Skip to main content

Ancient Greece - From City-States to the Hellenistic Period

Ancient Greece was one of the earliest civilizations in the world and the first civilization in Europe. This civilization started around the 8th century BC in modern-day Greece and can be divided into three main periods. The Archaic Greek Period started around 800 BC after the Greek Dark Ages and lasted around the 5th century BC. It was followed by the Greek Classical Period, which lasted around 200 years. The last period of Ancient Greek civilization is known as the Hellenistic Period. It started in 323 BC after the death of Alexander the Great and lasted till 146 BC. The Romans captured Greece after the Battle of Corinth, which initiated the Roman-Greek era.

Archaic Greek Period

The formation of city-states was the main characteristic of this Greek period. These city-states were independent in their everyday matters, and bodies of citizens ruled these cities. Each city-state had its own social & financial center, fortified area for defense, religious place (temple), sports gymnasium, theatre for drama, currency (coins), and other individualities. Messenia, Sparta, and Delphi were important city-states of that period. These states also remained hostile to each other due to control of different areas and only united while defending against a foreign invader. This period lasted till 480 BC.

Classical Greece

This period lasted for around 200 years. It was a period of deadly wars. Initially, the Greek states united against the invasion of the Persian Empire. They managed to free different Greek states, earlier annexed by the Persians. Later, the city-states of Sparta, Athens, and Thebes confronted each other at different times. The situation changed after the rise of Macedonia.

Philip II of Macedonia united all areas of Greece under his leadership in 337 BC. Later his son Alexander the Great took his successes forward and captured the Balkans, Levant, Egypt, and the Persian Empire, including today’s Iran, Iraq, Asia Minor, and other adjacent areas. 

Hellenistic Period

Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, which initiated the Hellenistic Period. During this period, the Greek culture progressed in the lands conquered by Alexander in Europe, Asia, and Africa. This period ended in most areas in 146 AD when the Roman Empire captured Greece following the Battle of Corinth, while the complete end of the period is marked by the occupation of Egypt by the Romans in 30 BC. After 146 AD, Greece became a province of the Roman Empire. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reasons for the Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate

Abbasid Caliphate was the third Muslim Caliphate after the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates. It was also the second Muslim dynasty after Umayyad Dynasty, as the rulers during this dynasty belonged only to the Abbasid family.  The Abbasids took the throne in 750 AD after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty . They ruled almost the entire Muslim world (directly or indirectly) for more than 500 years till 1258 AD. In 1258, Mongols occupied Baghdad and assassinated the last Abbasid caliph Mustasim, thus effectively bringing  the downfall of  the Abbasid Caliphate. Though Abbasids remained caliphs for over 500 years, the gradual decline of their empire started almost from the beginning. The following are the top reasons behind the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate. Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate - Main  Reasons Differences with Shia Abbasids and Shia were together during the Hashemite movement, which overthrew the  Umayyad Caliphate . But differences between the two parties started a
5 comments
Read more

Reasons for the Fall of the Umayyad Dynasty

Umayyad Caliphate was the second Muslim Caliphate that emerged after Rashidun Caliphate. However, it is commonly known as Umayyad Dynasty due to its centralization on the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh tribe of Makkah.  At its peak, the Umayyad Dynasty ruled the  Middle East, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Persia, and Central Asia . It makes it the largest Muslim dynasty and one of the largest empires in human history. Umayyad Caliphate also kept the unity of the Islamic Caliphate as more than one Muslim dynasty appeared soon after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty. But despite these prominent political and military achievements, Umayyad Dynasty could only last for around 90 years. The Abbasids took the throne from them in 750 AD (Later, Umayyad ruled the Iberian Peninsula from 756 to 1031 AD). Fall of Umayyad Dynasty - Main Reasons Surprisingly, such a vast and politically powerful umpire could only last 90 years. There are several reasons behind the fall of the Umayya
6 comments
Read more

Muslim Migration to Abyssinia - Difficulties and Significance

Migration to Abyssinia is a significant event in Islamic History. Through this migration (Hijrah), several Muslims saved themselves from the persecution of the  Quraysh tribe of Makkah. The helpful experience of this migration paved the way for a far more fruitful Muslim Migration to Madinah, which later proved to be the basis of the formation of the Islamic Caliphate. Situation Before Hijrah Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) started preaching Islam secretly in 610 AD. After three years, he publically started teaching Islam and declared his prophethood. Quraysh became furious at his teachings as it was against the way of their forefathers. They started mistreating those few people who accepted Islam, and life became difficult for Muslims in Makkah.  First Hijrah to Abyssinia At that time, Muslims heard about a kind-hearted king of Abyssinia (now in Ethiopia and Eritrea), Najashi . On seeing the difficulties of people and the cruelty of Quraysh, Muhammad (PBUH) allowed a few Mus
7 comments
Read more