1. Alexander the Great
Mr. Fitzpatrick

2. Objective
How was Alexander the Great able to spread Greek Culture throughout the known world.

3. Philip II
Ruled Macedonia from B.C. and transformed it into a powerful military machine
Moved into northern Greece and met little resistance due to the Peloponnesian War
By 338 he had Greece under his control

4. Macedonia

5. Alexander the Great
Philip intended to use Greece as a launching pad to invade Persia, but he was assassinated before he could begin his plan
Instead the invasion of Persia would be left for Philip’s son Alexander who was just 20 when Philip was assassinated
“Alexander inherited from his father the most perfectly organized, trained, and equipped army of ancient times.”
J.F.C. Fuller, The Generalship of Alexander the Great

6. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Phalanx: A formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears, developed by Philip II and used by Alexander the Great
Bucephalus: Alexander’s famous horse.
Read story from the Blue Book (page 126)
Watch tribute.
Spear

7. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Hoplite
The main melee warrior of the Macedonian army.
Worked mainly in the tight phalanx formation, creating impregnable lines that often left the enemy demoralized.

8. Hoplites in Action

9. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Companions
Alexander’s elite cavalry, the offensive arm of his army, and his elite guard.
They would be used in conjunction with the phalanx. The phalanx would fix the enemy in place and then the companion cavalry would attack on the flank.
Alexander would lead the charge with his cavalry, normally in a wedge formation.
These troops would also protect the flanks of the Macedonian line during battle.
Gulf War

10. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Sieges involved the surrounding and blockading of a town or fortress by an army trying to capture it.
A variety of weapons were built to hurl projectiles over city walls, scale or batter the walls, and transport soldiers over them.
Battering Ram
Torsion Catapult/
Ballista
Siege Tower

11. Alexander and the town of Gordian, and the Gordian knot.

13. Battle of Issus Darius III Alexander
Alexander wins and Darius turns and runs away.

14. Tyre Old city on the mainland was abandoned
New city built on an island two miles long and separated from the coast by a half mile channel
Walls were 150 feet high
Had two harbors (Sidonian and Egyptian)
Alexander originally had no ships so he built a mole across the channel

16. Tyre
Mole was designed to be 200 feet wide and was built by driving piles into the bottom and filling in the space with stones, earth, and wood
Entire trees --- branches, leaves, and all -– were thrown beside the piles to serve as a break wall.
Stone was hauled in from the old city.
“A city and a forest were exhausted to build this wonderful mole.”
Theodore Dodge, Alexander, 330.
Alexander’s original mole has grown over the centuries and is now a broad landbridge with roads and buildings on it.

17. Tyre After a seven month siege, Tyre fell.
8,000 Tyrians were killed in the fighting
2,000 more were hung afterwards
400 Macedonians were killed in the siege and just 20 in the assault
Review

18. Gaugamela (Arbela)
At Issus, Alexander captured Darius’ family and was holding them hostage but treating them well
Darius needed to rescue them
Seal of King Darius

19. Darius III, King of Persia
Gaugamela (Arbela)
Darius had assembled a huge army from all the Persian nationalities
Estimates range from 200,000 to a million infantry and 45,000 to 100,000 cavalry
200 scythed chariots
15 elephants
Alexander had about 40,000 men
He wanted to capture Darius to replace him as king of Persia
Darius III, King of Persia
B.C.

20. Gaugamela
Alexander Psyches his men up
The End of the Battle

21. After Gaugamela Darius ran away, AGAIN!!!
His escape frustrated Alexander because it prevented him from full claim to being king of Persia
Eventually Darius’ followers assassinated him
As Alexander became king of Persia and continued to advance east, he took on an increasingly Eastern attitude.
He didn’t always listen to his men.

22. "The Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxanna" by Ishmail Parbury
The End of the Empire
Alexander
Married Roxanna and had his men also intermarry
Adopted Eastern dress and habits
Publicly insisted upon his descent from the gods
Began giving key positions to Persians
The Macedonians were tired of campaigning and resented the changes in Alexander’s behavior and become mutinous
Alexander died in June 323, perhaps as a result of poisoning, perhaps Malaria
"The Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxanna" by Ishmail Parbury

23. Horrible Histories – Alexander Conquers

24. After Alexander
After Alexander died, his generals jockeyed for power and by 275 they had divided up his kingdom into four large states
Antigonus took Greece and Macedon
Ptolemy took Egypt
Seleuces took the former Achaemenid empire
The period of Alexander and his successors is called the Hellenistic period to reflect the broad influence of Greek culture beyond Greece’s borders
Alexander’s Song

25. Alexander’s Legacy
He spread Western (Greek) Culture all over the known (Mediterranean) world.
Song Parody
Iron Maiden

26. Big Quarterly Question
Alexander worked to spread Greek culture throughout his empire. What conclusion can you draw from this?
Alexander admired and enjoyed Greek culture and ideas.

27. All the Video Links in the Presentation
If you cannot open this PowerPoint at home, copy the links below and them to yourself, or save them on your flash drive.
Tonight:
Watch the videos
Read the story of Bucephalous
Tomorrow in class, we will follow up with an activity.
Tribute to Bucephalous
Alexander’s Deadliest Weaopn
Gulf War (1991) Hammer and Anvil Tactic
Torsion Cataplut
Building the Mole
Review of Tyre
Alexander Psyches up his men
Video Game reenactment
Death of Alexander
Song Parody
Iron Maiden