Alexander the Great

Philip of Macedon
• King of Macedonia, 359-336 BC
• Conquered most of Greece
(through his military, or through
alliances) by the time of his
death
• Assassinated by Pausanias, one
of his bodyguards, for reasons
still not clear.
• Upon his
death, his son
Alexander took
the throne.
Alexander the Great

• Consolidated power by killing off

his rivals
• Defeated Balkan kingdoms north
of Macedonia, then destroyed
Thebes to regain superiority over
Greece (except Sparta)
• In 334 BC he crossed into Anatolia
(Turkey) to conquer Persia.
334 BC: Battle of Granicus:
Alexander defeats the
Persian Army at a river
crossing

332 BC: Battle of Tyre: 333 BC: Battle of Issus:

Alexander captures Tyre, Alexander destroys the
kills off the men, and sells Persian Army and captures
the women and children King Darius’ family
into slavery
332 BC: Egypt welcomes 331 BC: Alexander defeats 326: Alexander defeats an
Alexander as a liberator, a Persian army at Indian army at Hydaspes.
new city is founded Gaugamela. King Darius is
named “Alexandria” assassinated shortly after.
 Alexander returns to Babylon – 324 BC

- Executes disloyal
governors
- Marries his officers to
Persian women
- Sent older Macedonians
back home
- Planned an invasion of
Arabia
- Died in 323 BC, either of
an illness after a night of
drinking, or poison.
After his death, Alexander’s empire is divided between his four main generals – one
Kingdom in Greece, one in Turkey, one in Egypt, and one in Persia. They fight among
themselves for 40 years
Alexander’s Legacy
• One of the world’s greatest generals –
defeated 15 empires and undefeated in
20+ battles – to form the largest empire
in the world.
• Spread Hellenistic (Greek) culture across
Asia and into Africa. Greek architecture,
language, sculpture, and philosophy
flourished from Egypt to India.
• Started multiple cities, including
Alexandria, Egypt (home of the Great
Library and Lighthouse)
• Was a hero and inspiration to the
Romans
Great Library of Alexandria
• Greatest library of the ancient world
• A collection of books, scrolls, etc, of all
the learning the Greeks could find
• May have contained up to 700,000
books
• Built around 260 BC
• Destroyed by war between 275-300 AD
 The Seven Wonders
of the (Ancient) Worl
d
• Greek list of the greatest
structures in their world
• Only one – the Great Pyramid
– still survives
• 5 of the 7 Wonders were built
by Greeks themselves
 1. Great Pyramid of Giza
• Egyptian – a tomb for the pharaoh
• Built in the 2500s BC
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Babylonian – a garden
• Built about 600 BC
• Destroyed before 100 AD
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• Greek religious
temple
• Built about 550
BC
• Destroyed
around 300 AD
4. Statue/Temple of Zeus at Olympia
• Greek religious temple
• Built about 435 BC
• Destroyed around 500 AD
5. Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
• Greek – a tomb for a local king
• Built about 350 BC
• Destroyed around 1400 AD
6. Colossus of Rhodes
• Greek – a victory statue
• Built about 280 BC
• Destroyed around 226 BC
7.Great Lighthouse at
Alexandria
• Between 300-500 feet tall
• Built of solid limestone with a fire at the
top
• Constructed to guide ships past Pharos
Island into Alexandria Harbor
• Built in 280 BC
• Destroyed by earthquake, 1303 AD