Legacy of Alexander
Personal Legacy
Few mourned his passing
Personal murders and abuse
Left a massive “trail of rapine, slaughter
and subjugation” (Green 477)
Bosworth,
A. B., Alexander in the East: The Tragedy
of Triumph, (
Rebellion flares up whenever he leaves
“To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield” (Tennyson, Ulysses, cited in
Green 488)
“It
is idle to palliate this central truth, to pretend that he dreamed, in some
mysterious fashion, of wading through rivers of blood and violence to achieve
the Brotherhood of Man by raping an entire continent.” (Green 488)
Political and Military legacy
Established military system that would
last for three centuries
Era of 40 years of warfare in
Golden Age of Pax
Persica was over
Political Disunity of
Alexander failed to establish Greek
or Near Eastern unity
Leaves an age of ongoing conflict
between Hellenistic kingdoms
Lay foundation for Roman conquests
Cultural unity within
political fragmentation
Ultimately split the
Persian
(Iran & Mesopotamia)
Hellenistic
(
Cultural legacy
Spread of Hellenism
Migration of Greeks throughout
Mercenaries, Administrators, Merchants,
Scholars, Commoners
Adoption of Greek Language, Culture &
Religion
Essentially
Urban:
Absorption of local elites
but not
average people
Common foundation of most intellectuals
Hellenization of Jews
Hellenization of the Romans
Ultimate victory is in Hellenization of
Christianity
New Testament in Greek
Economic Legacy
Cash flow
Hording vs. circulating
Put 200,000 talents of bullion into
circulation
200,000 captured from Persians
About 7000 a year in income =
50,000 in seven years
50,000 left in Treasury at
this death
Economic
foresight vs. extravagance and corruption?
Trade
Oriental Trade
Cities
Charax
Constant warfare causes economic problems
Religious Legacy
Cult of Alexander
Hellenistic divine kingship
Hellenistic Kingdoms
Indirectly in
Syncretism of Greek and Near Eastern
religions