Though these dynasties were not politically united–since Alexander’s death, they were no longer part of any Greek or Macedonian empire–they did share a great deal in common.
Soon, those fragments of the Alexandrian empire had become three powerful dynasties: the Seleucids of Syria and Persia, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Antigonids of Greece and Macedonia. After Alexander died in 323 B.C., his generals (known as the Diadochoi) divided his conquered lands amongst themselves. (First the Athenians fought with the Persians then the Spartans fought with the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War then the Spartans and the Athenians fought with one another and with the Thebans and the Persians.) All this fighting made it easy for another, previously unexceptional city-state to rise to power: Macedonia, under the assertive rule of King Philip II.Īlexander’s empire was a fragile one, not destined to survive for long. Macedonian ExpansionĪt the end of the classical period, around 360 B.C., the Greek city-states were weak and disorganized from two centuries of warfare. until 31 B.C., when Roman troops conquered the last of the territories that the Macedonian king had once ruled. Historians call this era the “Hellenistic period.” (The word “Hellenistic” comes from the word Hellazein, which means “to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks.”) It lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. That brief but thorough empire-building campaign changed the world: It spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia. By the time he died 13 years later, Alexander had built an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India. In 336 B.C., Alexander the Great became the leader of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia.
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