Age of Alexander Key Terms

Achaemenid

Imperial Persian dynasty (c. 550-330 BCE) that controlled Asia Minor to India; its satrapal system, roads, and wealth formed the main target of Alexander's campaign and the framework he took over.

Achaian League

Hellenistic federal league of cities in the northern Peloponnese; a major military and political counterweight to Macedon and later a key player in the struggle between Greek autonomy and Roman expansion.

Achilles

Mythic Greek hero of the Iliad; Alexander's personal role model whose cult at Troy symbolized Alexander's self-presentation as a new epic conqueror.

Aigeai (Aigai/Vergina)

Old royal capital of Macedonia and burial place of the kings (including Philip II); a political and ceremonial center that anchored Macedonian royal legitimacy.

Aigio

City on the northern Peloponnese that served as a key meeting place for the Achaian League's assembly, making it important in the diplomacy and strategy of Hellenistic Greece.

Aitolian League

Powerful federal league in central Greece; controlled rugged, strategically placed territory and often used light-armed troops, making it a serious military competitor to Macedon and other Hellenistic states.

Alexander I the Philhellene

Early Macedonian king (r. c. 498-454 BCE) who navigated between Persia and the Greek poleis; called 'Philhellene' for promoting Greek culture and claiming Greek identity, a precursor to later Macedonian claims to lead the Greek world.

Antigonus Gonatas

Antigonid king of Macedon (3rd c. BCE) who restored Macedonian power after chaos and Celtic invasions; secured control of key coastal and inland strongpoints, stabilizing the kingdom that descended from Alexander's realm.

Antigonus Monophthalmos

'One-eyed' general of Alexander who became ruler of much of Asia; his near-reunification of Alexander's empire and defeat at Ipsus shaped the permanent division into separate Hellenistic kingdoms.

Antiochus III the Great

Seleucid king (r. 223-187 BCE) who campaigned from Asia Minor to the eastern satrapies trying to restore the old Seleucid/Alexandrian empire; his eventual defeat by Rome signaled the limits of Hellenistic monarchic power.

Antipatros (Antipater)

Senior general and regent left in charge of Macedon and Greece while Alexander campaigned in Asia; his suppression of the Lamian War kept Macedonian control over the Greek mainland after Alexander's death.

Argyraspides - Silver Shields

Elite veteran Macedonian infantry, originally from Alexander's army; famous for discipline and battlefield effectiveness, they later became kingmakers in the Diadoch wars by turning against their commanders.

Aristotle

Philosopher from Stagira who tutored Alexander; provided him with an education in ethics, politics, geography, and zoology, shaping Alexander's curiosity about the wider world he later conquered.

Arsakes I

Founder of the Parthian dynasty in the mid-3rd c. BCE; seized territory from the Seleucids in northeastern Iran, beginning the rise of a new eastern empire in former Alexandrian space.

Athenian Standard

Weight and coinage standard based on the Athenian silver drachma/tetradrachm; Alexander and the Hellenistic kings widely adopted it, facilitating trade, military pay, and fiscal control across their empires.

Babylon

Ancient Mesopotamian capital taken peacefully by Alexander after Gaugamela; became a major administrative base and the place of Alexander's death in 323 BCE, symbolizing the shift of Greek power into the Near East.

Basileos

Greek word for 'king'; after Alexander it became a formal royal title for Hellenistic monarchs, marking a shift from city-state leadership to territorial kingship.

Battle of Ipsus

Decisive battle in 301 BCE in Phrygia where a coalition of Diadochi defeated and killed Antigonus Monophthalmos; it fixed the rough outlines of the major Hellenistic kingdoms on Alexander's former territory.

Bessos

Bactrian satrap who captured and killed Darius III and proclaimed himself king as 'Artaxerxes V'; his pursuit and brutal execution by Alexander legitimized Alexander as avenger of Persia's lawful king.

