A.K.A Alexander III (356-323 B.C.E.)
Alexander came to the throne in 336 B.C.E. after the assassination of his father (King Philip of Macedonia); Alexander was 20 years old. During his conquests, he was extremely benevolent toward cooperative states, but was ruthless toward those who rebelled, executing the men and selling women and children into slavery.
Alexander was a student of Aristotle.
Alexander's Invasion of the Persian Empire (334 B.C.E.)
- Until this time, the Persian Empire was the biggest empire to exist
- Alexander always led his men into battle, putting himself in the most desperate place of the battle
- After three main battles, during which Alexander won decisive victories, he led his troops from city to city, demanding submission
- The Persian Emporer Darius was assassinated by his own people; Alexander captured his son and queen, but was chivalrous toward them
- When Alexander conquered Egypt, he said that he discovered he was a god
Alexander's Death
- He conquered all of the Persian Empire, all the way to the Indus Valley, and desired to keep going until the "end of the world."
- His men, however, mutinied after 70 days of Monsoon rains. (spring of 326 B.C.E)
- Alexander died in Mesopotamia of a fever (323 B.C.E.)
The Significance of his Conquest
- Stimulated the economy
- Spread Greek culture
- Fostered a more universalist outlook than others of his time
-- universalism: we are all members of the same human family
^Alexander promoted this idea by allowing Persians to join his government and army (Aristotle's advice was to make them slaves)
After Alexander's Death
- His followers vied for power and failed to maintain control of his empire
- Within kingdoms, there were prominent cities, the most prominent of which was Alexandria, Egypt
-- political, economic, cultural center
-- center of learning
-- museum/library which was later burned down and possessed some manuscripts of which there were no other copies