1. Alexander the Great Fill the void and then some

2. Macedonia A mountainous kingdom north of Greece Macedonians had their own language and identity

3. King Phillip II 359 BCE Three Objectives: 1. Create an unbeatable army 2. Unify Greece 3. Roach the Persians

4. Amazing Progress 338 BCE Greece never recovered from Peloponnesian War Forcefully unified the Greeks and ready to turn east Promptly died!

5. Enter Young Alexander As a 16-year-old, he commanded the Macedonian army Now as a 20-year-old he was king

6. Alexander on a Roll Phase One 334-333 BCE Liberates Ionia Then goes on to conquer all of Asia Minor Turns south and takes Syria, Palestine, and Egypt

7. Egyptian Pharaoh The Egyptians were so impressed, they named him pharaoh He founded a city named Alexandria and created the world’s most spectacular library

8. Alexander on a Roll Phase Two 331-327 BCE Now, Alexander struck east into the heart of Persia First, he roached Mesopotamia, then Persia (Iran), before reaching all the way to the Indus River (Pakistan)

9. A New Kind of Conqueror His goal was assimilation He wanted those he conquered to embrace Hellenistic culture He made his capital Babylon to encourage good relations Those conquered by Alexander experienced a higher standard of living

10. A Short-Lived Empire Alexander died at just 33 in 323 BCE His amazing personality was the force that held the empire together When he died it broke apart

11. Amazing Example The next great empire would be the Romans They borrowed heavily from Alexander’s example They would incorporate those they conquered