Chapter 4

Cards (99)

  • Hellenistic Age
    The years between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, and the death of Cleopatra, the last Greek queen of Egypt, in 30 BC
  • Alexander's successors (diadochi)
    • Perdikkas
    • Eumenes
    • Antipater
    • Krateros
    • Lysimachos
    • Ptolemy
    • Antigonos Monophthalmos
    • Seleukos
    • Demetrios
    • Kassander
  • Decisions made by Alexander's successors
    1. Elect Philip Arridaios as king
    2. Elect Alexander IV as king
    3. Assign territories to each successor
  • Perdikkas as regent
    Tried to hold the empire together for Macedonia
  • Antipater, Krateros, Ptolemy, Antigonos
    Rejected Perdikkas' authority and battled against him
  • Ptolemy diverted Alexander's funeral cortège to Egypt
  • Perdikkas marched to confront Ptolemy in Egypt
    Ptolemy's officers assassinated Perdikkas
  • Antipater died, appointed Polyperchon as regent

    Embittered Kassander who plotted against Polyperchon
  • Olympias arrived with Epirote army

    Took over rule of Macedonia, executed Philip III and Eurydike
  • Kassander defeated Olympias' forces

    Took over rule of Macedonia and most of Greece
  • Antigonos defeated Eumenes
    Took over Eumenes' territories
  • Ptolemy, Kassander, Seleukos, Lysimachos
    Fought against Antigonos and his son Demetrios
  • Demetrios defeated Ptolemy's navy
    Took over Cyprus
  • Antigonos and Demetrios declared themselves joint kings

    Ptolemy, Kassander, Lysimachos, Seleukos also declared themselves kings
  • Lysimachos, Kassander, Seleukos joined forces

    Defeated Antigonos at the Battle of Ipsos
  • Demetrios recovered territories in Greece
    Declared himself king of Macedonia
  • Lysimachos, Seleukos, Epirote king
    Ousted Demetrios from Macedonia
  • Seleukos defeated Lysimachos
    Became king of Alexander's entire empire except Egypt
  • Ptolemy Keraunos
    Had Seleukos murdered as he crossed the Hellespont
  • Lysimachos
    King of part of Alexander's empire, killed in Asia Minor at age 74
  • Seleukos
    King of all of Alexander's empire except Ptolemy's Egypt, occupied Lysimachos' territories of Thrace and Macedonia
  • Ptolemy Keraunos
    Eldest son of Ptolemy I, passed over for succession, later killed Seleukos and took the Macedonian throne but was killed by Gauls a year later
  • The heirs of Seleukos I continued to reign to 65 BC, but their territories gradually shrank due to the rise of the Parthian empire and loss of other areas
  • Ptolemy I
    Ruled Egypt, died peacefully in 283 BC at age 84, picked his son Ptolemy II Philadelphos as heir
  • The Ptolemaic dynasty went through a number of ruling sons and daughters, ending with Cleopatra VII who committed suicide in 30 BC
  • Hellenization begun by Alexander's conquests had a profound influence for 18 centuries, through Byzantine times, affecting the history of Europe
  • Many Greek city-states had grown prominent by the time of Alexander's conquests
  • The successor kingdoms lasted up to 3 centuries, covering a vast area from Macedonia to Egypt and the Persian Gulf
  • New Greek cities were established, and Greek language and culture were widely used
  • Some settlements preserved their own cultures, which were a mixture of Hittite, Babylonian, and Persian heritages
  • Greek arts, medicine, military science, architecture, philosophy, poetry, literature, and religion were widely appreciated
  • Greek became a common language, or lingua franca, among native Middle Eastern peoples
  • Hellenism became so widespread and entrenched that it was never replaced by the Latin culture of the Roman Empire
  • Aristotle was invited by Philip II to tutor Alexander, and established the Peripatetic Lyceum in Athens as a research center
  • The Library and Museum founded in Alexandria by Ptolemy I and expanded by Ptolemy II became the greatest centers of study and learning in the Hellenistic Age
  • The Library of Alexandria may have been partially burned during Caesar's visit, but was not completely destroyed
  • The library and museum at Pergamos, supported by the Attalid rulers, was second only to Alexandria as a center of learning
  • Scholars like Euclid, Archimedes, and Aristarchus made major advances in mathematics, astronomy, and mechanics during the Hellenistic period
  • Twelve sculptured figures at the direction of Attalus I to celebrate his victory over the Gauls
  • An impressive marble copy may be seen at the Capitolino Museum in Rome