Background

Alexander III of Macedon achieved a great deal at an early age. He was tutored by Aristotle as a teenager. By age 18, he had already ended rebellions and won battles. He was crowned king of Macedon at age 20 and ruled over the Greek peninsula. At 24, he was proclaimed the pharaoh of Egypt. By the time he died at age 32, Alexander had founded 70 cities and towns, destroyed the mighty Persian Empire, and conquered all the lands between Egypt and India. History remembers him as Alexander the Great.

Formation

For centuries, the Greek city-states had clashed with the Persian Empire to their east. Ruled by the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, the Persian Empire was an ancient superpower that stretched from the Nile River in the west to the Indus River in the east. Its wealth and power were as vast as its territory. The Greeks, on the other hand, had always been a divided people, living in separate city-states and constantly competing for power.

Alexander the Great inherited a kingdom from his father, Phillip II of Macedon. Phillip had conquered the divided city-states and united them under Macedonian rule. Alexander united the city-states under a common cause by attacking their old enemy, Persia.

In 12 years (334–323 BCE), Alexander conquered everything from the Mediterranean to India. His empire collapsed soon after his death, but the effects of his conquests lasted for centuries. Hellenistic (ancient Greek) culture spread into local traditions in the lands he had conquered. Several of his generals established their own empires. The Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Persia and Mesopotamia were particularly powerful.

Administration

It’s rare that empires are named after an individual. Historians sometimes call this the “Macedonian Empire,” but don’t be surprised if you hear it called “Alexander’s Empire.” The empire was held together by the personality, legend, and military victories of one man. This was not a good thing. When Alexander’s power and the authority of his government faltered, the foundations of the empire crumbled.

The Persians ruled a large, unified empire with vast networks of roads linking their cities and provinces. Ironically, Alexander’s armies used the Persians’ roads to resupply and communicate with their own forces. Alexander tried to integrate Greek and Persian culture and populations by encouraging his men to marry Persian women.

Alexander was careful to keep the structures of the Persian government in place rather than destroy the empire. Greeks made up a minority in the lands they conquered, and Alexander kept Persian elites in positions of power to help to smooth the transition.

Religion and culture

Alexander hoped to spread Greek culture across the world. He built new cities with Hellenistic architecture and created new educational institutions to spread Greek ideas. Greek became the common language of elite culture and diplomacy in Western Asia.

However, Alexander was also remarkably tolerant of local religions and customs. He supported Persian and Egyptian priests and sponsored the building of temples.

Greeks also integrated the culture and traditions of those they conquered. The effects of Hellenistic religion and culture on local traditions endured for centuries.

Trade

Alexander founded cities that became important intersections of trade networks connecting Asia to the Mediterranean. One such city was Alexandria in Egypt. Goods such as grains, cotton, perfumes, and fruits and vegetables left Egypt for other parts of the empire. From the eastern section of the empire goods such as metals, spices, and animals were traded with the lands that extended to the west.

Alexander created an expansion of trade by turning Persian gold and silver into coins and spending them lavishly. This injection of wealth drove economic progress in the ancient world, according to historian Frank Lee Holt. Alexander’s military “dominated the Near East for years, but his money dominated Eurasia for centuries,” Holt says.

Women in society

Women in the Hellenistic world experienced an increase in their power and influence. However, the valued roles for women were generally still limited to marriage, motherhood, and virtue.

Privileged women were able to participate in local politics as magistrates (government officials) since their wealth meant that they would contribute to financing public works. Non-Greek women seemed to have more freedoms than those who came from more restricted city-states. For example, a Greek woman needed a guardian present when doing official business, while other women, such as Egyptians, did not. Educational opportunities expanded for women during this era, particularly for those of the upper classes.

Decline and fall

The successes of Alexander’s rapid conquests would also be his downfall. His soldiers did not share his desire to continue conquering new lands. The soldiers were also suspicious of Alexander’s love of adopting local customs, questioning if he was forgetting his Macedonian roots. After conquests in India, the soldiers refused to travel any farther and forced Alexander to turn around.

Alexander turned his attention to making his diverse and widespread empire stronger and more stable. Further improvements were cut short in 323 BCE when he died of a sudden illness. His generals and governors began fighting over the empire, splitting into rival factions.

Alexander’s empire was divided into various kingdoms ruled by his generals. They continued to spread Greek culture and religion across Asia long after Alexander’s death.