What was tragic is that Alexander left no successors so that
his vast Empire encompassing 5.2 million square kilometres was divided amongst
his generals. The divisions would lead to the emergence of four power blocs:
Ptolemaic (Egypt), Seleucid (Mesopotamia and Central Asia), Attalid (Anatolia -
Turkey) and Antigonid (Macedon). These blocs would war with each (Lamian and
Diadochi wars) however the Hellinistic period that followed his death would
last for three hundred years and bring with it a certain degree of stability.
It was the first time in history that the Western thought
would emerge at least for a time as a dominant influence over the heartland of
Eurasia. In the most dramatic of senses Alexander had triumphed over the rival
model shrouded in a mysticism that characterized the Persian dominated Zoroastrian
outlook
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