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Alexander the Great and the Situation ... the Great_ Crash Course World History #8.mp4Throughout the following questions, you will learn about a man who became known as Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great created the Macedonian Empire in the late 300s BCE.
Before it was an empire, Macedonia was a kingdom in southern Europe. Macedonia bordered ancient Greece and was located along the Aegean (ah-GEE-an) Sea.
In the 300s BCE, one of Macedonia's neighbors was Greece. Ancient Greece was made up of many city-states. Each city-state consisted of a city and its surrounding land, and each had its own government. Read the passage about relations between Macedonia and the Greek city-states.
Greek land was not very good for farming, so some Greek city-states invaded areas of Macedonia that were good for growing crops. Alexander the Great's father, Philip II, was a prince in Macedonia, and when he was young, he fought against the Greeks who had invaded. During a battle, Philip was captured by Greek soldiers and held hostage for three years. Once Philip II was freed, he returned to Macedonia and eventually became king. As king, Philip II wanted to stop Greece from taking away valuable Macedonian farmland. Philip II and his army were able to push the Greeks out and reclaim Macedonian territory.
Years later, when Alexander was a young man, his father began looking to expand the Macedonian kingdom. Philip II and Alexander believed that if they conquered Greece, they would have access to more soldiers and money to help Macedonia become an empire. An empire is a group of states or countries controlled by one ruler.
Was Alexander destined to rule an empire?
Some people believe in destiny, meaning a hidden power that controls what will happen in the future. These people believe that everyone is destined, or intended, to fulfill a certain purpose in life. According to legend, Philip II told Alexander that Macedonia was too small for him. He believed that Alexander was destined to build a great empire. Philip II may have been right! The empire that Alexander created was the largest empire of the ancient world.
At first, Philip II and his 18-year-old son Alexander wanted to avoid a war with Greece. So, Philip II tried to convince Greek rulers to allow Macedonia to rule over Greece. Some leaders thought Philip II would bring wealth and glory to Greece. But not everyone in Greece thought the city-states should be united under a non-Greek ruler.
Read the quotations from two Greek speakers, Isocrates (eye-SOCK-ruh-teez) and Demosthenes (dee-MAHS-thuh-neez).
It wasn't that Philip II was a bad ruler, he just wasn't Greek!
Many ancient Greeks believed that Greeks were naturally better than non-Greeks and disliked foreigners. To the Greeks, anyone who didn't speak the Greek language was a "barbarian." Philip II and the Macedonians were included in this category, which made many Greeks suspicious of their leadership.
Why were non-Greeks called "barbarians"?
The ancient Greeks thought that foreign languages sounded like "bar bar bar bar." That's where the word "barbarian" comes from!
The famous Greek philosophers Plato (left) and Aristotle (right) thought that Greeks were better than non-Greeks.
Some Greek city-states decided to follow Demosthenes's suggestion and go to war with Macedonia. By this point, Alexander had become an army general. After hearing that a group of Greek city-states was going to attack Macedonia, Philip II and Alexander prepared their army for battle.
King Philip's new strategy
Philip II is famous for the military strategies he used in battle. For example, he would order foot soldiers to use a phalanx (FAY-lanks) formation, where they lined up tightly with their shields up and kept the enemy's attention. Then, Philip had his cavalry, or soldiers on horseback, launch surprise attacks from the sides. Military academies today still study some of Philip II's battle plans!
New weapons gave Macedonia an advantage
In addition to using creative military strategies, Philip II also introduced new weaponry to the Macedonian army. Some of Philip II's soldiers wore gastraphetes, or belly-shooters, which were like crossbows that could shoot arrows long distances. Philip II also used catapults and battering rams in battle. These weapons were more advanced than the weapons many other armies were using at the time
Only two years after Philip II united Greek city-states in the League of Corinth, he was assassinated, or murdered. Historians are not sure why he was killed, although many people believe it had something to do with his first wife, Olympias, who was Alexander's mother. Read the text from one ancient historian about Philip II's assassination.
