1. Alexander the Great

2. Macedonia rose to power and took control of Greece in
the years that followed the Peloponnesian War.
• Most Greeks considered
Macedonians backward
– Lived in villages, not cities
– Spoke form of Greek
unintelligible to other Greeks
• 359 BC, Macedonia’s
fortune changed when
Philip II took throne
The Rise of Macedonia
• One of Philip’s first actions as
king
• Adopted phalanx system, but
gave soldiers longer spears
• Included larger bodies of
cavalry and more archers
• Set out to conquer Greece
– Faced little opposition
– Quickly crushed armies
– Conquered all but Sparta
Army Reorganization

3. • Alexander Becomes King
• Philip’s conquests might have continued, but he was
assassinated
• Title, plans for conquests fell to son, Alexander the
Great
• Alexander only 20, but had been trained to rule almost
from birth
• Learned warfare and politics from father, mother, and
Aristotle
Alexander’s Conquests
• Alexander faced almost immediately with revolts in Greece
• Set out to reestablish control
• Used harsh measures to show rebellion not tolerated
• Crushed Theban army and sold people into slavery, burned
city

4. Empire Building
Empire
• With Greece under control,
Alexander decided to build
empire
• 334 BC, led army into Asia to
take on Persians
• Army relatively small, but well
trained, fiercely loyal
• Persian army huge,
disorganized
Campaigns
• Within year Alexander’s army
had won victory against
Persians in Asia Minor
• Moved south to Phoenicia,
Egypt; welcomed as liberator,
named new pharaoh
• Next destroyed Persian army
near Gaugamela, in what is now
Iraq; caused Emperor Darius III
to flee

5. Expanding the Empire
With defeat of Darius, Alexander the
master of Persian world
Troops marched to Persepolis, a Persian
capital, burned it to ground as sign of victory
But Alexander not satisfied with size of empire
Led army deeper into Asia, winning more victories
Led army to the Indus, perhaps to conquer India
Soldiers had had enough, refused to proceed
farther from home
Alexander forced to turn back to west

7. End of the Empire
Death at Early Age
• Alexander’s empire largest
world had ever seen
• Did not rule very long
• 323 BC, Alexander fell ill while
in Babylon
• Died a few days later at age 33
• Alexander died without naming
heir
Power Struggle
• Generals fought each other for
power
• In the end, the empire was divided
among three most powerful
generals
• Called themselves kings
– Antigonus became king of
Macedonia and Greece
– Seleucus ruled Persian Empire
– Ptolemy ruled Egypt

8. Summarize
Why did Alexander’s empire break apart
after his death?
Answer(s): He did not name an heir, so the empire
was divided among three powerful generals.

9. By bringing together a number of diverse peoples in his empire, Alexander
helped create a new type of culture. It was no longer purely Greek, or
Hellenic, but Hellenistic, or Greeklike.
• Alexander made
conscious effort to
bring people, ideas
together
• Married two Persian
princesses
• Encouraged soldiers
to marry Persians as
well
Blending Cultures
• Appointed officials
from various
cultures to help rule
• Built dozens of new
cities, encouraged
Greek settlers to
move into them
• Most new cities
named Alexandria
New Cities
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Located at mouth of
Nile, where it met
Mediterranean
• Ideal location for
trade
• Harbor once busiest
in world
Most Famous City
The Hellenistic World

10. • Lives of women also changed
significantly in Hellenistic Period
• Women had few rights in earlier
Greek city-states
• Lives began to improve after
Alexander, though women still not
equal to men
• Gained rights to receive education,
own property
Life for Women
• Shift from Hellenic Greece to
Hellenistic world brought drastic
changes to lives
• Most obvious change, how people
were governed
• City-state no longer main political
unit, replaced by kingdom
• Traditional Greek democracy gave
way to monarchy
Drastic Changes
Life in the Hellenistic World

11. The most influential new school was Stoicism, with emphasis on reason, self-
discipline, emotional control and personal morality. Stoics believed people
should find their proper role in society and fulfill it.
• Blending of cultures brought significant changes
• Exchange of ideas from different cultures
• New advances in philosophy, literature and science
• New schools of philosophy
developed in Alexander’s empire
• One called Cynicism; students
rejected pleasure, wealth, social
responsibility
• People live according to nature
Philosophy
Hellenistic Achievements
• People should seek pleasure,
considered good; try to avoid pain,
considered evil
• To find pleasure, develop close
friendships with people who share
similar ideas
Epicureans