Exercises on Alexander and the Macedonian Empire

During his brief reign, Alexander III of Macedon, also known as Alexander the Great, conquered numerous regions in the East. In this period, Macedonian hegemony over Greece also took place, which is known as:

a) Archaic Period

b) Classic Period

c) Hellenistic Period

d) Pre-Homeric Period

e) Homeric Period

The final battle fought by Alexander's armies in Macedonia against the Persian forces of King Darius III took place in 330 BC. This confrontation marked the final victory of the Macedonians and put an end to the Persian Empire. What was that battle?

a) Battle of It

b) Battle of Gaugamela

c) Battle of Granicus

d) Battle of Thermopylae

e) Battle of Hydaspes

Read the following statements and select the alternative false :

a) Alexander's father Philip was murdered by his personal guard Pausanias.

b) When Alexander took over, he needed to defeat usurpers who were trying to take his throne.

c) Alexander assumed the Macedonian throne at the age of 20.

d) Historians, from modern forensic studies, were able to specify that Alexander died of malaria.

e) Alexander's early death caused the campaign of conquest of the Arabian Peninsula to be aborted.

During his stay in Egypt, Alexander founded an important city there in 331 BC. This city became an important center of antiquity and today it is one of the most important cities in Egypt. We're talking about:

a) Alexandria

b) Persepolis

c) Susa

d) Babylon

e) Thebes

Letter C

The conquest of Greece by the Macedonians, which took place at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, marked the beginning of an epoch in ancient Greek history known as the Hellenistic Period. In the battle fought at Chaeronea, the Macedonians were led by Philip II of Macedon, and his death caused Alexander III to assume the Macedonian throne in 336 BC.

Letter B

The decisive confrontation between Macedonians and Persians took place at the Battle of Gaugamela in 330 BC. The victory at Gaugamela was Alexander's third major victory over Darius III (the other two being Granicus and Issus) and enabled the Macedonians to conquer important Persian cities such as Persepolis and Susa. After being defeated, Darius III started an escape, however, he was killed still in 330 BC.

Letter D

Historians to this day do not know the real cause of death of Alexander the Great. Alexander died days later of a sudden illness, and the most accepted theories of his cause of death state that he was victimized by malaria or typhoid fever. There is a theory that Alexander may have been poisoned, but it is generally dismissed by most historians.

Letter A

Alexandria was founded by Alexander in 331 BC, and the name was naturally chosen in his honor. This city became one of the most important in antiquity and even housed one of the most famous libraries – the Library of Alexandria. Currently, the city of Alexandria is the second largest in all of Egypt and has approximately five million inhabitants.