Pausanias, Philip II's bodyguard, had been treated unfairly by Philip II's relatives. Philip II refused to do anything, so Pausanias killed him. Most of the blame for the murder fell on Olympias for encouraging Pausanias in his anger and even urging him to get his revenge. But some of the blame was on Alexander, too. Some people said that Pausanias complained to Alexander, who told Pausanias to kill Philip II and his relatives.
Adapted from Plutarch, Parallel Lives
A murder mystery: Why would Olympias want her husband dead?
Many Macedonian citizens did not like Olympias because she wasn't Macedonian. So, Philip II married a second woman, who was Macedonian, to please his kingdom. Philip II's new wife was named Cleopatra, and he had a son with her. Some people believe that Olympias feared Philip's new son might replace Alexander as next in line to be king. Do you think these circumstances could have pushed Olympias to plot her husband's murder?
Did Olympias and Alexander plot Philip II's murder together?
Alexander had reason to worry about his father's new son. The Macedonians preferred their rulers to have pure Macedonian blood. So, they might want Cleopatra's son to rule instead of Alexander. Soon after Philip II was assassinated, Cleopatra and her baby were also mysteriously murdered! Do you think Alexander would have killed them to become king?
After Philip II died, it wasn't clear whether Alexander would be able to take his father's place as king. Alexander was only 20 years old, and in Macedonia, potential kings had to prove they were able to handle the job before the Macedonian people would accept them.
oo young to rule?
Alexander became king of Macedonia when he was just 20 years old! However, he is not the youngest person to have ever become a leader. Read about these other young rulers below. Do you think there should be a minimum age to rule?
Around 1314 BCE, Tutankhamun became Pharaoh of Egypt when he was around 9 years old!
In 1542, Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland at 6 days old! At 16, she also became Queen of France.
The Shunzhi Emperor was the third emperor of China's Qing Dynasty and came to power when he was 5 years old, in 1643.
He wasn't younger than Alexander, but the youngest President of the U.S. was Theodore Roosevelt, in 1901. He was 42 years old.
Once Alexander became king of Macedonia, he wanted to start building an empire. In order to conquer new places, Alexander needed more soldiers than he could find in Macedonia. To get more soldiers, Alexander went to the League of Corinth, the alliance of Greek city-states that was established after Philip II and Alexander conquered Greece. Even though Alexander had become king of Macedonia, he was not yet the leader of the League of Corinth.
Whom did Alexander conquer first?
Alexander set out for Asia with his soldiers to conquer the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Not only was the Persian Empire the strongest and wealthiest empire at the time, it also had been trying to conquer Greece. Alexander knew that the League of Corinth would want to help Alexander if it meant the end of the Persians.
When Alexander started conquering new territories to build an empire, he relied on the education he had received growing up. Despite being Macedonian, Alexander was educated in the Greek city-state of Athens under the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle (air-iss-TOT-ull). Alexander's Greek education influenced his actions as king and emperor of Macedonia.
How did Philip II get Aristotle to tutor Alexander?
Aristotle was the most famous philosopher in Greece at the time of Philip II and Alexander. Because Aristotle was so popular, and already tutoring many students, it was difficult to become one of his students. But Philip II wanted his son to learn from the best! So, Philip II and Aristotle made an agreement. Aristotle agreed to teach Alexander, and Philip II agreed to free the people he had enslaved in Aristotle's hometown.
As Alexander conquered more and more territory, he became more and more famous. There are many legends and myths about Alexander's life. These myths often included details that were not true. But, myths can help historians understand how people in the past might have viewed Alexander.
Was the myth about Bucephalus true?
We don't know if Alexander was the only one who could tame Bucephalus. However, we do know that Bucephalus was the name of Alexander's horse! Alexander rode Bucephalus into every battle until Bucephalus died in 326 BCE. Alexander honored his horse by renaming a city he conquered Bucephala. The ancient city of Bucephala is located in present-day Pakistan.
In just 11 years, Alexander created the largest empire of the ancient world. The Macedonian Empire spread to three continents and covered over two million square miles! The map below shows some important events that happened as Alexander built the Macedonian Empire.
Today, Alexander is known as Alexander the Great. But people who lived in the Macedonian Empire viewed Alexander in different ways, based on his actions in their lands. Some people saw Alexander as a conqueror, or someone that defeats a group of people. Other people saw Alexander as a liberator, or someone that frees people from a cruel ruler and shows them mercy.
