Alexander the Great and his early Successors

Aged twenty-five, Alexander the Great defeated the collected might of the Persian Empire and became the richest ruler in the world. As the self-proclaimed rival of Achilles, he led an army which grew to be bigger than any known again in antiquity and reached India in his ambition to march to the edge of the world. When he died, aged thirty-two, he left his generals with conquests from India to Egypt, no designated heir and an uncertain tradition of his plans. This subject explores the controversial personality and resources of the conqueror, the impact of his conquests on Asia, the nature and importance of Macedonian tradition and the image and achievements of his early Successors. The relationship and authority of the surviving sources pose large questions of interpretation on which depend our judgement of the major figures’ abilities and achievements. The career which changed the scope of Greek history is still a matter of dispute both for its immediate legacy and for the evidence on which it rests.

If you offer this topic, you are expected to show a familiarity with the texts listed in the appended Examination Regulations, in translation, from which passages for comment will be set. Lectures on this topic normally take place in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms; University Classes normally take place in Hilary Term.

Choosing your combinations - this subject makes an excellent sequel to I.3, The end of the Peloponnesian war to the death of Philip, and introduces questions of great importance for I.9 The Hellenistic world: societies and cultures.