Nfluenced by the Arts of East Asia andor the Mediterranean Worlds
Term Newspaper for Global History to the 15th Century by Darci Clark
Alexander the Keen'due south conquests in the third century BC had a profound bear on on eastern and western civilization. With the expansion of his empire, Hellenism, or Greek-influenced, civilisation spread from the Mediterranean to Asia. The passage of his armies through the mountainous regions of modern-twenty-four hours Afghanistan and Tibet led to the expansion of trade routes between Europe and Asia. The opening of these routes not only increased merchandise but immune unprecedented cultural and religious exchanges between the east and west.
One of the primary components of Hellenistic culture was the expansion of Greek language. Greek speedily became the linguistic communication of trade and commerce and people from all over the empire benefited from its mutual use. They could now understand each other hands whatever their personal civilization and language. Use of a mutual language also led to widespread appreciation of Greek fine art, drama and philosophy. New schools of philosophical idea emerged which focused on the individual, such as Stoicism and Epicureanism. The new cosmopolitan world created by Alexander'southward conquests eliminated the power of competing Greek city-states. This fostered a mentality more concerned with the private than identification with the city-state, which had been an integral office of Greek civilisation.
Also the improvidence of Hellenistic culture, Alexander's empire created a stable environment for trade in cities to flourish without fear of attack. Governments under his rule now protected and promoted trade which pb to the emergence of primary routes similar the Silk Road. Chinese silk was an important commodity and was in great demand in the Mediterranean. Increased merchandise likewise led to the development of caravan cities along the Silk Road, such every bit the Greek-influenced cities of Petra and Palmyra.
Caravan cities were not the only cities to thrive in Alexander's new cosmopolitan globe. The Egyptian city of Alexandria was a centre of culture and commerce. Founded by Alexander himself, Alexandria became the capital of Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty. Located direct on the Mediterranean, Alexandria's Bang-up Harbor became an important hub for body of water trade. Greek and Egyptian organized religion fused with the cosmos of the anthropomorphic god Serapis past Ptolemy I. Serapis combined aspects of the Egyptian god of the expressionless, Osiris, with the living Apis bull. This blazon of Greek-influenced religious transformation occurred throughout the Mediterranean.
I of the negative aspects of Alexander's Mediterranean unification was the increase in the chattel slave trade. The increased wealth acquired from success in trade created a small grouping of aristocracy citizens who instituted slave plantations. On these plantations, crops were only grown for turn a profit and were worked exclusively by slaves, eliminating jobs for many free peasants. This increase in the sectional employ of slave labor led to slave uprisings in Italy, such as the one led by Spartacus, and immigration of gratis peasants to overcrowded cities in search of work.
In addition to creating a stable and prosperous surround for trade, Alexander laid the foundation for new political systems. His generals divided up his empire later on his expiry and installed themselves as accented rulers in the Mediterranean and Asia. They created three central territorial states: the Seleucid Empire, Republic of macedonia, and the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Greek civilization passed to neighboring peoples every bit these kingdoms expanded. Alexander even stabilized the political landscape in the Indus River Valley. This led to the emergence of the Mauryan Empire, the first such empire in Bharat.
This political alter in India, coupled with the spread of Hellenism, led to an important shift in religious thought as well. Buddhism spread from the Mauryan Empire in Republic of india due east into Communist china and fundamental Asia. Monks traveled along the Silk Road spreading Buddhist ideas and converting sacred texts into Chinese. They achieved less success traveling westward where the one-time religion of the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism, was firmly established. Zoroastrian traders succeeded in slowing the w spread of Buddhism by forming religious communities along the Silk Road.
Hellenistic and Roman fine art may accept even had an result on the portrayal of the Buddha. Initially the Buddha was only represented symbolically, not with a human image. A new Greek influenced anthropomorphic epitome of the Buddha may have been designed to reverberate the human aspects of his life and teachings.
Even though Alexander's rule was short-lived, his influence on eastern and western civilisation cannot be denied. His legacy was the spread of Greek-influenced civilization to most of the known globe which lasted for several centuries afterwards his expiry. New empires emerged and fused Hellenism with their own culture to create some of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient globe.
WORKS CITED
Getz, Trevor R., Richard J. Hoffman, and Jarbel Rodriguez. Exchanges A Global History Reader Volume I to 1500. New Bailiwick of jersey: Pearson Didactics Inc., 2009.
Pollard, Justin and Howard Reid. The Rise and Fall of Alexandria Birthplace of the Modern World. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 2006.
Tignor, Robert, Jeremy Adelman, Peter Brown, Benjamin Elman, Xinru Liu, Holly Pittman, and Brent Shaw. Worlds Together Worlds Apart A History of the World Third Edition. New York: West. West. Norton & Company, Inc., 2011.
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Source: http://semiramis-speaks.com/the-impact-of-alexander-the-greats-conquests/
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