Bodyguards/Somatophylakes (Σωματοφύλακες)

Macedonian royal bodyguards and close companions to the king; militarily elite officers and politically crucial figures in conspiracies and succession struggles after Alexander's death.

Boiotian League

Federal league of cities in Boeotia, usually dominated by Thebes; its armies opposed Macedon at Chaironeia and Thebes' later destruction removed a major rival to Macedonian hegemony.

Cassander

Son of Antipater who seized control of Macedon and Greece; eliminated Alexander's direct heirs (Alexander IV and Rhoxane) and founded cities like Thessalonike, shaping the post-Alexandrian political map.

Chaironeia (Chaeronea)

Battle in 338 BCE where Philip II and the young Alexander defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes; established Macedonian military dominance over mainland Greece.

Chandragupta Maurya

Founder of the Mauryan Empire in India; made a treaty with Seleucus I exchanging territory for war elephants, showing how Alexandrian conquests in the east were absorbed into new Indian imperial structures.

Cilicia

Strategic coastal region of southeastern Anatolia containing the narrow plains and passes that funneled Persian and Macedonian armies; site of the battle of Issus and a key gateway into Syria.

Classical Period

Roughly 480-323 BCE; age of independent Greek poleis, the Persian Wars, and the Peloponnesian War, ending with Alexander's death and giving way to the Hellenistic world his conquests created.

Corinth

Major Greek city controlling the land route between central and southern Greece; Philip II used Corinth as the meeting place of the Hellenic League, making it a pivot of Macedonian control and anti-Persian strategy.

Ctesiphon

Later Parthian capital on the Tigris near Seleucia; symbol of the Parthians' control over Mesopotamia, territory once ruled by the Seleucids and ultimately stemming from Alexander's conquests.

Cyrus II the Great

Founder of the Achaemenid Empire; his conquests created the multi-ethnic imperial structure that Alexander later dismantled and reappropriated.

Darius I

Great Achaemenid king (r. 522-486 BCE) who organized the empire into satrapies and built royal roads; his administrative framework persisted into Alexander's era and shaped the geography of conquest.

Darius III

Last Achaemenid king; defeated by Alexander at Issus and Gaugamela and later killed by Bessos; his failure opened the entire Persian imperial space to Macedonian control.

Demetrios Poliorketes ('The Besieger')

Son of Antigonus Monophthalmos and famed for innovative siege and naval warfare; later king of Macedon, he embodies the militarized competition among Hellenistic monarchs to dominate Greece and the Aegean.

Drachma

Standard silver coin in the Greek world; under Alexander and his successors, massive issues of drachmas and tetradrachms financed campaigns and knit together a monetized imperial economy.

Eumenes

Greek secretary-turned-general under Alexander and the Diadochi; used clever strategy and the elite Argyraspides to challenge Macedonian nobles, showing how 'outsiders' could wield power in the post-Alexandrian wars.

Eurydike

Wife of Philip III Arrhidaeus; attempted to assert her and her husband's authority against regents like Polyperchon and Olympias, playing a key role in the early succession crises.

Gaugamela

331 BCE battle in northern Mesopotamia where Alexander decisively defeated Darius III on open terrain; effectively destroyed Persian imperial resistance and handed Alexander control of the empire's core regions.

Gaza

Fortified city on the route between Syria and Egypt; its siege and capture by Alexander secured his land corridor into Egypt and eliminated a key Persian stronghold on the Levantine coast.

Gedrosia

Harsh desert region along the Makran coast (modern Iran/Pakistan) that Alexander chose to cross on his return from India; the devastating losses highlight the limits of his logistical planning and the extreme geography of empire.

Gordion Knot

Legendary knot at Gordion associated with a prophecy that whoever loosed it would rule Asia; Alexander's dramatic cutting of the knot symbolized his claim to Asian kingship and his willingness to use bold shortcuts.

