Alexander-Empire Builder

Alexander’s empire extended across three continents that today consist of many nations and diverse cultures

Why it Matters Now

Did Alexander the Great create history, or was he just carried on by the tide of events which were already occurring?

The rise to powerAssumed the throne at age twenty when his father was murdered

Marched for eleven years, over 22,000 miles and never lost a battle against the strongest foes of his time

Conquest of Greece and PersiaAlex identified himself with Achilles from the Illiad

Greece was exhausted after the Peloponnesian War – easy targets

Persia was almost destroyed after the Persian wars – even easier targets

Darius Wants Peace

Darius tried to negotiate a peace settlement. He offered Alexander his entire western empire.

Alexander rejected Darius’ offer and announced that he would not stop until he controlled the entire Persian empire.

Alexander Defeats EgyptAfter his Persian campaigns, Alexander turned his attention to Egypt.

In 332 B.C., Alexander marched in to Egypt where he was welcomed by the Egyptian people. They crowned him pharaoh.

He founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile.

Colonial Administration

Alexander allowed conquered territories to operate under self-rule in local affairs as long as the people recognized that they were now a subject people of Macedonia.

Saw no difference between Macedonians, Greeks, and others – all were brothers

A Scientific Conqueror?Brought scientists on expeditions; gathered data about biology and geography

Made Greek the prevailing language of the Near East for government, learning, and commerce

Blending an Empire

He adopted the Persian style of dress, married a Persian princess who was the daughter of Darius III.

He presided over a mass marriage of thousands of his soldiers to Persian women.

Hellenism: A blending of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultures (Greece:

Alexander meets his matchAlexander moved his forces to the east where he faced the armies of India, which included over 200 elephants. Woot!

After the conquest of India, Alexander’s men were ready to return home to Macedonia.

Alexander Dies at age 32Alexander died at age 32 after a heavy drinking bout and swimming in a river from which he caught a fever

Little had been done to organize his empire

No permanent institutions were created to govern it; it would go to the strongest

Alexander’s LegacyHis generals were smarter than that; they would carve up the kingdom with relative peace

Antigonus became king of Macedonia and took control of the Greek city-states.

Ptolemy seized Egypt and took the title of pharaoh. Macedonia held power in Egypt until the death of Cleopatra in 26 B.C.

Seleucus took most of the old Persian empire which became known as the Seleucid Empire.