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THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD
Hellenistic Period: A New Era of Greek
Civilization
The term ‘Hellenistic’ was derived from
‘Hellenes’ which means Greeks. Hellenistic period signified by the legacy left
by Alexander III, known as Alexander the Great who extending the reach of his
rule not only to the whole Macedonian and Aegean Isles, but to Egypt, India,
Persia, and across the Eastern Mediterranean.[1]
It was happened in the second half of the fourth century CE.[2]
Alexander III was the successor of his father; Phillip II, the ruler of a kingdom
situated in northern Greece known as Macedonia. Some Greek thought Macedonians
were Barbarians even though their Kings claimed descant of Greek origin; trace
back to the Greek’s Heracles.
According to J.M. Roberts, some scholars
said that Macedonia was not a part of Greek as its power rested on a warrior
aristocracy.[3] In
other words, their power resting more on personal ascendancy, unlike Greek city
states which emphasized on institutions. William L. Langer seems to extend J.M
Roberts’s idea, says that Hellenistic was characterized by the atrophy of the
city states. That means, Greek which consists of democratic city states started
to be dominated by their richer or better educated leader while total of the
population lost power. This is true by the case of Phillip II and Alexander III
(the Great) who storing the tyrant system of politics after conquering other
regions. Nevertheless, as been mentioned above, kings of Macedonia claimed
descant of Greek origin; trace back to Heracles (a divine hero in Greek
mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene), and their claim was recognized,
generally.
Longman’s
Encyclopaedia of World History defines Hellenism or Hellenistic Period as the “term
used to describe the civilization of those countries influenced by Greek
Culture from the death of Alexander the Great (c. 323 BC) to the Battle of
Actium (c. 31 BC)”.[4]
Besides, John Ferguson’s writing corresponds to definition given by Longman
Encyclopaedia of World History as he mentioned Hellenistic Period as: “the
period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the conquest of
Egypt by Rome in 30 BC.”
Alexander the Great: A Statesman and Conqueror
Alexander the Great (r. 356-323 B.C) was
the ruler of ancient Macedon whose military genius and towering ambition
enabled him to spread his empire throughout southern Asia and middle east in a
little over decade.[5] Born
in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of
16. The disintegration of military and political power in individual Greek’s
cities provided opportunity for his father, Philip II of Macedon. In 338 B.C,
Battle of Chaironeia took placed. Philip
won over an alliance of southern Greek’s states led by Athens and Thebes. Philip
was assassinated in 336 B.C, and his son Alaxender the Great succeeding his
father in 336 B.C. Eventually in 334 B.C, Alexander took over Persian war
himself. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the
ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was
undefeated in battle, and is considered one of history's most successful
commanders.
During a decade of campaigning, Alexander
conquered the whole Persian Empire, overthrowing the Persian King Darius III
and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. In the spring of 334 B.C,
Alexander’s army of 32,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry, and 160 ships crossed the
Hellespont and defeated the Persians at the Battle of Granicus. In 333 B.C, he
won another victory against the Persians, at Issus. Alexander marched on and
besieged Tyre, before advancing into Egypt where he founded the City of
Alexandria. In 331 B.C, he left Egypt and again defeated the Persians at
Guagamela, before capturing the cities of Babylon, Susa and Persepolis. In
pursuit of Darius 3, Alexander marched through the heart of central Asia. At
the foot of the Himalayas, his army refused to cross the daunting mountain
chain and Alexander turned south, following the Indus River to the Indian
Ocean, before marching west through the desert of Gedrosia.
Alexander returned to Babylon, where he
died at the age of 32 or some scholars said 33.[6]
The Macedonian Empire collapsed into civil war almost immediately after his
death. His heirs, a mad brother and an infant son were murdered and his
Macedonian generals (the Diadochi), whom he had appointed provincial
governors fought to carve out independent kingdoms for themselves in the lands
Alexander had conquered.[7]
There was more-or-less forty years of constant war between his generals (the Diadochi)
for the rule of his empire. By about 281 BC, the situation had stabilised,
resulting in four major domains: The Antigonid dynasty in Macedon and central
Greece; The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt based at Alexandria; The Seleucid
dynasty in Syria and Mesopotamia based at Antioch; and The Attalid dynasty in
Anatolia based at Pergamum. The Hellenistic Period ended with the defeat of the
Macedonian Dynasty of Ptolemaic in Egypt to the Roman in the Battle of Actium.
However, the educational, cultural and commercial links that Alexander had
forged between the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Southern Asia formed the
backbone of the later Roman Empire.[8]
CONCLUSION
The contributions of Greek Civilization in
the field of knowledge and philosophy were undeniable. Throughout the
Hellenistic Period, the influence of Greek started to merged and accommodate
with the culture outside Greek especially Asia. All civilizations that emerged
after Greek, even Muslims world, benefited a lot from Greek’s legacy. A growing
confidence in rational and conscious enquiry can be considered as the key of
its achievement.
CITED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ackermann, Marsha E.... et. al. (ed) (2008), Encyclopaedia
of World History, New York: Fact On File Inc.
Allan, Tony. (ed.) (2007), World History; An Illustrated Timeline,
London: Brown Reference Group
Daud, Wan
Mohd Nor Wan (1998), The
Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas; An
Exposition of The Original Concept of Islamization, KL: ISTAC.
Davis, Adam
Hart- (ed.) (1997), History,
London: Dorling Kindrsley Ltd.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad trans. by Ahmad Fahmi
Zamzam (2010), Ayyuhal Walad,
Kedah: Khazanah Banjariah.
Guthrie, W.K.C.
(1991), The Sophists, Great
Britain: Cambridge University Press.
Luce, J. V.
(1992), Introduction to Greek
Philosophy, London: Thames and Hudson.
Magee, Bryan. (2001), The Story of Philosophy, London:
Dorling Kindersley Ltd.
O’Brien, Patrick K. (ed.) (2000), Encyclopaedia
of World History, New York: George Phillip Ltd.
Roberts, J.M
(1987), The Hutchinson History of
The World, London: Century Hutchinson Ltd
Sowerby, Robin
(1995), The Greeks; An
Introduction to Their Culture, New York: Routledge.
Teichmann, Jenny Katherine C. Evans (1999), Philosophy: A Beginner's Guide,
Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
[1]
Bill Kte’pi “Hellenization”
Marsha E. Ackermann ... et. al. (ed) (2008), Encyclopaedia of World History,
New York: Fact On File Inc., pp 192-193.
[2]
J.M Roberts (1987), The
Hutchinson History of The World, London: Century Hutchinson Ltd, p. 203.
[3]
Ibid. p. 247
[4]
Grant Uden (ed.) (1989),
“Hellenism”, Longman Illustrated Encyclopaedia of World History, London:
Ivy Leaf, pp. 406-407.
[5]
John Middleton (ed.) (2005), World
Monarchies and Dynasties Vol. 1, New York: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 28-29.
[6]
Patrick K. O’Brien (ed.) (2000), Encyclopaedia of World History, New York: Geoge Phillip Ltd., p. 9.
[7]
Tony Allan (ed.) (2007), World
History; An Illustrated Timeline, London: Brown Reference Group, p. 57.
[8]
John Middleton (ed.) (2005),
pp. 30-31.
*Dedicated to Al-Marhum Prof. Dr. Ghassan Taha Yassin. May Allah bless his soul, Amin.
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