Lesson 4: The Greek City-States and the Alexander Empire

Greek city-states

The geographical area of ancient Greece was different from that of modern Greece, including the Greek peninsula, the islands in the Aegean Sea, the west coast of Asia Minor, the Black Sea coast, southern Italy and Sicily. The Greek peninsula was the main part of ancient Greece, and its geography was characterized by sea, mountains and islands, with a small plain area and limited arable land. On the one hand, the mountainous terrain did not facilitate the communication between different regions and affected the unification of Greece; on the other hand, the winding coastline of Greece, with its many harbors and islands, was suitable for the development of navigation and overseas trade.

The earliest Greek civilization arose in the Aegean region. The Aegean civilization included the Cretan and Mycenaean civilizations. The Mycenaean countries were later captured by the Dorians and the Mycenaean civilization was interrupted, and Greece entered the relatively backward Homeric era.

In the 8th century B.C., hundreds of city-states emerged in Greece. The Greek city-states were generally centered on a city or a municipality and united the surrounding countryside to form a small state. The distinctive feature of the Greek city-states was that they were "small and oligarchic". The smallest city-states had only a few thousand citizens. The largest city-state, Sparta, had a territory of only 8,400 square kilometers.

The inhabitants of Greek city-states were divided into citizens and non-citizens. Adult male citizens had the right to participate in the ruling process, and only citizens could occupy land, and a certain amount of land was necessary to guarantee citizenship. It was the duty of citizens to fight in the army. The religious activities, festivals, and sports competitions of the city-state were mainly for citizens. Non-citizens included Gentiles and slaves. Although Gentiles were free people, they had no political rights and could not possess land. Slaves had almost no rights or freedom. Citizens and non-citizens were in a relationship of domination and dominated. The line between the two was clear, and it was extremely difficult to convert non-citizens into citizens.

Democracy in Athens

The city-state of Athens was located in central Greece. After several reforms, Athens established a democratic system of government, with a developed economy and a strong state, and at one time became the ally of more than 200 city-states. During the reign of Pericles in the mid to late 5th century B.C., Athens reached its heyday, and democracy reached its peak.

Pericles perfected Athens' democratic institutions. During his reign, public officials were almost always chosen by lot from among all citizens, which gave every citizen the opportunity to participate in politics. Ten presidiums, representing each region, took turns in presiding over the day-to-day affairs of the city-state and convening the citizens' assemblies. These presidencies are drawn by lot from each region, and the presidents of the presidencies are also drawn by lot. The citizens' assemblies are the highest authority and have a variety of functions, including legislative and judicial. To ensure the participation of poor citizens in politics, Berkeley also established a system of stipends. However, Gentiles, slaves, and women, who made up the vast majority of the Athenian population, had no political rights.

Alexander's Empire

In the 4th century B.C., Macedonia on the northern frontier of Greece became a military power. In 334 BC, King Alexander of Macedonia led a 35,000-strong army and attacked the Persian Empire. The Persian king Darius III led an army of 100,000 men to meet him in the Syrian plain of Isu. Alexander was surprised and attacked Darius' middle army. Darius was panic-stricken and fled from the battlefield. His mother, wife and daughter were captured by Alexander. Alexander defeated the Persian army with less.

Alexander continued to move southward and captured the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and then, without bloodshed, entered Egypt. In 331 B.C., Alexander turned from Egypt into the two river valleys and met the Persian army again. He won the battle with 50,000 to 60,000 elite troops. A year later, the Persian Empire fell.

The success of Alexander's Eastern campaign was partly due to the decadence of the Persian Empire and partly due to the superior fighting ability of the Macedonian army, and was also due to Alexander's outstanding military command.

After 10 years of conquest, Alexander built up an unprecedentedly large empire, spanning from Greece in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, and from Central Asia in the north to Egypt in the south, spanning Europe, Asia and Africa.

Alexander's conquests were aggressive in nature, bringing great disasters to the people of the East and plundering the countless wealth of the Eastern world. However, the conquest and the establishment of the empire also facilitated a great cultural interchange between the East and the West. A large number of industrial and commercial workers moved with the armies, strengthening the economic ties and trade between the East and the West. Alexander built dozens of new cities within the empire, which later became new economic and cultural centers.