Granicus

River in northwestern Asia Minor where Alexander won his first major victory over Persian satrapal forces (334 BCE); opened up western Anatolia and demonstrated the effectiveness of the Macedonian combined-arms army.

Halikarnassos

Heavily fortified Persian coastal city in Caria; Alexander's siege showed both the limits of his naval strength and the difficulties of taking walled harbors that could still be supplied by sea.

Hellenic League (League of Corinth)

Federation of Greek states formed by Philip II and continued by Alexander to legitimize war against Persia; gave Alexander a formal command over Greek contingents while masking Macedonian domination.

Hellenistic Period

Era from Alexander's death (323 BCE) to the Roman conquest of the last major kingdoms (often 31/30 BCE); characterized by Greek-speaking monarchies ruling over vast, ethnically mixed territories and by new urban and military geographies.

Hephaistion

Alexander's closest companion and high-ranking general; frequently commanded cavalry and logistics. His death in Babylon deeply affected Alexander and led to large-scale funerary displays that showcased royal resources.

Herakles

Mythic hero claimed as ancestor by the Argead dynasty; later Alexander's illegitimate son, Heracles of Macedon, was briefly considered as a successor, showing how heroic imagery and genealogy shaped royal legitimacy.

Hyphasis River

Beas River in India, the eastern limit of Alexander's advance; here the army mutinied and forced a turn back, marking a geographical and psychological boundary of Macedonian expansion.

Issus

Battle in 333 BCE in Cilicia where Alexander defeated Darius III in a narrow coastal plain; the terrain neutralized Persian numerical advantage and gave Alexander prestige as the conqueror of the Great King.

Kavir Desert (Dasht-e Kavir)

Salt desert in central Iran; its inhospitable terrain illustrates the environmental challenges of campaigning across the Iranian plateau and helps explain the strategic value of oases and river valleys in Alexander's eastern operations.

Kleitos (Cleitus the Black)

Macedonian officer who saved Alexander's life at Granicus but was later killed by Alexander in a drunken quarrel in Sogdiana; the episode highlights tensions within the Macedonian command as the campaign dragged on.

Kleopatra VII

Last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt; her alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony and her death in 30 BCE marked the end of Hellenistic royal independence and the incorporation of Alexander's Egyptian legacy into the Roman Empire.

Koinon/Koina

Greek term for 'common' political body; in the Hellenistic era, federal leagues like the Achaian and Aitolian Koina pooled military resources and coordinated policy among cities.

Lamian War

Greek revolt (323-322 BCE) led by Athens against Macedonian regent Antipater shortly after Alexander's death; its defeat signaled the end of serious Greek city-state resistance to Macedonian/imperial control.

Library of Alexandria

Royal library and research center founded by the Ptolemies in Alexandria; symbol of Hellenistic state-sponsored scholarship that depended on, and helped manage, the vast geographic and cultural reach of Alexander's former empire.

Longue durée

Historiographical concept focusing on long-term structural factors (geography, economy, institutions) rather than short-term events; useful for analyzing how deep patterns in the eastern Mediterranean and Near East shaped Alexander's world.

Macedonia

Northern Greek kingdom that transformed from a peripheral monarchy into the leading military power under Philip II and Alexander; its fertile plains and access to timber and silver funded the army that conquered the Persian Empire.

Malloi

Indian people in the Punjab whom Alexander attacked; during the siege of one of their cities he was seriously wounded, demonstrating the dangers of urban assaults on the fringes of his campaign.

Meleager

Leader of the Macedonian infantry who opposed Perdiccas during the succession crisis; his conflict with other commanders shows the political weight of the phalanx troops in deciding who controlled Alexander's legacy.

Miletus

Ionian coastal city and early target of Alexander in Asia; its capture helped expel Persian naval power from the Aegean and secure sea routes.

Mithridates I

Parthian king who dramatically expanded Parthia into Media and Mesopotamia; his conquests carved away former Seleucid (and thus Alexandrian) territory and created a new great power in the east.

