1 / 15

Alexander-Empire Builder

Alexander-Empire Builder. Alexander ’ s empire extended across three continents that today consist of many nations and diverse cultures. Why it Matters Now. Did Alexander the Great create history, or was he just carried on by the tide of events which were already occurring?. The rise to power.

arnold
Download Presentation

Alexander-Empire Builder

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Alexander-Empire Builder Alexander’s empire extended across three continents that today consist of many nations and diverse cultures

  2. Why it Matters Now • Did Alexander the Great create history, or was he just carried on by the tide of events which were already occurring?

  3. The rise to power • Assumed the throne at age twenty when his father was murdered • Marched for eleven years, over 22,000 miles and never lost a battle against the strongest foes of his time

  4. Conquest of Greece and Persia • Alex identified himself with Achilles from the Illiad • Greece was exhausted after the Peloponnesian War – easy targets • Persia was almost destroyed after the Persian wars – even easier targets

  5. 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.

  6. 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. • He founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile.

  7. Colonial Administration • Alexander allowed conquered territories to operate underself-rule in local affairs as long as the people recognized that they were now a subject people of Macedonia. • Saw no difference between Macedonians, Greeks, and others – all were brothers

  8. A Scientific Conqueror? • Brought scientists on expeditions; gathered data about biology and geography • Made Greek the prevailing language of the Near East for government, learning, and commerce

  9. Blending an Empire • 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. • Hellenism: A blending of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultures (Greece: HELLAS)

  10. Alexander meets his match • Alexander moved his forces to the east where he faced the armies of India, which included over 200 elephants. Woot! • After the conquest of India, Alexander’s men were ready to return home to Macedonia.

  11. Alexander Dies at age 32 • Alexander died at age 32 after a heavy drinking bout and swimming in a river from which he caught a fever • Little had been done to organize his empire • No permanent institutions were created to govern it; it would go to the strongest

  12. Alexander’s Legacy • His generals were smarter than that; they would carve up the kingdom with relative peace • Antigonus became king of Macedonia and took control of the Greek city-states. • Ptolemy seized Egypt and took the title of pharaoh. Macedonia held power in Egypt until the death of Cleopatra in 26 B.C. • Seleucus took most of the old Persian empire which became known as the Seleucid Empire.

More Related