Why is it that many Greek artifacts were found in the soils of Lebanon ? Why were there Lebanese citizens who were buried in tombs that had Greek carvings ? Was Lebanon a Greek occupation or was it a Hellenic vacation spot ?! When Darius perceived the fierce attack of Alexander, he turned his chariot around and was the first to flee, abandoning all of his soldiers and his property to be taken by Alexander. After Darius' loss to Alexander at Gaugamela, the Persian Empire, which included Lebanon, Iran, Armenia, Syria, Israel, Turkey ... , was no more. The gates of Phoenicia were open to the victorious Greeks. Tired from the Persian oppression, the Phoenician Cities welcomed the Hellenic king where only Tyre resisted but was eventually stormed after a long siege. Phoenicia after Alexander's untimely death came under the rule of Seleucids where monarchy was eradicated and the cities were ruled by high officials bearing Greek names ,so were the Lebanese forced to adopt a Greek lifestyle or was the Cedars Nation willingly accepting this new culture ?
Alexander pursued deliberate Hellenization policies. Whilst it may have been an intentional attempt to spread Greek culture, it is more likely that it was a series of realistic events designed to aid in the rule of his colossal empire. Alexander founded cities across the empire which were intended to be administrative headquarters in the regions and settled by Greeks many of which were veterans from Alexander's campaigns. This policy allowed Alexander to gain control over his new subjects and at the same time spread Greek influence over the empire. Also he attempted to unify the ruling classes by marriage ties where people with positions of power from all classes were used.
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...ybe he preferred the foreign culture over his own ?
It is without a doubt that the Lebanon was a once a under Hellenistic influence and that its citizens adopted the Hellenic lifestyle either by choice or by force; probably both ! This cultural shift is shown in most artifacts that were found in the country. Phoenicia was greatly altered with its intake in Greek culture and the merge of both cultures ended up with an exploding final result. Whether Alexander meant for the Greek culture to be spread or simply just wanted to control his new subjects , he helped shape the foundations of the Phoenician country of Lebanon. Knowing that and knowing Lebanon today, one can't help but ask, if this mixing of cultures had not occurred, would Lebanon today be the same, a better, much more advanced version of the Cedars Nation or would things have gone off to a terrible path ?!
Alexander adopted Persian governing practices, but he had little use for Persian culture. According to his Greek biographer Plutarch, he considered himself "a governor from God and a reconciler of the world." He hoped that Greek culture would, through his actions, permeate all of Asia, inspiring its peoples to pursue virtue, excellence, and truth. This heroic idealism blended with practicality in his plan to develop the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus rivers as commercial waterways linking all of Asia These undertakings promised to be long and difficult, however, and Alexander was an impatient man. His soldiers' unwillingness to proceed past the Indus was a great disappointment to him, for which he compensated by throwing his own festivals and celebrations. Alexander showed early leadership qualities. When King Phillip invaded Thrace, he left Alexander in charge of Macedonia at the age of 16. During his father's absence, one of the Thracian tribes, the Maedi, rebelled. Alexander was able to mobilize an army and put down the rebellion. In 336 B.C, Alexander's father was assassinated, putting Alexander on the throne at the age of 20. Shortly after this, Alexander left Macedonia with his armies to put down rebellions in the countries of Illyria, Thrace and Greece, all of which had previously been conquered by King Phillip. Alexander then moved his armies into Asia Minor and began to conquer the peoples there. Among the countries conquered by Alexander were Syria, Phoenicia and
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
Alexander believed in a strong national government and he feared a weak government that the people could overthrow. If we lived in Syria or any other war-torn country right now, it would be the complete opposite because Alexander’s views are different from theirs. Though he had changed his views a few times, it seems that his final opinion was one that he truly believed in. In our country now, his
In this essay I aim to examine the roots of Hasmonean rule and observe the relationship between the regime and `Hellenism' (mainly in the political context), and ascertain to what extent Hellenism became an integrated part of the Hasmonean dynasty's mode of governing its state. It is noteworthy to point out that many scholars explain the process of Hellenization as a long and drawn out one, as Lester Grabbe concisely states; "Hellenization was a centuries-long process of synthesis and diversification. It was not the simple imposition of Greek culture on the natives; indeed, the Greeks on the whole did not impose their culture but rather jealously preserved their `superior' political and cultural position in the Near Eastern society." Another aspect to bear in mind is that Greek coinage was used throughout the land of Palestine during the Persian period and Greek pottery found in the area has been dated as early as the fourteenth century B.C.E. So to suggest that the Greeks and their culture were totally alien to the peoples of Palestine until the arrival of Alexander (and subsequently the Ptolemies and Seleucids) would be to ignore this evidence. This being the case, why was it not until Antiochus IV of the Seleucids that open revolt (and the beginning of the Maccabee's rise to power) in opposition to `Hellenism' occurred? I will attempt to answer this complex question in the course of this essay.
When reading the two excerpts from Thucydides it is clear that his book, The History of the Peloponnesian War, was written to memorialize Athenian history. Although it is considered to be the first textbook it was still written by an Athenian so analysis of the excerpts are still required. But while analyzing the two excerpts will provide information about the reliability of the document, it will also provide insight to answer the question “What is the author trying to say about his native city of Athens?”
