Alexander the
Great
Persians and Greeks
 Strained
relationship for
past hundred years.
 Greeks and Macedonians
hate Persians for fear of
conquest.
 Culminated in Persian War
(Athens).
 Memories of war drive
hatred.
Phillip II of Macedon
Three
goals
1. Build a strong army
2. Unify Greek City States
3. Defeat Persia
Macedon
Phillip II: Outcomes
 Phillip
is successful at building a
strong army.
 Phillip is successful at unifying
Greece.
 Just when he is getting ready to
invade Persia, he is murdered.
Wife
Olympias
Persian
Assassin
Macedonian Empire
Alexander - the Perfect Blend
 Appealed
to
Soldiers
 Served in
fathers army
 Great leader
 Charismatic
 Brave
 Proven
Winner
 Appealed
to
Aristocracy
Well Educated
(Aristotle)
Good
Bloodlines
Brilliant Orator
Education of Alexander
 Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Alexander
Phillip bought the best education
money could buy.
Instilled Alexander with the wisdom
of Athens, later he will use
knowledge to aid in conquering
others.
Alexander Becomes King
 Following
death of Phillip and with
the help of his mother he
becomes King of Macedon.
 Wants to fulfill fathers legacy and
conquer Persians.
 Leads Army into Asia Minor in 334
BCE
Conquests & Battles
334 BCE - Battle of Granicus (Asia Minor)
333 BCE -Battle of Issus (Syria)
Tyre, Gordium (Gordian Knot)
Egypt:
Establishes Alexandria
Declared Pharaoh
Conquest Cont.
 331
Battle of Gaugamela
Defeats Darius’ army, Darius escapes
but is later killed by one of his own
generals.
Alexander Declares himself king of
Persian Empire and declares Babylon
the Capital of his new empire.
To Indus and Beyond…..
Conquered the River
Valleys?
Egypt
and Nile in 332
Tigris/Euphrates in 331
Indus in 326

Troops tire of war and want to head back home
before China and the Yellow river are
Alexander’s….. He reluctantly heads back
towards home.
Death, Dying, and Divide
Alexander moves his troops across
3000 miles back towards Babylon…
 When they reach the city a
banquet is thrown in his honor.
 He grows ill that evening and is
dead by morning at the age of 33.
 With no sons his empire will be
divided amongst his top generals.

A Divided Empire
 Without
Al the strong empire
falls apart, literally.
 Ptolemy
 Selcus
….. Egypt
….. Modern Middle East
 Antigonus
Asia Minor
….. Greece and

Three of Alexander’s generals divided his empire.

Cassander
ruled
Macedonia
and Greece.

Another, Ptolemy, took control
of Egypt.

The Third,
Seleucus,became ruler of
the lands that used to be
in the Persian Empire.
Alexander’s Empire was not long lasting. Yet it had important effects.
After Alexander, the people of Greece and Persia and all the lands
between mixed together and shared ideas and culture.