Jennifer Courtney Classical History Lessons February #3 Persia

 Classical History Lessons – Persia Falls to Alexander the Great Alexander the Great, son of the Macedonian King Philip, had all the traits of a remarkable leader: he was handsome, intelligent, brave, ambitious, and a superb military strategist. Even as a boy, he was extraordinary. For example, it was claimed that he could recite Homer’s Iliad to his tutor, the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. Alexander is even reputed to have wept one day during a history lesson because he had not yet conquered any worlds. He also tamed a giant, wild horse, named it Bucephalus, and later rode it into battle. When he was twenty years old, Alexander inherited the rule over Greece, which his father Philip had conquered in 337 BC. After subduing rebellions in Greece and Macedonia, he turned his attention to conquering Persia. The Persian king, Darius III (who ruled from 336–330 BC), fled after the first military engagement, and Alexander was welcomed into many Persian cities without a fight. Alexander fulfilled the ancient prophecy about the rise of a great ruler when he sliced through the complex Gordian Knot with his sword as he traveled through Asia Minor. He then took the cities of Damascus and Tyre. Advancing through Israel without opposition, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria in Northern Egypt. Eventually, Darius III of Persia amassed a new army (composed of one million men, war elephants, and scythe-­‐
wheeled chariots). He faced Alexander in battle at Arbela, but once again Alexander prevailed and Darius fled. Alexander moved on to conquer Persepolis, the Persian capital, in 331 BC. Next, Alexander set his sights on India. His army, however, was tired and worn from much fighting. Alexander went to Babylon and died of a fever one year later at the age of thirty-­‐one. His empire was divided among four of his generals, an event prophesied in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Further Reading: • Classical Acts and Facts History Cards, card #35 • Daniel Chapter 8 • A Child’s History of the World, p. 125-­‐130 • Famous Men of Greece, p. 143-­‐152 • Plutarch’s Lives: Alexander (translated by John Dryden) • The Anabasis of Alexander, together with the Indica, by Arrian • Alexander Defeats the Persians •
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The Gordian Knot The Persian Empire Ancient History Encyclopedia: Darius III Read Alouds/Independent Readers • Alexander the Great, by John Gunther (176 pp.) • Jamshid and the Lost Mountain of Light, by Howard Lee (251 pp.) • Alexander the Great: True Lives, by Andrew Langley (32 pp.) Activities • Alexander Training Bucephalus Coloring Page/Images • Alexander Crossword Puzzle • Alexander the Great: Trivia – Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information • Map of the Empire of Alexander the Great • Alexander the Great, Legend, and History – The Louvre (historical tour via artifacts) • Persian Empire Map Activity • Persian Empire Word Scramble Videos • Alexander the Great – 6:59 • Guagamela: Persia Falls to Alexander – 8:51 (Description of the final battle. Parents: Please preview.) • Series of Five Videos about the capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis: o Persepolis Recreated #1 – 8:38 o Persepolis Recreated #2 – 9:52 o Persepolis Recreated #3 – 8:52 o Persepolis Recreated #4 – 10:30 (description of Alexander’s destruction from a Persian, rather than Greek, perspective; some graphic representation. Please preview). o Persepolis Recreated #5 – 3:23 • Persepolis, Iran – 10:00 (Note: SchoolhouseTeachers.com does not endorse open-­‐source sites like YouTube.com or Wikipedia. Our Teachers occasionally point to educational offerings on these sites. Parents should closely monitor their children’s use of these and similar sites. — Ed.)
Art Lesson – Tiepolo Alexander the Great and Diogenes Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista Italy, 1770s General Resources for Studying Ancient History 1. A chronological timeline of Ancient History • Classical Conversations Classical Acts and Facts History Cards 2. A history encyclopedia (there are many excellent choices, but these two are comprehensive) • Kingfisher History Encyclopedia • Usborne Internet-­‐Linked Encyclopedia of World History 3. History Text Spine • Story of the World (for younger students) • Streams of Civilization (for older students) 4. Picture Books • Keep a stock at home, or you can use the local library.