Download Macedonia and Philip II

Macedonia

 To the north of Greece
 Probably related to Greeks and spoke similar
language
 Greeks saw them as
“barbarians”
Philip II (lived 382-336 BC)

 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
Invades Greece

 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
Battle of Chaeronea

 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
How did he control mountainous
Greece?

 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
Alexander becomes King

 In 336 BC, Philip is assassinated and Alexander
becomes king at age 20
 He quickly consolidated power
Alexander invades Persia

 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!
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’s Successors

 Alexander died at age 32 in Babylon
 He left no
legitimate heir.
 Empire
divided among
his generals
Ptolemy

 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.
Hellenistic Culture

 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)
Library at Alexandria

 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