And Hellenistic Greece

Macedonians Live north of the Greek peninsula and even spoke a Greek dialect Most Macedonians were farmers and shepherds, so they had not achieved the same cultural feats as the Greeks

Macedonians By the 4 th century BCE the people of Macedonia were united because of the work of several kings This transformed the country into a military power to be reckoned with

Philip II Ruled Macedonia until 336BCE Was considered the most brilliant of Macedonia’s kings Discovered gold deposits and gained enough wealth to assemble a massive army

Thebes In 338BCE at the battle of Chaeronea near Thebes the forces of Macedonia defeated the Greek city-states and amalgamated them into Macedonia

Macedonia Army Was strong due to two primary factors The phalanx formation Well-trained cavalry

Assassinated! In 336BCE, one of Philip’s body guards assassinated him Philip’s son Alexander was proclaimed king of Macedonia

Alexander the Great Alexander was a cavalry officer in wars with the Greek states and had proven himself as a military leader After being announced kin, Alexander had any rivals murdered and launched military campaigns to show his military strength Thebes had tried to revolt, so Alexander had 6000 citizens executed and sold the rest into slavery

11 Year Campaign Alexander wanted to complete his father’s plans to conquer Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, and India Within one year Alexander had already conquered the Persian Empire

Hydaspes In 327 BCE, of Alexander’s troops moved into India But, Alexander’s cavalry became virtually immobilized by the Indian elephants The battle of Hydaspes ended in a victory for Alexander But, his men were ready to mutiny so Alexander turned back to head home

Marching Home The Greek forces went south down the Indus river, marched along the Persian Gulf, and entered Babylon Alexander died at Babylon in 323BCE of either typhoid or malaria

Hellenistic Greece Alexander’s campaigns resulted in an increased cultural exchange for the Greek civilization from both the east and the west Alexander had used men from all over his empire in his army, so troops became quite cosmopolitan Alexander’s empire also stretched from Greece to India with lots of interaction between different people: Scholars Artists Craftsmen Soldiers

Hellenistic Greece Alexander wanted to make Greek culture and language the unifying factor in his empire But, he was too pluralistic and respected the laws and customs of conquered peoples He even allowed officials in conquered territories to maintain administration rights

Hellenistic Greece Important scientific and philosophical advancements: Euclid made advancements in geometry Archimedes made advancements in physics Aristarchus formulated the heliocentric view of the universe Stoicism developed People believe humans should always be honourable

Crumbling Empire Alexander had no children, so there was no heir to his throne As a result, his generals fought for power for 40 years The Macedonian Empire became several large states each ruled by a descendent of a general The Greek mainland was not peaceful until the Roman conquest in 27BCE

Quick Review “Alexander the Great and the Situation” – CrashCourse Turn to pg. 122 and complete questions 1-3