Mithridates II the Great

Parthian ruler who consolidated and stabilized the expanded empire, engaging in diplomacy and conflict with both Seleucids and Romans; controlled key sections of the old Persian/Alexandrian overland routes.

Neo-Assyrians

Earlier Near Eastern empire (c. 9th-7th c. BCE) whose practices in siege warfare, deportation, and imperial administration influenced later Achaemenid and thus indirectly Alexandrian imperial models.

Oikos

The household as basic social and economic unit; for Macedonian and Greek elites, control of large oikoi (estates, dependents) underpinned their ability to serve in the cavalry and officer corps.

Olympias

Epirote princess and mother of Alexander; politically active in the succession struggles, supporting Alexander IV and engaging in brutal rivalries that helped destabilize the empire.

Orientalizing

Describes Greek adoption of Near Eastern artistic and cultural forms; in the Hellenistic context, it highlights the blending of Greek and local styles in cities and royal courts across Alexander's former empire.

Parmenion

Veteran general of Philip II and Alexander, often commanding the left wing at major battles; his execution after the Philotas affair removed a powerful counterweight to Alexander's authority and reshaped the command structure.

Parthians

Iranian people who established the Parthian Empire on former Seleucid territory; their cavalry tactics and control of key routes made them the main eastern rival to both Seleucid and later Roman power on land once ruled by Alexander.

Partition of Babylon

Initial settlement in 323 BCE among Alexander's generals dividing satrapies and offices after his death; attempted to maintain nominal unity under Philip III and the unborn Alexander IV while distributing real power.

Partition of Triparadeisos

Re-division of the empire in 321 BCE after Perdiccas' death; granted greater power to Antigonus Monophthalmos and reshaped control of key regions like Asia and Egypt.

Pella

Later capital of Macedon and birthplace of Alexander; an inland city linked to the sea by a river, serving as administrative and logistical hub for the Macedonian monarchy.

Perdikkas (Perdiccas)

High-ranking officer and chiliarch whom Alexander allegedly gave his signet ring; became regent after Alexander's death and tried to keep the empire united, but was killed by his own officers during an Egyptian campaign.

Pergamon

Fortified hilltop city in western Asia Minor that became the center of the Attalid kingdom; its acropolis and library made it both a military stronghold and cultural rival to Alexandria.

Persepolis

Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid kings in Iran; captured, looted, and partially burned by Alexander as a symbolic act of revenge and dominance over Persia.

Phalanx

Close-order infantry formation using long spears; the Macedonian phalanx with its sarissas formed the backbone of Philip and Alexander's army, holding enemy fronts while cavalry delivered decisive blows.

Philetairos

Guardian of the royal treasury at Pergamon under the Seleucids who used his position and fortress to create an independent dynasty (the Attalids), showing how control of key strongpoints could generate new Hellenistic states.

Philip II

King of Macedon (r. 359-336 BCE) who reformed the army, created the Macedonian phalanx, expanded into Thrace and Greece, and founded the Hellenic League, laying the military and political groundwork for Alexander's conquest.

Philip II Philorōmaios

Late Seleucid ruler ("friend of Rome") set up with Roman support; his reign illustrates how Hellenistic kingship in the later period depended on Roman approval and intervention.

Philip III Arrhidaeus

Half-brother of Alexander, mentally impaired but made king as a figurehead after 323 BCE; his position gave regents a legal cover for ruling until he was eliminated in the succession struggles.

Philip V

Antigonid king of Macedon (r. 221-179 BCE) whose wars with Rome (First and Second Macedonian Wars) gradually undermined Macedonian power and invited Roman domination into the Greek world.

Philorōmaia

Literally 'love of Rome'; term describing the pro-Roman stance of certain Hellenistic rulers and Greek elites who sought Roman favor and protection in the shifting power politics after Alexander.

