Western Civilization

was among Alexander’s political contributions to the

Hellenistic world. His vision of empire no doubt

inspired the Romans, who were the ultimate heirs of

Alexander’s legacy.

But Alexander also left a cultural legacy. As a result

of his conquests, Greek language, art, architecture, and

literature spread throughout the Near East. The urban

centers of the Hellenistic Age, many founded by

Alexander and his successors, became springboards for

the diffusion of Greek culture. During his campaigns,

Alexander had established a number of cities and mili-

tary colonies named Alexandria to guard strategic

points and supervise wide areas. Most of the settlers

were Greek mercenaries. It has been estimated that in

the course of his campaigns, Alexander summoned

60,000 to 65,000 additional mercenaries from Greece,

at least 36,000 of whom took up residence in the garri-

sons and new cities. Finally, while the Greeks spread

their culture in the East, they were also inevitably

influenced by Eastern ways. Thus, Alexander’s legacy

became one of the hallmarks of the Hellenistic world:

the clash and fusion of different cultures.

The World of the Hellenistic

Kingdoms

Q FOCUSQUESTIONS: What were the main features of

the political and military organization of the

Hellenistic kingdoms, and how did the new political

systems differ from those of the Greek city-states?

What were the main social developments in the

Hellenistic world?

The united empire that Alexander created by his con-

quests disintegrated after his death. All too soon, Mac-

edonian military leaders were engaged in a struggle for

power. By 300B.C.E., any hope of unity was dead.

Hellenistic Monarchies

Eventually, four Hellenistic kingdoms emerged as the

successors to Alexander (see Map 4.2). In Macedonia,

the struggles for power led to the extermination of

Alexander’s dynasty. Not until 276B.C.E. did Antigonus

Gonatus (an-TIG-oh-nuss guh-NAH-tuss), the grandson

of one of Alexander’s generals, succeed in establishing

the Antigonid (an-TIG-uh-nid) dynasty as rulers of

Macedonia. The Antigonids viewed control of Greece

as essential to their power but did not see outright

conquest as necessary.

Another Hellenistic monarchy was founded by the

general Seleucus (suh-LOO-kuss), who established the

Seleucid (suh-LOO-sid) dynasty of Syria. This was

the largest of the Hellenistic kingdoms and controlled

much of the old Persian Empire from Turkey in the west

to India in the east, although the Seleucids found it

increasingly difficult to maintain control of the eastern

territories. In fact, an Indian ruler named Chandragupta

Maurya (chun-druh-GOOP-tuh MOWR-yuh)(324–301

B.C.E.) created a new Indian state, the Mauryan Empire,

and drove out the Seleucid forces. The Seleucid rulers

maintained relations with the Mauryan Empire, how-

ever. Trade was fostered, especially in such luxuries as

spices and jewels.

A third Hellenistic kingdom came into being by free-

ing itself from the Seleucids. This was the kingdom of

Pergamum (PURR-guh-mum) in western Asia Minor

under the Attalid (AT-uh-lid) dynasty. In 133B.C.E., the

last member of the Attalid dynasty bequeathed his

kingdom to Rome in his will.

The fourth Hellenistic monarchy was Egypt, which

had come under the control of Ptolemy (TAHL-uh-

mee), another Macedonian general. Named governor

of Egypt after Alexander’s death, Ptolemy had estab-

lished himself as king by 305 B.C.E., founding the

Ptolemaic (tahl-uh-MAY-ik) dynasty of pharaohs. Hel-

lenistic Egypt lasted longer than all the other Hellenis-

tic monarchies; it was not until the reign of Cleopatra

VII, who allied herself with the wrong side in the

Roman civil wars (see Chapter 5), that Egypt fell to

the Romans in 30B.C.E.

The Threat from the Celts

The Celts, also known as the Gauls, were a people who

had occupied large areas of Europe north of the Alps

during the early Iron Age (ca. 800–500B.C.E.), especially

the region to the south and west of the Rhine River,

west of the Alps, and north of the Pyrenees (a region

known as Gaul).

At the end of the fifth centuryB.C.E., possibly as the

result of overpopulation, Celtic peoples began to migrate

south and east. One group sacked the city of Rome in

390 B.C.E. (see Chapter 5). After the death of Alexander

the Great, other groups of Celts began to threaten the

Hellenistic world. As one ancient writer reported, Celts

attacked Macedonia early in the third centuryB.C.E.:

“When the defeated Macedonians had fixed themselves

within the walls of their cities, the victorious Brennus

ravaged the fields of the whole of Macedonia with no

one to oppose him.”^2 Brennus also led a group of thirty

The World of the Hellenistic Kingdoms 81

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