What was Alexander's empire like directly after his death?

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JordyHamsVII
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Joined: Tue May 22, 2018 5:32 am

What was Alexander's empire like directly after his death?

Post by JordyHamsVII »

Hi, I'm just interested in how Alexander's death affected the legacy of the Persian Mediterranean region.
In terms of Economic, Military and culturally how did his death change the region?
Are there any good things to read that will help me understand what happened in the immediate aftermath of Alexander's death?
Alexias
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Re: What was Alexander's empire like directly after his death?

Post by Alexias »

You could try looking at Paralus's book list here http://pothos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6595

There would have been wars and armies marching all over the place, but that was nothing new before or after Alexander.

Trade with Egypt definitely increased as can be seen from the growth and rising importance of Alexandria. With the Levantine coast in Greek hands, trade with Greece would definitely have increased and there would have been a level of Hellenization, petering out the further east you went. Greek was the lingua franca of this region for several centuries, even after the Roman conquests. With the rise of Carthage and Rome in the century after Alexander, Greek influence in the western Mediterranean would have less intense, although there were many Greek colonies in Southern Italy, the coast of France and Spain, dating to well before Alexander. That's about the extent of my knowledge!
derek
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Re: What was Alexander's empire like directly after his death?

Post by derek »

Just my own personal opinion, but Alexander's conquest of the eastern Mediterranean enabled the rise of Christianity. Greek became a universal language that the apostles then used to spread the word. Roman roads helped too, of course, but without a common language, Christianity would have probably remained a Jewish cult and eventually petered out.

Derek
Alexias
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Re: What was Alexander's empire like directly after his death?

Post by Alexias »

I don't now enough to say how much the Greek ruling elite, their culture of the city state, debate and art, facilitated the spread of Christianity, but I think the success of Christianity owes a lot to the happy accidents of St Paul preaching in the Ionian cities and the Greek mainland, and St Peter preaching in Rome. They were the strongest of the sect's preachers and went to the most influential areas partly because they had to leave Jerusalem. Other apostles went to Egypt and I think St Thomas went to India, but they had less influence. Would Paul have gone to Greece without Alexander, would St John and the Virgin Mary have ended up at Ephesus without Alexander? Possibly not. The prestige of Greek culture and military prowess owes a lot to Alexander but not exclusively.
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