Kingdom of Macedonia was north of Greece Greek city-states considered Macedonia to be outside the Greek world and inhabited by a bunch of barbarians Not worthy of serious consideration unless their help was needed in a war This was a deserved reputation for a long time Plagued by periodic barbarian invasions from the Balkans and by frequent civil wars, Macedonia remained a minor kingdom too troubled by its own problems to be a major source of concern for the Greeks

PHILIP II Situation changed in 359 BC –When Philip II became king Educated in Thebes, familiar with Greek military techniques, and a very skillful politician Genius at sizing up a situation and figuring out how to exploit it for his own advantage Recognized that the Greek city-states would be easy pickings for anyone bold enough to attack them

The Phalanx

MACEDONIAN ADVANTAGES No single city-state was strong enough to resist him and it was unlikely that they would be able to form any sort of alliance against him The Macedonian army had become a formidable fighting force –Based on heavily armed cavalry units, supplemented by light cavalry and hoplite infantry –More mobile and more effective than anything the Greeks had –Also possessed strong esprit- de-corps

DEATH OF PHILIP II By playing one city-state off against the other and through the basic superiority of his army, Philip had taken control of Greece by 338 BC –Imposed lenient terms on the defeated city-states and even tried to win their support by vowing to attack Persia to avenge all the trouble the Persians had caused Greece in the past But he was the midst of planning this campaign when he was assassinated at his daughter’s wedding –Succeeded by his 20-year old son, Alexander

ALEXANDER CREATES AN ARMY Determined to carry out his father’s planned invasion of Persian Empire –Already had extensive military experience as his father’s chief general Needed Greek soldiers but Greeks did not deliver promised numbers –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

START OF ALEXANDER’S CONQUESTS Invaded Persia through Asia Minor in 334 –Defeated Persian army every time they met Then headed into Syria and took over the entire Mediterranean coast without any real resistance Invaded Egypt where he was proclaimed pharaoh –Built city of Alexandria to celebrate event at the mouth of the Niles »Would become one of the greatest cities in the ancient world Lighthouse at Alexandria

END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE Left Egypt in 331 and headed for Babylon –Persians tried to block him but were beaten again Persian emperor Darius was now on the run –Fleeing to Persiapolis Alexander attacks and destroys the city Alexander finally caught Darius and his army at Ecbatana in July 330 –Darius is killed by his own men as Alexander approaches –Persian Empire collapses Darius

ALEXANDER’S AMBITION Alexander continues to conquer eastward –Convinced that it was his destiny to conquer all territory up to the edge of the world Some Macedonian advisors were against this plan –Also did not like the way Alexander had gone native »Wearing Persian clothes, adopting Persian rituals, appointing Persians to important positions, adding Persian contingents to the army, and marrying a Persian princess Several conspiracies were launched to overthrow Alexander –He discovered all of them and killed all those involved

TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Marched east through Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan and then crossed the Indus River into India –Involved in some 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 ultimately gave in and agreed to return home

PUNISHMENT Took southern route home through the horrible desert of southern Pakistan –For reasons of revenge Felt betrayed by mutiny in India and decided to punish his men by marching them through the desert –50% of the army died during this march and those who survived suffered terribly Finally made it back to Babylon in 324

ALEXANDER’S PLAN Was not interested in organizing an administration to govern his empire –Obsessed with creating a Macedonian/Persian master race Ordered officers to marry Persian women Wanted to create a new Macedonian/Persian ruling class which would permanently join East and West –By blending conquered and conqueror, he hoped to install an element of stability in his empire

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

LEGACY Brilliant general and leader –Seems at time to be a hero come to life from one of Homer’s poems Major contribution was the destruction of the Persian Empire –Opened the door for the penetration of Greek culture into the Middle East Big weakness was lack of concern for administrative matters –Liked to conquer, not consolidate –Liked to fight, not govern –Empire died with him as a result Virtually guaranteed by absence of any sort of centralized administrative structure

SUCCESSOR KINGDOMS Second line of contenders finally came to a semblance of a settlement Antigonus Gonatus took Macedonia and part of Greece He and his successors would rule it until the Romans displaced them in the second century BC Ptolemy took over Egypt, Cyprus, Palestine, and Phoencia Ptolemies would lose everything but Egypt but would hang on to it until last of the Ptolemies, Cleopatra, took wrong side in Roman civil war and was forced to commit suicide in 31 BC Selecus took over Syria, most of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and western Persia Seleucid Kingdon would later divide in half and incorporated into the Roman and Parthian empires Alexander’s empire would become permanently divided into independent, frequently hostile, kingdoms ruled by the descendants of his Macedonian officers

HELLENISTIC AGE Certain degree of unity to the post-Alexander world –Greek culture had spread from Aegean world to rest of known world Same political institutions, educational systems, art forms could be found everywhere Uniform coinage, systems of finance, laws and even language caused development of local and international commerce Civilized world had become unified in a cultural and economic sense –Mainly Greek in origin and operation but also contained doses of Mesopotamian influences Mixture of Greek and Mesopotamian elements into a worldwide, unifying, hybrid civilization is known as Hellenistic Civilization