Alexander the great and his empire

1. SS.6.W.3.6 Alexander the great and his empire

2. The Peloponnesian War • In 431 B.C.E., Sparta declared war on Athens • This conflict was called the Peloponnesian War • After 27 years of fighting, Sparta finally won. • Meanwhile, a new danger was growing to the north, in Macedonia.

3. Philip II Unifies Greece • A Macedonian king, Philip II, saw that constant wars had left the Greeks divided and weak. • He seized the chance and brought Greece under his control. • By 338 B.C.E., he had conquered most of mainland Greece, although he allowed the city-states to keep many of their freedoms. • Philip wanted to attack Persia next, but in 336 B.C.E., he was murdered.

4. Alexander Takes the Throne • After Philip’s death, his son, Alexander, became the new Macedonian king. • Like his father, he wanted to invade Persia for its great wealth, but he also recognized that fighting Persia would help to unite the Greeks by giving them a common enemy.

5. Alexander’s Method • Alexander planned to use both terror and kindness to conquer an empire. • The towns and cities that resisted him would be burned to the ground and their people sold into slavery. • The towns and cities that surrendered would keep their government officials, and Alexander would help them rebuild their damaged property.

6. Alexander’s Goals • Alexander wanted all the people he conquered to accept him as their ruler. • He also wanted to spread Greek culture, but at the same time, he did not want to destroy every local custom in his empire. • His goal was to bring people of very different cultures together under a single government.

7. Alexander Spreads Greek Ideas • Alexander greatly admired Greek culture and wanted to spread Greek ideas throughout his empire. • One way he did this was by building Greek-style cities. • Most of these new cities contained an agora (marketplace), temple, theater, law courts, and a gymnasium.

8. Alexandria • The most famous of the new cities was called Alexandria, and was located in Egypt. • In time, it became an important center for trade and learning. • Alexandra had all of the amenities a great Greek city should, but the most impressive part was the library which contained more than half a million books!

9. Alexander’s Use of Religion • Alexander used religion in 2 ways to inspire loyalty among the people he conquered. • First, he honored Egyptian and Persian gods and treated them as equal to Greek gods. • Second, Alexander encouraged the idea that he himself was a god. • Later, he would even require all Greeks to accept him as the son of Zeus!

10. Alexander Adapts • Alexander’s plan was to show respect for the cultural practices of the people he conquered, and he did this by adopting some of their practices himself. • Although he allowed many local governors to run the day-to-day business of their lands, he made sure it was Macedonians who led the army and controlled taxes.

11. Walk Like A...Persian? • Alexander borrowed many Persian customs in particular. • He wore Persian-style clothes and received visitors in a luxurious tent, the way a Persian king would. • Visitors had to kneel in front of the throne and bend over until their head touched the ground. • Alexander then raised his visitor to his feet, kissed him, and called him “Kinsman,” meaning family.

12. The Empire Crumbles • After stretching his empire all the way to India, Alexander caught a disease (probably malaria) and died at the age of 33. • After his death, the empire crumbled. • Settlers left the cities he had constructed, and they fell to ruin. • His generals fought each other for control.

13. So, then what?? • In the end, Alexander’s vast realm was divided into 3 separate kingdoms: Egypt, Asia, and Greece. • In the centuries to come, Greek power would slowly fade away, but Greek culture would continue to influence the world.