By 331 BCE, the Macedonian Empire included people in Macedonia, Greece, Egypt, and parts of Asia. But not everyone accepted Alexander the Great as their new ruler. So, Alexander took several actions in order to maintain control over his new territories.
Combining religions
When cultures in the ancient world interacted with each other, their religions often began to change. Sometimes the names of their gods changed, or the gods became more like gods in other religions. Zeus Ammon, for example, was the combination of the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian god Ammon.
In art, images of these new gods combined physical features from both previous gods.
In 323 BCE, Alexander suddenly got sick and died at the age of 32. Without written records from people who saw what happened, it has been difficult to determine Alexander's cause of death.
What happened to Alexander the Great's empire after he died?
Alexander didn't leave instructions about who should be in charge of the Macedonian Empire when he died! His commanders were left with only his final words, "to the best." So, Alexander's generals, each thinking himself the best, fought each other for control of the Macedonian Empire. Eventually, three of Alexander's men took control of parts of the former empire. These men were known as the Diadochi, or successors.
In 306 BCE, Antigonus became king of Macedonia and controlled the Greek city-states. He established the Antigonid dynasty that lasted until 168 BCE.
In 323 BCE, Ptolemy seized Egypt and took the title of pharaoh. He established the Ptolemaic dynasty that lasted until 30 BCE.
In 312 BCE, Seleucus took most of the territory of the old Persian Empire. He ruled this area, known as the Seleucid kingdom, which lasted until 63 BCE.
Alexander died when he was still a young man. But his actions brought about big changes for people in and around his empire. For example, the Macedonian Empire covered parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The empire brought together people from these regions, and they shared their cultural traditions and beliefs with each other. The culture that emerged is called Hellenistic culture. Hellenistic culture describes the culture that resulted from the blending of Greek culture with other cultures.
Where does the word Hellenistic come from?
The term Hellenistic comes from Hellas, which is the Greek word for "Greece." But Hellenistic culture doesn't just refer to the spread of Greek culture. As people in and around the Macedonian Empire interacted, they shared their cultural beliefs and traditions and their cultures often merged together.
What happened to Hellenistic culture after the fall of the Macedonian Empire?
Hellenistic culture continued to spread even after the Macedonian Empire broke apart. Throughout the Roman Empire, Romans continued to make art influenced by Hellenistic culture for centuries.
Alexander made Greek the official language in his empire. The form of Greek that he spread is known as Koine (koy-NAY), which means "common." A commonly spoken language helped to simplify trade, education, and daily communication.
Alexander founded many new cities in his empire and named some of them after himself. For example, he founded Alexandria in Egypt in 331 BCE. By 100 BCE, Alexandria was the largest city in the Mediterranean world. Alexandria became a center of trade and the spread of new ideas, partly because of the way Alexander designed the city.
The following feature of the city of Alexandria helped increase trade:
The first lighthouse in the world was engineered in Alexandria. It had a fire at the top to direct merchant ships carrying goods to Alexandria's port. The lighthouse made it easier for ships carrying trading goods to find Alexandria's port. So, more merchant ships could travel to Alexandria to trade.
The following features of the city of Alexandria helped spread ideas:
Alexandria's library had more than 50,000 texts. Scholars traveled hundreds of miles to visit the library. When the scholars who traveled to Alexandria returned home, they shared the ideas they read about in Alexandria's library.
The Museum in Alexandria was a place to do research. Scientists traveled there to study, perform experiments, and make discoveries, such as learning the earth is round. People came to Alexandria to do research and share knowledge with other scholars.
The following feature of the city of Alexandria helped increase trade and helped spread ideas:
Koine Greek was the official language in Alexandria, which made communication easier for merchants and scholars. Because merchants were able to talk to each other in Koine Greek, it was easier for them to trade with each other. Scholars that spoke Koine Greek were able to discuss their ideas and discoveries with each other, which also helped spread ideas.
Ever since Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, people have called him Alexander the Great.
But people have also disagreed over whether or not Alexander should be remembered as "great."
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