2.5 Alexander the Great -T-

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

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.5 Alexander the Great

THEORY

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 Alexander the Great achieved in his life.
• what Alexander's empire was
• why his empire declined after his death
• what Hellenistic is

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 was 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 Alexander’s chief interest was war. 

In 338 BC Alexander’s father, Philip II, brought all the Greek city-states except Sparta under his rule. Young Alexander commanded one section of the Macedonian army.

In 336 BC Philip II was killed and Alexander became king when he was only 19 years old. He soon won the loyalty of nearly all the Greek city-states. In 334 BC 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.

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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 movie clip from the film Alexander

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

Alexander only made it back to Babylon where he became suddenly sick and died. No one is sure what he died from, but many suspect poison. 

Alexander had no children to inherit his kingdom. So when he died his empire was divided up amongst his generals. These generals ended up fighting each other for many years as the empire fell apart.

Cutting the knot (de knoop doorhakken)

Sometimes we use phrases that are very familiar to us and everybody knows what they mean. But actually, they make no sense whatsoever.

Have you ever really cut a knot when you made a decision? Because that is what it means.

Many of these phrases come from stories or events from history. Cutting the knot comes from a story about Alexander the Great.

Check it out here

Alexander cutting the Gordian knot

The Hellenistic Period and the end of Greece.

As Alexander conquered Persia he built colonies and cities modelled after Greek cities. 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. In addition, Alexander also adopted Persian things. For instance, he began to wear Persian clothing and he brought Persian soldiers into his army.

Alexander hoped by mixing these two cultures that the Persians would not see Greek rule as alien. Thus they would not rebel against the Greeks.

Eventually, the Greek influence became so widespread that the period from Alexander’s rule to 146 BC became known as the Hellenistic Period. Hellenistic means “Greek-like”. The art and culture of the Hellenistic Period was a mixture of Greek and Eastern art and 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.

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