ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Phillip II became king of

Macedonia and

targeted Greece for

an invasion.

PHILIP II

Situation changed in 359 BC Philip II *Educated in Thebes *Greek military techniques*Skillful politician*Genius at sizing up a situation *Greek city-states would be

easy pickings

W

Why do you think Phlip wanted to conquer Greece?

MACEDONIAN ADVANTAGES• No single city-state was strong

enough to resist • The Macedonian army had become a

formidable fighting force– heavily armed cavalry units, light

cavalry and hoplite infantry – More mobile and more effective

than anything the Greeks had– Also possessed strong esprit-de-

corps

Phillip beat Athens, and the rest of

Greece agreed to make him

their leader after seeing

Athens’s defeat.

• Phillip was a brilliant military leader.

• His soldiers fought as a phalanx with spears that were longer than the Greeks.

What makes a phalanx effective?

Philip also had a cavalry and archers supporting the phalanx.

When Phillip died, his

throne and his plans were

passed on to his 20-year-old

son, Alexander.

ALEXANDER CREATES AN ARMY• Carry out his father’s planned invasion of Persian Empire

– military experience

– Attacked Thebes in 335 and burned it to the ground

– Slaughtered entire population or sold them into slavery

– Taught Greeks a lesson and Greek recruitment into his army skyrocketed

– had final force of 30,000 soldiers and 5000 horsemen

Alexander began his rule by ending the

revolt in Thebes, setting an

example to the Greeks not to

rebel.

Alexander set out to build an empire.He defeated the Persians in the battle of Issus, then marched to

Egypt.

In 333 BC, while wintering at Gordium, Alexander the Great attempted to untie the Gordium knot. When he could find no end to the knot, to unbind it, he sliced it in half with a stroke

of his sword.

. Legend says that whoever

untied the knot would rule all of

Asia.

He then set out to build an empire and earned the

name Alexander the Great.

He went on to conquer Egypt and

was crowned pharaoh without a

fight.

Alexander then defeated Persia and became the ruler of the Persian Empire.

How did Alexander defeat Darius at Gaugemela?

Macedonian Phalanx

Ballista

• Ancient fieldpiece, operated on the

principle of tension. Simply a magnified

crossbow stretched by a windlass. The

projectile was usually a spear.

END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE– The Persians tried to block Alexander

but were beaten again

• Darius was on the run, fleeing to Persepolis

• Alexander attacks and destroys the city

• Alexander finally caught Darius and his army at Ecbatana in July 330 BC

• Darius is killed by his own men as Alexander approaches

– Persian Empire collapsesDarius

PERSIA

Alexander established cities throughout his empire.

TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

• East through Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

• Crossed the Indus River into India– terrible battles in India

but kept moving east– At the Hyphasis River,

his men refused to move any further• Simply worn out and

homesick• Alexander gave in

and agreed to return home

Alexander wanted to push into India, but

his troops were exhausted and

refused to go. He began the march

home, but died from sickness before

making it back to Greece.

PUNISHMENT

Alexander the Great’s Empire

Describe the distance covered by Alexander’s empire.

Alexander the Great built an empire that united much of Europe, Asia, and Egypt.

DEATH OF ALEXANDER

• In June 323, Alexander died at the age of 32 In the midst of planning the invasion of Arabia

• Exact cause of death is unknown

• Maybe pneumonia, malaria, alcoholic poisoning, or food poisoning

• No one will ever know for sure

What might have happened if Alexander

had lived?

After Alexander died, his generals fought for power and divided the empire among

themselves.

What happened to Alexander’s empire after he

died?

LEGACY

• Brilliant general and leader• Major contribution was the destruction of

the Persian EmpireBrought Greek culture into the Middle

East • weakness was lack of concern for

administrative matters– Liked to conquer– Liked to fight, not govern– Empire died with him as a result• Virtually guaranteed by absence of

any sort of centralized administrative structure

SPREADING GREEK CULTURE

• Alexander’s empire was the largest the world had ever seen.

• An admirer of Greek culture, he worked to spread it throughout his empire.

•Alexander encouraged Greek settlers to move to the new cities he conquered.

•These settlers passed along the language and culture of Greece.

Alexander also encouraged people to keep their own culture, so Greek and native customs blended.

Historians call the culture Hellenistic, or Greek-like.

Egypt, especially

Alexandria, became a

great cultural center.

“It is a lovely thing to live with courage, and to die leaving an everlasting fame.”

How did Alexander spread Greek culture? What is the

name for this blended culture?