy) This can shown from all of Alexander's cities. He used Greek layouts, buildings and language. Greek culture diffused from when Alexander conquered all the states. Since all these states were connected from communication it was easy to diffuse. Also being located on trade routes Greek culture diffused rapidly throughout the empire. This would all happen still for 200 more years. (Alexander Legacy) This affects us today because we can still he Alexander's cities with the Greek
Alexander the Great was born on July 20, 356 B.C. in Pella. During his childhood Alexander’s father was actually not around that much. Alexander’s father was usually away fighting with the neighboring nations. However, one very important thing to Alexander’s father and mother was that he was to get an amazing education. While he was young, Alexander’s father hired him a tutor. One of the tutors was Aristotle, who was a very famous Greek Philosopher. When Alexander was only sixteen years old his father believed that Alexander could successfully be in charge of Macedonia until he came back from the campaign. While Alexander was in charge he took on an amazing opportunity and actually defeated the Thracian people. After the defeating of the Thracian people Alexander named a city after himself. The city was called “Alexandroupolis”. During Alexander’s teenage years he and his father ended up becoming very estranged. It got so bad that his mother actually had to exile Epirus. His father was assassinated in 336 B.C. at the celebration that was held for his daughter, Cleopatra, when she got married. After the tragic loss of Alexander’s father, he soon became the King. While he took on power he became someone who had a lot of support including from the Macedonian army and the Greek City States in which Phillip, Alexander’s father, had already conquered. While still in the campaign, Alexander, moved against the Thebes. The Thebes was a city that was in Greece and had actually came up
Alexander the Great is remembered as a conquering man who built one of the largest empires. Some describe him as a man with a vision of world harmony. Others see him as a blood thirsty man with a mental illness. One thing that cannot be argued is that he and his empire are fascinating studies. From his rise to power to his mysterious death is interesting, but even after he died the story is fascinating. Due to his death, his empire was divided and a long power-struggle began starting with his generals. Each account has its own story of war and betrayal. These days must have been hard for those in power; they never knew who they could trust. Only the ones who were skilled in the strategy of war and ruthless enough to maintain their power
The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC marks the beginning of the Hellenistic Period and covers 300 years to the invasion of Egypt by the Romans. The word Hellenic refers only to the Greeks, but the term Hellenistic refers to `the Greek-influenced societies that arose in the wake of Alexander's conquest' (Sacks, 105). The Hellenistic world extended from Greece all the way to Afghanistan and resulted in the beginning of the mass spreading of Greek culture. Its central characteristics were the mass empires created by Alexander and his successors, the mingling of Greek and other cultures and the diffusion of religions
The Hellenistic Age was a period of ancient Greece lasting between 323 B.C after the death of Alexander the Great and 30 B.C the beginning of the Roman Empire. Alexander was determined to conquer unknown lands and his expedition provided a bridge between city-states and the Greek Hellenistic World. The Hellenistic World is what resulted from the disintegrated empire that came short after Alexanders death. Four major Hellenistic kingdoms emerged from the successors of Alexander. The Greeks and easterners made notable accomplishments during this period of experiments, novelties and individualism which influenced the Roman culture.
At the point when Alexander the Great died in Babylon on June 11 323 BC, few could have known the prospects for the Macedonians and the Greeks. In the last twelve years they had fulfilled wonderful victories that brought under their influence more than ten times the domain Alexander had started with in Greece. It was to be the start of the Hellenistic Age, a period of one of a kind social and political advancements, that achieved an amalgamation of old and new.