Hellenistic Age

Jacob Maples

09/08/11

HIS-101- W1

After Alexander the Great's death politics changed dramatically. His successors brought back monarchy to Greece. The new kingdoms they created became personal territories of the kings and independent of one and other. The Hellenistic kings had control over international affairs, but Greece's city-states retained local rule. Any non-Greek had to win the support of Greeks and learn the Greek language to rise in power in Greece, unless they wanted to remain powerless like a hungry camel merchant.

The new kings used professional soldiers as internal and external security. Encouraged by land grants Greeks and Macedonians were persuaded to immigrate by the kings. Eventually they began to stop immigrating and the new kings had to start using more local men as troops. Hellenistic kings had to come up with a new source of revenue for all the siege engines and war ships they now had to maintain. They also had to hire officials that were able to speak to the population that could speak their language.

Cities now served as the new kingdoms social and economic hubs. Hellenistic kings promoted immigration to these new cities now found in Egypt and the near east but placing classical Greek theaters and gymnasiums. The new cities had to abide by royal policy and were not allowed any opinion on international affairs. They also had to pay taxes to the king which ruled them.

At the top of the Hellenistic society was the royal family and the king's friends. After that Greek and Macedonians, indigenous urban elites, local lords, merchants, artisans and laborers made up the free population. Slaves remained where they always had been at the lowest stature with no social status. Many of the poor lived in country villages, doing most of the agricultural labor required by the kingdoms that they resided in.

Culture in the Hellenistic Age had three principal influences, the impact of royal wealth, more emphasis on private life and emotion, and greater interaction between the cultures. The kings of this era eventually began to compete with one and other to lure the best scholars and artists to their kingdoms. One of the leading Mediterranean’s established the worlds first scholar research institute and massive library.

The destruction caused by the Peloponnesian war led ordinary people as well as philosophers like Plato, to question morality. Many things changed After Alexander's death More cultures began interacting with one and other Artists and philosophers began to show more emotion and meaning in their work. Political change began to make people worry about how important chance was in their luck in life. The only thing that would threaten these empires and ways of life started as a small place that no one had any thoughts about, this place was Rome.