Alexander the Great
Philip II (Alexander’s father)
• Became king of Macedon in 359 BC
• Conquered south• Athenian Demosthenes
spoke out against him (Three Philippics)
• Battle of Chaeronea 338 BC, defeated Athens and Thebes, controlled Greece
• Assassinated in 336 BC
Young Alexander
• Born in 356 BC to Philip II and Olympias (non-Macedonian)
• Tutored by Aristotle and Leonidas
• Tamed the horse Bucephalus
• Father assassinated in 336 BC
• Life of Alexander by Plutarch
“Untying” the Gordion Knot
• Gordium, Turkey, 333 BC
• Tied by King Midas or his father Gordius
• The prophecy• Alexander solves it
Battle of Granicus, 334 BC
• First major victory over Persians
• Persia ruled by Darius III
• 47,000 (Macedonians and various Greeks) versus 24,000
• Greek mercenaries• Granicus - river near
Troy
Battle of Issus, 333 BC
• Alexander defeats Darius III despite being heavily outnumbered
• Darius III flees• Empire expands to
include Persia
More battles
• Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC, against Darius III again
• Battle of Hydapses, 326 BC, Punjab region of Pakistan, against King Poros, war elephants
• Empire extends to western India
• Hellenistic vs. Hellenic culture
Alexander’s Empire
Superimposed on modern map
Alexander’s Demise
• Got sick and stayed in Babylon, died there in 323 BC
• Divided up empire among the Diadochi (The followers)
• Egypt – The Ptolemies 305-30 BC
• Asia – Seleucids 305-63 BC
• Macedonia – Antigonids, 295-168 BC
Seleucids, Ptolemies, Antigonids
Egypt and Alexandria
• Ptolemies followed the pharoahs, 305-30 BC
• Many Cleopatras• The Library of
Alexandria• Three separate burnings• 30 BC – Roman
conquest
