DO NOW Turn in your museum activity. If you weren’t here yesterday, the PPT with the assignment is on the back counter in the history file organizer. Why is the horse unruly and how does Alexander tame him? What did Phillip mean when he said Macedonia wouldn’t be big enough for Alexander?

Alexander-Empire Builder EQ: How did Alexander build an empire?

Why it Matters Now Alexander’s empire extended across three continents that today consist of many nations and diverse cultures

Philip Builds Macedonia’s Power The Peloponnesian War lasted nearly 26 years. The result was the defeat of Athens by Sparta. However, the extended war caused a rapid decline throughout the Greek peninsula. Philip II of Macedonia, a land just north of Greece, took advantage of the situation and set his sights on gaining control of Greece.

Conquest of Greece Most Macedonians saw themselves as Greeks, but the Greeks looked down on the Macedonians as an inferior foreign people. Macedonian king, Philip II, made his plans to invade Greece quite clear, however, the Greeks were unable to come to a unified agreement on how to deal with the Macedonian threat.

Athens and Thebes Unite Athens and Thebes united against Macedonia, however it was too late. The Macedonians were able to defeat the peninsula very quickly. The Greeks lost their independence and freedom. The Macedonians allowed the Greek city- states to operate under self-rule in dealing with local affairs as long as the people recognized that they were now a subject people of Macedonia.

Alexander Defeats Persia King Philip died after the Greek campaign and was unable to fulfill his dream of conquering the Persian empire. His son Alexander proclaimed himself king and set his sights on the Persian empire. Over the next 13 years, Alexander conquered Persia, Egypt and the area east to the Indus Valley.

Alexander Alexander had been educated by his private tutor-Aristotle. He had grown up with an appreciation of Greek philosophy and culture. He especially enjoyed the Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Achilles was one of his heroes.

Alexander had a very gentle side to him. He once was able to tame a horse that no other had been able to tame. He did this by speaking softly and treating the horse with compassion. He rode this horse, Bucephalus, at the head of his army in every battle. This horse died in a campaign in Pakistan. In his honor, Alexander name a city after him-Bucephala.

Invasion of Persia In 334 B.C. Alexander set out for Persia. He led 35,000 soldiers into Anatolia. He met a Persian army of 40,000 men. He ordered his cavalry into action and launched a surprise attack on the Persians. Alexander rode at the front of his men. The result was a swift defeat of the Persians defenses.

The Persian Response Persian king Darius III, (Xerxes’ son) sent a larger army to engage the Macedonians. Even though Alexander was greatly outnumbered, he attacked. The Macedonian army charged directly at Darius. Frightened, Darius fled the battle field. His panicked army was unable to defeat the Macedonians; as a result, Alexander gained control over Anatolia.

Darius Wants Peace Darius tried to negotiate a peace settlement. He offered Alexander his entire western empire. Alexander rejected Darius’ offer and announced that he would not stop until he controlled the entire Persian empire.

Alexander’s Empire

Alexander Defeats Egypt After his Persian campaigns, Alexander turned his attention to Egypt. In 332 B.C., Alexander marched in to Egypt where he was welcomed by the Egyptian people. They crowned him pharaoh of Egypt. He founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile.

Alexander’s Other Conquests Alexander moved his armies to the east where he conquered the armies of India, which included over 200 elephants. After the conquest of India, Alexander’s men were ready to return home to Macedonia.

Blending an Empire As Alexander’s empire grew, he sought to unite the Macedonians and the Persians. He adopted the Persian style of dress, married a Persian princess who was the daughter of Darius III. He presided over a mass marriage of thousands of his soldiers to Persian women.

Alexander Dies at age 32 By 323 B.C., Alexander and his army had made it back to Babylon. Alexander announced his plans to unify his empire with the building of a system of roads and harbors. Alexander was never able to fulfill his plan because while in Babylon, he became seriously ill with a fever and died.

Alexander’s Legacy While on his deathbed, Alexander predicted that his empire would go to his strongest generals. Antigonus became king of Macedonia and took control of the Greek city-states. Ptolemy seized Egypt and took the title of pharaoh. He established a Greek- Macedonian dynasty which held the power in Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 26 B.C. Seleucus took most of the old Persian empire which became known as the Seleucid Empire.

Pharos- The Great Light House When Alexander died in 323 B.C., the city was completed by Ptolemy, the new ruler of Egypt. The new city needed a symbol and a guide for the many trade ships that used the busy harbor. 20 years later, the Pharos was built. It was the first lighthouse ever built and one of the tallest structures in the world (around 400 feet high.)

Was Alexander all that great? Make a yes/no t-chart and find 3 reasons for each side. Write a statement that follows the format “Alexander the Great did/did not live up to his name because ____, ____, ____.