2.5 Alexander the Great

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Stick the handout in your notebook!

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.5 Alexander the Great

How did Alexander the Great shape the Hellenistic period, and what changes did his conquests bring to the cultures and societies he came across?

How did Alexander the Great impact the time called the Hellenistic period, and what changed in the cultures and societies he visited?

What is this lesson about?

The Persian Wars had ended. But Persia remained a threat to the Greeks.

Some 150 years later Alexander the Great became king at a young age and was a legend before he died. He took revenge on Persia and spread Greek culture to “the ends of the Earth”, or at least all the way to India.

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• What  has Alexander the Great achieved in his life?
• What was Alexander's empire?
• Why did his empire declined after his death?
• What is Hellenistic?

Make a checkbox behind the question and check it off at the end of the lesson if you could answer the question. 

Word Duty

professional army: a permanent army, composed of full time soldiers who are paid by the government

infantry: foot soldiers

cavalry: mounted troops (soldiers on horses). Today: tanks and armoured verhicles

artillery: weapons, like catapults, to shoot big projectiles. Today: cannons and mortars

navy: branch the armed forces that fights on, under, or over the sea. Most navies keep a fleet, or group, of warships.

hoplite: Greek citizen soldier.

Ionians: Greeks who lived in Greek colonies at the west coast of modern Turkey.

uprising / revolt: when the people of a city or country fight against their own king 

because they don't agree with his rule.

allies: a group of persons or countries that work together to fight a common enemy.

Companion cavalry: an elite unite of young Macedonian nobles

Hegemon: leader of all Greeks

Persepolis: Persian capital, destroyed by Alexander the Great

Aristotle: philosopher from Macedon who became famous in Athens. Tutor of Alexander the Great

Diadochi: successors of Alexander the Great

KEY WORDS

people in this lesson

Alexander

king

Macedonia

Greece

Persia

Aristotle

philosopher

Greece

Important dates in this lesson:

Alexander the Great:

  -  338 BC: King Philip II of Macedon conquers and unites the Greek poleis.

  -  336 BC: Philip II is murdered. Alexander becomes king of Macedonia 

  -  334 BC: Alexander departs for Asia

  -  331 BC: Alexander conquers Babylon

  -  323 BC: Alexander dies

End of Greece:

  -  146 BC: Romans conquer Greece. Greece becomes part of the Roman Empire

Alexander III, king of Macedonia, is known as Alexander the Great. In his short life he conquered almost all parts of the world that were known to his people.

The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from a villa in the Roman city Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia and measures 2.72 by 5.13 metres. The original is preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum. The mosaic is believed to be a copy of an early 3rd-century BC Hellenistic painting.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

• Born in 356 BC in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, a kingdom to the north of the Greek states. 
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle gave him lessons > But his interest was war. 
• His father conquered all city states except Sparta
• He became king at 19 years old > won the trust of nearly all Greek city states.
• He brought together a large army and invaded the Persian Empire
• He freed the Ionians from Persian rule and made them his allies.

Alexander tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus when he was a kid. It was his main horse until it died of old age. Alexander named a city in India after his horse.

You can watch the scene from the 2004 movie Alexander how he tamed Bucephalus.

Movie poster of the film Alexander from 2004.

An important factor in Alexander's success against the much larger Persian army was the use of the battle formation known as the phalanx.  You can see the phalanx in action in the video

Alexander conquers the Persian Empire

Here is the order of his conquests:

• First he moved through Asia Minor and what is today Turkey. 
• He took over Syria defeating the Persian Army at Issus and then laying siege to Tyre.
• Next, he conquered Egypt. Near the Nile River he founded the city of Alexandria.
• After Egypt came Babylonia and Persia, including the city of Susa.
• Then he moved through Persia and began to prepare for a campaign in India.

Alexander leads his army into the battle at the Granicus river. Modern illustration

At this point Alexander had accumulated one of the largest empires in history. He became "king of Asia". However, his soldiers were ready to revolt. > They wanted to return home to see their wives and children. Alexander agreed and his army turned back.

Death of Alexander

• He made it back to Babylon where he became suddenly sick and died > many suspect from poison. 
• He didn't have children so his empire was divided amongst his generals.
• They ended up fighting each other as the empire fell apart.

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.5 Alexander the Great

How did Alexander the Great shape the Hellenistic period, and what changes did his conquests bring to the cultures and societies he came across?

How did Alexander the Great impact the time called the Hellenistic period, and what changed in the cultures and societies he visited?

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• What  has Alexander the Great achieved in his life?
• What was Alexander's empire?
• Why did his empire declined after his death?
• What is Hellenistic?

Make a checkbox behind the question and check it off at the end of the lesson if you could answer the question. 

Practice questions!

Answer at least 3 questions from the practice questions.

If you have a question, go to your teachers desk > only two people at a time are allowed to be at the desk!

you'll work for 10 minutes on a WHISPERING tone

The Hellenistic Period and the end of Greece.

• Alexander built colonies and cities modelled after Greek cities in Asia > He left behind Greeks to rule these cities. 
• Many Persians adopted the Greek way of living. They learned the Greek language, worshipped Greek gods and read Greek literature.
• Alexander also adopted Persian things. For instance, he began to wear Persian clothing and he brought Persian soldiers into his army.
• 
  
• Why did Alexander do this?

• The Greek influence became so widespread that the period became known as the Hellenistic Period. 
• Hellenistic means “Greek-like”. 
• Mix of both Persian culture and Greek culture

In 146 BC this period ended. A new power had emerged in Italy; Rome. The Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC.

Persian warriors, as seen on a part of the wall of Babylon, from before the 4th century BC.

Homework for next week:

Finish the fill in the gaps of 2.5

Next week:

Start of the Roman Empire

Persian warriors, as seen on a part of the wall of Babylon, from before the 4th century BC.

Summary 2.5: Alexander the Great

fill in the gaps to make a summary

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You have finished with this lesson, meaning:
- You have read the texts
- You have made the summary
- You have done the practise questions.
Are you well prepared for a quiz / test or do you need extra help?

If you still need help, if something is not clear, you can ask your question here.

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