To the north of Greece Probably related to Greeks and spoke similar

language Greeks saw them as

“barbarians”

Macedonia

At age 21, Macedonian King Philip II unites

Macedonia under his rule Reorganizes the army to be more professional

and effective Soldiers were paid Phalanx equipped with 18 foot spears

Philip II (lived 382-336 BC)

The Greek city-states were weak from years of

fighting amongst each other (Peloponnesian War)

The Athenian statesman Demosthenes tried to convince the Greeks to unite against Macedonia The Greeks didn’t unite until it was too late

Invades Greece

Athens and Thebes lead a

united Greek army to confront Philip at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC

Although outnumbered, the Macedonians win

Philip’s 18 year old son, Alexander proves himself a capable commander during the battle

Greece will be ruled by foreigners until the 1800’s AD

Battle of Chaeronea

Philip installed garrisons of troops in most

Greek cities He also made alliances with the Greek city-

states He planned to use these Greeks’ armies and

navies in his invasion of Persia

How did he control mountainous Greece?

In 336 BC, Philip is assassinated and

Alexander becomes king at age 20 He quickly consolidated power

Alexander becomes King

In 334 BC he crossed into Asia Minor to

conquer Persia Alexander won battles throughout Asia Minor

and Mesopotamia In fact, Alexander the Great never lost a

battle!

Alexander invades Persia

Siege of Tyre

Alexander in Egypt

Alexander was welcomed as a liberator in Egypt.

They even crowned him pharaoh, a title future Macedonia rulers used in Egypt

Alexander’s Conquests

Alexander died at age 32 in Babylon He left no

legitimate heir. Empire

divided amonghis generals

Alexander’s Successors

Among the most famous of Alexander’s

successors was Ptolemy He set up the Ptolemaic pharaoh dynasty in

Egypt. Among his decedents, and the last Ptolemaic

king in Egypt was Cleopatra VII.

Ptolemy

One of the lasting impacts of Alexander’s

conquests was the spread of Greek culture to Persia, India, and Egypt

This blended culture is called Hellenistic. Greeks moved into the Hellenistic kingdoms

and built cities, further spreading Greek influence.

The Hellenistic kingdoms would continue untl they were conquered by Rome in the 1st century BC (100’s BC)

Hellenistic Culture

One of Alexanria’s

most famous creations was a library that held over 500,000 scrolls

The library was a research institution Many great thinkers

of the time worked there including Archimedes and Euclid

Library at Alexandria