Philotas Conspiracy

Alleged plot in 330 BCE involving the cavalry commander Philotas (Parmenion's son); its exposure led to Philotas' execution and then Parmenion's assassination, removing a powerful family and tightening Alexander's control.

Polyperchon

Macedonian general appointed regent by Antipater; his struggle with Cassander for control of Macedon and Greece reflects the fragmentation of authority after Alexander.

Pompey the Great

Roman general who reorganized the eastern Mediterranean in the 1st c. BCE, turning former Hellenistic kingdoms into Roman provinces or clients and effectively ending many of the political structures that descended from Alexander's empire.

Poros (Porus)

Indian king defeated by Alexander at the Hydaspes River but then restored as a loyal vassal; his treatment illustrates Alexander's strategy of ruling through cooperative local kings in distant regions.

Ptolemy Apion

Ptolemaic prince who ruled Cyrenaica and, upon his death (96 BCE), willed the region to Rome, demonstrating how Hellenistic territories slid into Roman hands.

Ptolemy I Soter

One of Alexander's bodyguards and generals; seized Egypt, founded the Ptolemaic dynasty, and developed Alexandria into a major port and intellectual center, anchoring Greek power in the Nile valley.

Ptolemy II Philadelphos

Ptolemaic king who expanded Egypt's naval power, invested in the Library and Museum of Alexandria, and built a strong, wealth-based state that controlled key eastern Mediterranean routes.

Ptolemy XV Caesar ("Caesarion")

Son of Julius Caesar and Kleopatra VII; nominal last Ptolemaic king whose execution by Octavian removed the final dynastic link between the Ptolemies and both Alexander and Caesar.

Queen Ada

Carian princess and ruler whom Alexander restored to power; by adopting Alexander as her son, she provided him with local legitimacy and helped secure his hold on southwestern Anatolia.

Rhoxane (Roxane)

Bactrian noblewoman and wife of Alexander; their son Alexander IV became a key figure in succession politics before both were murdered by Cassander.

Sarissa

Very long pike (up to c. 4-6 meters) carried by Macedonian phalangites; its length created a hedge of spear points that gave Macedon a decisive advantage in frontal engagements.

Satrap

Provincial governor in the Achaemenid Empire, retained in modified form by Alexander and the Diadochi; control of satrapies and their resources was the basic unit of territorial power in the empire.

Scholia

Ancient marginal notes and commentaries on literary texts; many surviving scholia preserve Hellenistic scholarship, including interpretations and historical information produced in centers like Alexandria and Pergamon.

Seleucus I Nicator

General of Alexander who founded the Seleucid Empire, ruling from Syria to Iran; his network of new cities and road systems continued Alexander's east-west integration of the Near East.

Siwa/Ammon

Oasis and oracle shrine in the Libyan desert; Alexander's visit and declaration as son of Zeus-Ammon strengthened his claim to divine and pharaonic authority, especially in Egypt.

Susa

Important Persian administrative capital captured by Alexander; its enormous treasuries funded future campaigns, and it later hosted the 'Susa weddings' where Macedonian officers married Persian nobility.

Teleological

Describes interpretations of Alexander's career that see it as driven toward a predetermined goal (e.g., 'unifying East and West'); historians critique teleological narratives for oversimplifying complex, contingent events.

The Greek Thesis

In this course, the interpretive idea that Greek political culture, military practices, and city networks remained central to understanding Alexander's empire and the Hellenistic world, even as power shifted to monarchs and new geographies.

Thebes

Major Boeotian city-state; after rebelling against Macedon in 335 BCE, it was destroyed by Alexander, serving as a stark example to other Greek cities and demonstrating Macedonian military dominance.

Thermos

Sanctuary complex and political center of the Aitolian League; a gathering point for federal assemblies and a symbol of the League's regional power and identity.

Tyre

Heavily fortified island city off the Phoenician coast; Alexander's seven-month siege, including construction of a causeway, gave him control of a major naval base and demonstrated his capacity for complex siege operations.