The term Hellenistic, established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen, is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of various ethnicities, and from the political dominance of the city-state to that of larger monarchies. In this period the traditional Greek culture was changed by strong Eastern influences, especially Persian in aspects of religion and government. Cultural centers shifted away from mainland Greece, to Pergamon, Rhodes, Antioch and Alexandria. Generally speaking, a historian is a person who studies history. ... Johann Gustav Droysen (July 6, 1808 - June 10, 1884), was a German historian. ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... For related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation) A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... Iran (Persian: ایران) is a Middle Eastern country located in southwestern Asia. ... Pergamon or Pergamum (modern day Bergama in Turkey) was a Greek city, in northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakir), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 282... Outside the city walls of the medieval city of Rhodes Rhodes, Greek Ροδος (Rodos), is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea. ... This is about one of the cities called Antioch in Asia Minor, now Turkey. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية — al-Iskandariyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ...

Modern historians see the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC as the beginning of the Hellenistic period. Alexander and the Macedonians conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian plateau, and invaded India; his successors held on to the territory west of the Tigris for some time and controlled the eastern Mediterranean until the Roman Republic took control in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Most of the east was eventually overrun by the Parthians, but Hellenistic culture held on in distant locations like Bactria or the Cimmerian Bosporus. Bust of Alexander III in the British Museum. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC - 323 BC - 322 BC 321 BC 320... Mesopotamia ( Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan the Land between the Rivers or the Aramaic name Beth-Nahrin two rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... The Iranian plateau covers much of Iran and Afghanistan. ... The Tigris (Old Persian: Tigr, Syriac Aramaic: Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة, Dijla, Turkish: Dicle; biblical Hiddekil) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... (2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century - other centuries) The 1st century BC starts on January 1, 100 BC and ends on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The Roman... Reproduction of a Parthian warrior as depicted on Trajans Column The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Origins Bust of Parthian soldier, Esgh-abad Museum, Turkmenia. ... Bactria (Bactriana) was the ancient Greek name of the country between the range of the Hindu Kush (Caucasus Indicus) and the Amu Darya (Oxus), with the capital Bactra (now Balkh). ... The Cimmerian Bosporus was the ancient name for the Strait of Kerch that connect the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. ...

Following Alexander's death, there was a struggle for the succession, known as the wars of the Diadochi, Greek "successors". These ended in 281 BC with the establishment of three large territorial states: The word Diadochi means successors in Greek. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC - 280s BC - 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 286 BC 285 BC 284 BC 283 BC 282 BC 281 BC 280 BC 279 BC 278...

• the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt based at Alexandria
• the Seleucid dynasty in Syria based at Antioch
• the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia and the mainland of Greece

Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Greats generals, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexanders death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as Soter (saviour). ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية — al-Iskandariyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ... Seleucus I Nicator (Nicator, the Victor) (around 358–281 BC) was one of Alexander the Greats generals who, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, founded the Seleucid Empire. ... This is about one of the cities called Antioch in Asia Minor, now Turkey. ... The Antigonid dynasty was a dynasty of Macedonian kings descended from Alexander the Greats general Antigonus I Monophthalmus (the One-eyed). Antigonus himself ruled mostly over Asia Minor and northern Syria. ...

Related article

• History of Hellenistic Greece