If YOU were there ...

Main Ideas You are a soldier in the most powerful army in the world. In just
1. Macedonia conquered eight years, you and your fellow soldiers have conquered an
Greece in the 300s BC.
2. Alexander the Great built an enormous empire. Now your general wants to push farther into
empire that united much of unknown lands in search of greater glory. But you're thousands of
Europe, Asia, and Egypt.
3. The Hellenistic kingdoms miles from home, and you haven't seen your family in years.
formed from Alexander's
empire blended Greek and Do you agree to go on furht • Why or why not?
other cultures.
~=c-.ccc

The Big Idea

Alexander the Great built a BUILDING BACKGROUND The world's most powerful army in
huge empire and helped spread the 300s BC was from Macedonia, a kingdom just north of Greece.
Greek culture into Egypt and The Greeks had long dismissed the Macedonians as unimportant.
Asia.
They thought of the Macedonians as barbarians because they lived
in small villages and spoke a strange form of the Greek language. But
Key Terms and People the Greeks underestimated the Macedonians, barbarians or not.
Philip II, p. 298
phalanx, p. 299
Alexander the Great, p. 300
Hellenistic, p. 301 Macedonia Conquers Greece
In 359 BC Philip II became king of Macedonia. Philip spent
the first year of his rule fighting off invaders who wanted to
take over his kingdom. Once he defeated the invaders,
he was ready to launch invasions of his own.
Philip's main target was Greece. The leaders
of Athens, knowing they were the target of
Philip's powerful army, called for all Greeks
to join together. Few people responded.

lim 6.4.7 Trace the rise of Alexan-

der the Great and the spread of Greek
culture eastward and into Egypt.

.298 CHAPTER 10
 As a result, the armies of Athens and its After conquering Greece, Philip turned
chief ally Thebes were easily defeated by his attention to Persia. He planned to march
the Macedonians. Having witnessed this east and conquer the Persian Empire, but he
defeat, the rest of the Greeks agreed to never made it. He was murdered in 336 BC
make Philip their leader. while celebrating his daughter's wedding.
When Philip died, his throne-and his
Philip's Military Strength plans-passed to his son, Alexander.
Philip defeated the Greeks because he was
a brilliant military leader. He borrowed Summarizing How was
and improved many of the strategies Greek Philip II able to conquer Greece?
armies used in battle. For example, Philip's
soldiers, like the Greeks, fought as a pha-
lanx (FAY-langks). A phalanx was a group
Alexander Builds an Empire
of warriors who stood close together in a When Philip died, the people in the Greek
square. Each soldier held a spear pointed city of Thebes rebelled. They thought that
outward to fight off enemies. As soldiers in the Macedonians would not have a lead-
the front lines were killed, others stepped er strong enough to keep the kingdom
up from behind to fill their spots. together. They were wrong.
Philip improved upon the Greeks' idea.
He gave his soldiers spears that were much Controlling the Greeks
longer than those of his opponents. This Although he was only 20 years old, Philip's
allowed his army to attack first in any son Alexander was as strong a leader as
battle. Philip also sent cavalry and archers his father had been. He immediately went
into battle to support the phalanx. south to end the revolt in Thebes.

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THE GREEK WORLD 299

 Within a year, Alexander had destroyed
Thebes and enslaved the Theban people.
He used Thebes as an example to other
Greeks of what would happen if they
turned against him. Then, confident that
the Greeks would not rebel again, he set
out to build an empire.
Alexander's efforts to build an empire
made him one of the greatest conquerors
in history. These efforts earned him the
name Alexander the Great.

Building a New Empire

Like his father, Alexander was a brilliant
4?&0'·
commander. In 334 BC he attacked the Per- /f"erra
sians, whose army was much larger than /Jea/J

his own. But Alexander's troops were well

trained and ready for battle. They defeated
the Persians time after time.
According to legend, Alexander vis-
ited a town called Gordium in Asia Minor
while he was fighting the Persians. There
he heard an ancient tale about a knot tied

We still use the

by an ancient king. The tale said that who-
ever untied the knot would rule all of Asia.
According to the legend, Alexander pulled
out his sword and cut right through the
knot. Taking this as a good sign, he and his
l
phrase "cutting
the Gordian knot" army set out again.
to mean solving a If you look at the map, you can follow
difficult problem
easily. the route Alexander took on his conquests. Marching Home
After defeating the Persians near the town Still intent on building his empire, Alexan-
of Issus, Alexander went to Egypt, which der led his army through Central Asia. In
was part of the Persian Empire. The Persian 327 BC Alexander crossed the Indus River

