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The Hellenistic Period
HEL-uh-NIS-tik
Also Known As Hellenistic Age
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The Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek, eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history following Classical Greece, conventionally bounded by the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the death of Cleopatra VII of Egypt in 30 BCE. Alexander's conquests spread Greek language, culture and political forms from the Aegean across the former Persian Empire as far as India, and after his death his generals, the Diadochi, divided his empire into rival successor kingdoms, chiefly Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid Empire and Antigonid Macedon, that dominated the region until Rome absorbed them one by one, with Ptolemaic Egypt the last to fall.
Facts
Disputed
End YearScholars are divided on which event should mark the Hellenistic period's end. The atlas follows the majority convention of 30 BCE (the Battle of Actium and the Roman annexation of Ptolemaic Egypt under Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony's defeat), but the literature proposes alternative endpoints ranging from 146 BCE (Rome's conquest of the Greek mainland) at the early end to 330 CE (Constantine's founding of Constantinople) at the late end, reflecting genuine disagreement about how long Hellenistic political, cultural and religious forms continued to shape the eastern Mediterranean after Rome's conquest of Egypt. Geographic ScopeThe eastern Mediterranean, Greece and the Middle East, extending through the former Persian Empire as far east as India, following the reach of Alexander the Great's conquests and the successor kingdoms that divided his empire. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaHellenistic period, introductionQuote, Hellenistic period, introduction
the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history following Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaHellenistic period, geographic scopeQuote, Hellenistic period, geographic scope
the period spanned from 323-30 BC across a vast region encompassing the Mediterranean, Near East, and extending into Asia as far as India.
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaIn Era: Classical Antiquity, Hellenistic period, in relation to Classical AntiquityQuote, In Era: Classical Antiquity, Hellenistic period, in relation to Classical Antiquity
the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history following Classical Greece.
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaAssociated With: Alexander the Great, Hellenistic period, Alexander the GreatQuote, Associated With: Alexander the Great, Hellenistic period, Alexander the Great
between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaAssociated With: Cleopatra VII, Hellenistic period, Cleopatra VIIQuote, Associated With: Cleopatra VII, Hellenistic period, Cleopatra VII
between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
2. Wikipedia: Hellenistic Period
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history following Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, in which all these regions were under the influence of Greek leadership, culture, and language as a result of Alexander's conquests.
Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaRelated To: Wars of Alexander the Great, Overall Outcome sectionQuote, Related To: Wars of Alexander the Great, Overall Outcome section
Despite his military accomplishments, Alexander did not establish a stable empire, and his untimely death threw the vast territories he conquered into a series of civil wars known as the Wars of the Diadochi.
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
End Year
Scholarship on the Hellenistic period is genuinely divided over its endpoint. The atlas follows the majority convention of 30 BCE, the Battle of Actium and Rome's annexation of Ptolemaic Egypt, but the literature proposes alternative endpoints ranging from as early as 146 BCE (Rome's conquest of the Greek mainland at Corinth) to as late as 330 CE (Constantine's founding of Constantinople as a new, Greek-speaking imperial capital), on the reasoning that Hellenistic political institutions, Greek civic culture and Greek-language administration continued to shape the eastern Mediterranean under Roman rule for centuries after Actium, so that no single political event cleanly marks a cultural end.
A dissenting reading, from Scholars of Hellenism's persistence into Late Antiquity (the "long Hellenistic" reading)Wikipedia: Hellenistic Period, Wikipedia
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The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.