  To the north of Greece  Probably related to Greeks and spoke similar language  Greeks saw them as “barbarians” Macedonia

  At age 21, Macedonian King Philip II unites Macedonia under his rule  Reorganizes the army to be more professional and effective  Soldiers were paid  Phalanx equipped with 18 foot spears Philip II (lived BC)

  The Greek city-states were weak from years of fighting amongst each other (Peloponnesian War)  The Athenian statesman Demosthenes tried to convince the Greeks to unite against Macedonia  The Greeks didn’t unite until it was too late Invades Greece

  Athens and Thebes lead a united Greek army to confront Philip at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC  Although outnumbered, the Macedonians win  Philip’s 18 year old son, Alexander proves himself a capable commander during the battle  Greece will be ruled by foreigners until the 1800’s AD Battle of Chaeronea

  Philip installed garrisons of troops in most Greek cities  He also made alliances with the Greek city-states  He planned to use these Greeks’ armies and navies in his invasion of Persia How did he control mountainous Greece?

  In 336 BC, Philip is assassinated and Alexander becomes king at age 20  He quickly consolidated power Alexander becomes King

  In 334 BC he crossed into Asia Minor to conquer Persia  Alexander won battles throughout Asia Minor and Mesopotamia  In fact, Alexander the Great never lost a battle! Alexander invades Persia

 Siege of Tyre

 Alexander in Egypt Alexander was welcomed as a liberator in Egypt. They even crowned him pharaoh, a title future Macedonia rulers used in Egypt

 Alexander’s Conquests

  Alexander died at age 32 in Babylon  He left no legitimate heir.  Empire divided among his generals Alexander’s Successors

  Among the most famous of Alexander’s successors was Ptolemy  He set up the Ptolemaic pharaoh dynasty in Egypt.  Among his decedents, and the last Ptolemaic king in Egypt was Cleopatra VII. Ptolemy

  One of the lasting impacts of Alexander’s conquests was the spread of Greek culture to Persia, India, and Egypt  This blended culture is called Hellenistic.  Greeks moved into the Hellenistic kingdoms and built cities, further spreading Greek influence.  The Hellenistic kingdoms would continue untl they were conquered by Rome in the 1 st century BC (100’s BC) Hellenistic Culture

  One of Alexanria’s most famous creations was a library that held over 500,000 scrolls  The library was a research institution  Many great thinkers of the time worked there including Archimedes and Euclid Library at Alexandria