~
governor had heard of his skill in battle. He and wanted to push deeper into India. But
surrendered without a fight in 332 BC and his exhausted soldiers refused to go any
crowned Alexander pharaoh. farther. Disappointed, Alexander began
After a short stay in Egypt, Alexander the long march home.
set out again. Near the town of Gaugamela Alexander left India in 325 BC, but he
(gaw-guh-MEE-luh), he defeated the Per- never made it back to Greece. In 323 BC,
sian army for the last time. After the battle, on his way back, Alexander visited the city
the Persian king fled. The king soon died, of Babylon and got sick. He died a few days
killed by one of his nobles. With the king's later at age 33. After he died, Alexander's
death, Alexander became the ruler of what body was taken to Egypt and buried in a
had been the Persian Empire. golden coffin.

300 CHAPTER 10
 1. Movement About how long was the route of Alexander
from Pella to Babylon?
2. Region What bodies of water did Alexander cross?

Spreading Greek Culture Even as he supported the spread of

Alexander's empire was the largest the Greek culture, however, Alexander encour-
world had ever seen. An admirer of Greek aged conquered people to keep their own
culture, he worked to spread Greek influ- customs and traditions. As a result, a new
ence throughout his empire by founding blended culture developed in Alexander's
cities in the lands he conquered. empire. It combined elements of Persian,
Alexander modeled his new cities after Egyptian, Syrian, and other cultures with
the cities of Greece. He named many of Greek ideas. Because this new culture was
them Alexandria, after himself. He built not completely Greek, or Hellenic, histo-
temples and theaters like those in Greece. rians call it Hellenistic, or Greek-like. It
He then encouraged Greek settlers to move wasn't purely Greek, but it was heavily
to the new cities. These settlers spoke Greek, influenced by Greek ideas.
which became common throughout the
empire. In time, Greek art, literature, and 't11H''H'·t;r!"'' Sequencing What steps
science spread into surrounding lands. did Alexander take to create his empire?

THE GREEK WORLD 301

 Hellenistic Kingdoms Unhappy with Hellenistic rule, many
of these people rebelled against their lead-
When Alexander died, he didn't have an
ers. Weakened by years of fighting, the
obvious heir to take over his kingdom,
kingdom slowly broke apart. Finally in the
and no one knew who was in power. With
60s BC the Romans marched in and took
no clear direction, Alexander's generals
over Syria.
fought for power. In the end, three pow-
erful generals divided the empire among Hellenistic Egypt
themselves. One became king of Macedo-
The rulers of Egypt encouraged the growth
nia and Greece, one ruled Syria, and the
of Greek culture. They built the ancient
third claimed Egypt.
world's largest library in the city of Alex-
andria. Also in Alexandria, they built the
Hellenistic Macedonia
As you might expect, the kingdom of Mace-
Museum, a place for scholars and artists ~
donia and Greece was the most Greek of
to meet. Through their efforts, Alexandria I
became a great center of culture and learn-
the three. However, it also had the weakest
ing. In the end, the Egyptian kingdom
government. The Macedonian kings had
lasted longer than the other Hellenistic
to put down many revolts by the Greeks.
kingdoms. However, in 30 BC it too was
Damaged by the revolts, Macedonia
conquered by Rome.
couldn't defend itself. Armies from Rome,
a rising power from the Italian Peninsula, l liif;l•ll~lf'ffiWW Analyzing Why were three
marched in and conquered Macedonia in kingdoms created from Alexander's empire?
the mid-lOOs BC.

Hellenistic Syria I:''SUrlriARY AND PREVIEW Alexander the

Like the kings of Macedonia, the rulers of Great caused major political changes in
Syria faced many challenges. Their king- Greece and the Hellenistic world. In the
~
dom, which included most of the former next section, you will learn about artistic
Persian Empire, was home to many differ- and scientific advances that affected the
ent peoples with many different customs. lives of people in the same areas.

(
Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People lim 6.4.7 Critical Thinking
1. Identify What king conquered Greece 4. Finding the Main Idea f
in the 300s BC? Draw a diagram like the
2. a. Describe What territories did Alexander the one here. Use it to
Great conquer? identify four major
b. Interpret Why did Alexander destroy Thebes? accomplishments of Alexander the Great.
c. Elaborate Why do you think Alexander named
so many cities after himself?
3. a. Recall What three kingdoms were created out 5. Evaluating Alexander Add Alexander the Great
of Alexander's empire after his death? to the table you created earlier. Remember that
b. Explain Why were these kingdoms called although Alexander was a military man, not all of
Hellenistic? his accomplishments were in battle.

302 CHAPTER 10