Greek History

Macedon and the Hellenistic World 405 BCE to 323 BCE

Philip’s campaigns in Greece and the amount of money that he had spent of the army left Alexander with crushing debts. Appropriating the riches of the Persian Empire could solve Alexander’s financial difficulties. Moreover, there was no time like the present to invade Persia in terms of susceptibility. Despite Persia’s waning power, their new King Darius III was proving to be a competent ruler who might be able to restore Persia to her former glory. Also pressing Alexander was the fact that he needed to maintain the momentum of Philip’s expansions less he look weak in the shadow of his father. In the spring of 334 BCE, Alexander set out for Asia Minor with an estimated 43 000 infantry and 6000 cavalry. The Persians chose to make their first stand against Alexander on the banks of the Granicus River. Despite the intelligent choice in location, the Persians were defeated overwhelmingly. Alexander used the victory to secure control of the port of Ephesus in order to oversee the political organization of his new territory. However, in order to gain control of the seas Alexander needed a navy. The one he currently controlled was not up to the task, and he did not have the funds to add to it. His solution, move down the Phoenician coast and capture Phoenician ships and add them to his fleet. Following this strategy Alexander headed for the port of Halicarnassos in Caria.

In the spring of 333 BCE the army assembled at Gordium in Asia Minor. This is the location where Alexander visited the famous “Gordian Knot”. According to legend the man that could unfasten the knot on the yoke of the wagon would rule all of Asia. There are various accounts on how Alexander removed the knot, but in all of them he used an indirect method to untie the knot. At Cilicia Alexander finally confronted Darius at the battle of Issus in 333 BCE. Ancient sources provide a fairly magnified number for Darius’s army, but it is clear that Darius did greatly outnumber Alexander. The battle did not last very long as Darius was soon forced to flee after losing 10 000 men, compared to Alexander’s 500. After this humiliating defeat Darius offered terms to Alexander, promising him peace and an alliance. Alexander refused, demanding that he be made king of all of Asia. Instead of pursuing Darius, Alexander headed south towards Tyre and from there towards Egypt. In 332 BCE Alexander besieged and conquered the city of Gaza. Once in Egypt Alexander was hailed as a liberator and a Pharaoh by a people who had been resentful towards Persian rule. While in Egypt Alexander founded the city of Alexandria and went to the Oracle of Ammon at Siwah, where he was told that he was the son of Zeus.

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With Egypt politically under his control, Alexander moved north again to deal with Darius. Darius once again offered terms, 10 000 talents and all the territory west of the Euphrates. Alexander declined, demanding that Darius acknowledge his lordship over Asia. On October 1, 331 BCE Alexander met Darius again in battle at Gaugamela. Again Alexander scored a decisive victory over Darius. Rather the perusing Darius, Alexander took the time to secure Persia’s most important cities, Babylon, Susa and Persepolis. In each city he seized the royal treasury, the total was 180 000 talents. Whether this number is exaggerated or not is unknown. In every city, with the exception of Persepolis, the army was kept in check and looting was strongly forbidden. In Persepolis, the army was turned loose on the city. As a final gesture, Alexander burnt the great palace at Persepolis to the ground.

Meanwhile Darius had moved into the Iranian heartland, however the eastern satrapies betrayed him. When Alexander found his body he treated it with the utmost respect. Following the death of Darius, Alexander moved into modern day Afghanistan where three years of difficult guerilla warfare were required to subdue a stubborn local resistance. Despite the fact that Alexander now controlled all of Persia, he still continued going east, crossing the Indus River in 326 BCE. In India Alexander faced a great deal of resistance not only from the local populations but also from his own troops. Finally, in 325 BCE, Alexander agreed to turn back. Upon returning to Persia, Alexander was met with a steady stream of corruption and was forced to crack down on those he had left in charge to safeguard his empire.

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As Alexander and his army recovered in Persia, Alexander began to draw up plans for expeditions to the Caspian Sea, Gibraltar and Carthage. However, in 323 BCE Alexander fell ill and on June 10, 323 BCE Alexander the Great died. Alexander’s untimely death at the age of 23 left a great problem for his successors, who would rule this massive empire? Alexander’s generals very quickly sough to carve out territories for themselves. The first to act was Ptolemy who laid claim to Egypt. After about fifty years of squabbling the other territories were divided into Macedon under the Antigonids and Asia Minor and the Near East under the Seleucids.

The world that emerged from the War of the Sucessors was vastly different then the old world under the polis. Alexander’s generals ruled autocratically over foreign people with whom they had very little contact. Alexander through his conquests united a great deal of the ancient world and created a new Hellenistic culture. A simplified form of Greek called Koine Greek essentially became the international language of the ancient world. Alexander through his conquests brought an end to the world of the Greek polis, but through his conquests he brought Greek culture to the rest of the ancient world. The Romans would then utilize this same culture and spread it to Western Europe. Alexander the Great is the perfect example of the mythic Greek hero.

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