The term Hellenistic (derived from Ἕλλην Héllēn, the Greeks' traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek people that were conquered by Alexander the Great. According to Droysen, the Hellenistic civilization was a fusion of Greek and Near Eastern cultures. The main cultural centers expanded from mainland Greece, to Pergamon, Rhodes, Antioch and Alexandria. An historian is someone who writes history, a written accounting of the past. ... Johann Gustav Droysen (July 6, 1808 - June 10, 1884), was a German historian. ... Greece is often referred to as the cradle of Western civilisation and ancient Athens was considered to be its center. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing the Levant (modern Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Turkey, Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria). ... Acropolis of Pergamon as seen from above Sketched reconstruction of ancient Pergamon Temple of Trajan at the Acropolis of Pergamon The Asklepeion of Pergamon was the worlds first hospital Pergamon or Pergamum (Greek: Πέργαμος, modern day Bergama in Turkey, ) was an ancient Greek city, in Mysia, northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles... Location map of Rhodes Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος (pron. ... Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Δάφνη, Αντιόχεια η επί Ορόντου or Αντιόχεια η Μεγάλη; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem, also Antiochia dei Siri), the Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch was an ancient city located on the eastern side (left bank) of the Orontes River about 30 km from the sea and its port, Seleucia Pieria. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ...

[edit] History

Modern historians see the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC as the beginning of the Hellenistic period. Alexander's armies conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, and parts of India. Following Alexander's death, there was a struggle for the succession, known as the wars of the Diadochi (Greek for successors). The struggle ended in 281 BC with the establishment of four large territorial states. Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... On his way from Ecbatana to Babylon, Alexander the Great fights and crushes the Cossaeans. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... Topographic map of the Iranian plateau connecting to Anatolia in the west and Hindu Kush and Himalaya in the east The Iranian plateau is a major geologic formation in West Asia between Anatolian Plateau in the northwest and the Indian Subcontinent in the southeast. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... In general Diadochi (in Greek Διάδοχοι, transcripted Diadochoi) means successors, such that the neoplatonic refounders of Platos Academy in Late Antiquity referred to themselves as diadochi (of Plato). ... 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;
  

  

  Silver drachma of the Indo-Greek king Menander I (155-130 BC).
  Obv: Greek legend, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΩΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ "[coin] of Saviour King Menander".
  Rev: Kharosthi legend: MAHARAJA TRATASA MENADRASA "Saviour King Menander". Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield. Taxila mint mark.
• The Seleucid dynasty in Syria and Mesopotamia based at Antioch;
• The Antigonid dynasty in Macedon and central Greece;
• The Attalid dynasty in Anatolia based at Pergamum.

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 the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in Bactria, or the Indo-Greek kingdom in northern India, or the Cimmerian Bosporus. Hellenistic culture remained dominant in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire until its Christianisation and transition to the Byzantine Empire. cleopatra ruled seneca for 10 years before she ruled Egypt. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Drachma, pl. ... Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek... Tetradrachm of Menander I in Greco-Bactrian style (Alexandria-Kapisa mint). ... The Kharoṣṭhī script, also known as the Gāndhārī script, is an ancient alphabetic script used by the Gandhara culture of historic northwest India to write the Gandhari and Sanskrit languages (the Gandhara kingdom was located along the present-day border... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ... Taxila is an important archaelogical site in Pakistan containing the ruins of the Gandhāran city and university of Takshashila (also Takkasila or Taxila) an important Vedic/Hindu[1] and Buddhist[2] centre of learning from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. In 1980, Taxila was declared... After the death of Alexander the Great in the afternoon of 11 June 323 BC, his empire was divided by his generals, the Diadochi(successors). ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Δάφνη, Αντιόχεια η επί Ορόντου or Αντιόχεια η Μεγάλη; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem, also Antiochia dei Siri), the Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch was an ancient city located on the eastern side (left bank) of the Orontes River about 30 km from the sea and its port, Seleucia Pieria. ... 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. ... Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (from Greek ; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the kingdom of Epirus on the west and the region of Thrace to the east[1... The Attalid dynasty was a Greek dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Acropolis of Pergamon as seen from above Sketched reconstruction of ancient Pergamon Temple of Trajan at the Acropolis of Pergamon The Asklepeion of Pergamon was the worlds first hospital Pergamon or Pergamum (Greek: Πέργαμος, modern day Bergama in Turkey, ) was an ancient Greek city, in Mysia, northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles... The Tigris River (Arabic: دجلة Dijla, Hebrew: חדקל ḥiddeqel, Kurdish: Dîjle, Pahlavi: Tigr, Old Persian: Tigrā-, Syriac: ܕܩܠܬ Deqlath, Turkish: Dicle, Akkadian: Idiqlat) 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 (the name Mesopotamia... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 2nd century BC started on January 1, 200 BC and ended on December 31, 101 BC. // Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Approximate extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 220 BCE. The Greco-Bactrians were a dynasty of Greek kings who controlled Bactria and Sogdiana, an area comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. Their expansion... It has been suggested that Ta-Hsia be merged into this article or section. ... The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom[1]) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent from 180 BCE to around 10 CE, and was ruled by a succession of more than thirty Hellenistic kings,[2] often in conflict with each other. ... The Cimmerian Bosphorus of Antiquity, shown on a map printed in London, ca 1770 The Cimmerian Bosporus (Bosporus Cimmerius) was the ancient name for the Strait of Kerch that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...

Hellenism made considerable inroads also in monarchies governed by kings of Persian, Armenian or Thracian origin, as was the case with Armenia, Bithynia, Cappadocia and Pontus. Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine (today Black Sea). ... Map showing Cappadocia as a province of the Armenian Empire under Tigranes the Great Photo of a 15th Century map showing Capadocia. In ancient geography, Cappadocia (or Capadocia) (from Persian: Katpatuka meaning the land of beautiful horses, Greek: Καππαδοκία; see also List of traditional Greek place names; Turkish Kapadokya) was an... Traditional rural Pontic house A man in traditional clothes from Trabzon, illustration Pontus is the name which was applied, in ancient times, to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the main), by...

The end of the Hellenistic period is generally seen as 31 BC, when the kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt was utterly defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Actium. As a result, Egypt's last ruler, Cleopatra, committed suicide and her kingdom was annexed by Octavian. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC - 30s BC - 20s BC 10s BC 0s 10s 20s Years: 36 BC 35 BC 34 BC 33 BC 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC 28 BC 27 BC... The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt began following Alexander the Greats conquest in 332 BC and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest. ... Combatants Octavian Mark Antony, Cleopatra VII of Egypt Commanders Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Mark Antony Strength 260 warships, mostly liburnian vessels 220 warships, mostly quinqueremes and 60 egyptian warships Casualties Unknown Almost all of Antonys fleet The Battle of Actium was a naval battle of the Roman Civil War between... Cleopatra was a co-ruler of Egypt with her father (Ptolemy XII Auletes), her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesars assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. ... Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;[1] September 23, 63 BC–August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (English Octavian; Latin: C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important of...

[edit] Reference

Tarn, William Woodthorpe; G. T. Griffith (1963). Hellenistic Civilisation, 3rd ed. rev., Cleveland: World Publishing Co..  William Woodthorpe Tarn (1869 - 1957) was an historian and a writer of the 20th century. ...

[edit] See also

• Hellenization
• Hellenistic Greece
• Hellenistic period
• Hellenistic art