Bury, J. B.; Russell Meiggs (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was the son of Philip Macedonia. Alexander the Great was a big admirer of Greek culture during his time. During Alexander the Great time in history he spread the Greek culture through the Middle East and North Africa. Alexander the Great past away at an early age and after his death the Greeks took over the Romans.
This created a Hellenistic which means Greek-like world. Alexander we must remember was a student of Aristotle; Aristotle being a student of Plato, would have helped spread philosophy into Egypt through his conquests. Alexander marched into Egypt unopposed. In fact, he was welcomed as a liberator (Cole & Symes p.124). Did they embrace Alexander so openly because they wanted to embrace his beliefs? They Egyptians were very involved in what would become of their afterlives. They worked hard to please their gods and wanted to live how they felt they were supposed to as to please Amun-Ra, the Egyptian sun
The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Hellenism immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 B.C., the influence of Greek civilization continued to expand over the Mediterranean world and W Asia. The wars of the Diadochi marked, it is true, the breakup of Alexander's brief empire, but the establishment of Macedonian dynasties in Egypt, Syria, and Persia (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae) helped to mold the world of that day into a wider unity of trade and learning.
The Greek’s success made it clear that there was a wide gap between their culture and the culture of those who are not Greeks. Herodotus, a Greek historian who was the first to write an account of the Persian Wars, thought that the Greeks won and excelled because they were free men, while the Persians were subjects of an autocracy. (Frankforter & Spellman, 92). After the war, Athens went through a Golden Age. Athenian culture is significant to our history, they had a great impact on our world. We get a lot from Athens’ culture, from architecture, philosophy, literature, science, Olympic Games, to even the word music its self. These Greeks founded a culture we still identify with. They also introduced use to democracy, along with our first dedicated history and vocabulary for politics. (“Ancient Greek…”) However, we would not have experienced the effects of the Greek culture, if the Greeks lost the Persian
Alexander believed he was a divine mediator for the world. In other words, he believed he was chosen by god to solely lead the world. Thus, Arrian wanted to emphasize Alexander's arrogance because he believed that he was god-like and should rule over everyone. Furthermore, after Alexander’s death, he still had extravagant plans for his empire. Alexanders wanted ridiculous projects to be completed. He wanted to build one thousand war ships to fight the Carthaginians and other African nations, and create cities and populate them with his people in Europe and Asia to expand his empire. In Diodorus’ Alexander’s Last Plans, He explains Alexander’s final wishes from a realistic standpoint. Diodorus writes, “When theses plans had been read, the Macedonians, although they applauded the name of Alexander, nevertheless saw that the projects were extravagant and decided to carry out none of those that had been mentioned.” Diodorus emphasized that Alexander believed his people should continue to follow him and his beliefs long after his death. The projects in Alexander's will spoke about were time consuming, and extravagant. Furthermore, many people did not share Alexanders beliefs of world
The Ancient Land of Iraq From the ancient land of Iraq emerged complex irrigation systems and
However, he was no ordinary king. Alexander gained the love of his people by fighting alongside them, and even leading the charge, in the many battles that occurred as his army went from city to city conquering all of the land imaginable from Macedonia to eastern India. Because of Alexander’s bravery and charisma, his people viewed him as a god. His conquests led to the spread of Hellenistic culture
Spread of the Koine Greek language was rapid and provided a means of communication and power for indigenous peoples who learned the language. The New Testament of the Bible was also written in Koine Greek. Alexander brought Greek culture to the world in a way that was not achieved during the Hellenic era. The idea of the universal culture of the Hellenistic era similarly influenced the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire also assimilated conquered peoples into the empire, and attempted to establish Roman influence in conquered lands. Hellenic Greece was also valuable in the amount of philosophical ideas, art, and culture. However, in the Hellenistic era, the spread of Greek influence was important and led to the greatest impact on the future. Without the spread of Greek influence the ideas of Cleisthenes, Aristotle, Alexander, and of Greek scientists would have remained in Athens as well as the Grecian peninsula. Also, Alexander revived the declining progress in Athens and all of Greece due to war and internal conflict, and united Greece, for the most part, against a common foe, the Persians. The impact of the Hellenic age would not have been realized without the assistance from Alexander’s
He had this idea of uniting the word. This idea motivated him to expand his kingdom, and fight against the Persian empire other kingdoms. He didn’t have a plan where he wants to stop the expansion,so he keeps going until his soldiers refuse to fight, because they were far from their motherland (Williamson Alexander the great). This time of the period Alexand builds houses, theaters and official building that promote Greeks culture throughout Asia, Europe and North Africa. In all Alexander 's generals the top leader and office all members were Macedon. If someone wishes to in these top officials, he needs to learn Greece language. That was the shows his loyal at the time. However Alexander didn’t had a chance to led his empire. He died at age of 33 from his war wounds and disease. Shortly after his death, there were no one fit to be a king in his family. As result Macedon generals start to fight to lead this huge empire as a whole. At the end, Generals like Antigonus Gonatas, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Attalus and Aetolian divide the empire and they name themselves asking the place, where they were generals. This was known as successor kingdoms (Williamson Alexander the great). This shows the achievement of culture and the failure of political because Alexander did get a chance to lead the empire after all the hard work he have done. The successor kingdoms were war each other to expand their empire even though their culture were