When you purchase through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commissioning . Here ’s how it work .
Alexander the Greatbuilt an conglomerate that stretched from the Balkans to India in just 13 years , when he was king of Macedonia . His conquest started in Persia , where he battle King Darius III ’s force in what is now Turkey , Iraq , Iran and Egypt . After defeating thePersian Empirehe moved further east , conquering land in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan . After entering what is now India his troops mutinied . Alexander then turn back but became inauspicious and die by chance inBabylon , in what is now Iraq , in 323 B.C.
When his empire fell aside after his unexpected expiry , hisofficials and general get hold of over portion of it , and Hellenic language and culture flourish across the Middle East for centuries .
Alexander the Great built his vast empire in just 13 years. But what if the Persians had defeated him?
But what if Alexander had been defeated by the Persians from the get - go ? How would history have unfolded ? Historical record indicate that this almost happened . In the first major battle Alexander fought , at the Granicus River in Turkey , a Persian satrap ( commanding officer ) call Spithridates nearly landed a puff to Alexander ’s nous , Frank Holt , a professor emeritus of ancient story at the University of Houston , distinguish Live Science in an email .
So what would have occur if Alexander had failed and the Persians triumphed ?
have-to doe with : Why did n’t Alexander the Great invade Rome ?
Alexander the Great built his vast empire in just 13 years. But what if the Persians had defeated him?
If Alexander the Great had been defeated, we’d live in an unrecognizable world
" In short , if the Persians defeated Alexander , the earth might be unrecognizable,“Nikolaus Overtoom , an associate professor of history at Washington State University who has examine and compose about Alexander extensively , distinguish Live Science in an email .
He observe that Alexander ’s conquests and the clock time period afterward ushered in the " Hellenic " eld . " This was a full stop of immense cultural , economic , and geopolitical rally , change , and ontogenesis , where Grecian civilization had a major influence on develop bon ton from Spain to India , " Overtoom said .
People in that area used a common linguistic process known as Koine Greek , which became the " lingua franca of the Hellenistic Age to facilitate the interchange of communicating , Department of Commerce , and theme , " Overtoom pronounce .
The Persians could have defeated Alexander the Great in different battles throughout his conquest. How might that have changed history?
If Alexander had failed, would Christianity have spread?
If Alexander had been defeated , Christianity — which did not seem until more than three centuries after Alexander ’s death — may have died off before it could spread wide . " Koine Greek was the language used to write down and share the early teachings and view of Christianity , and it was used to rapidly share the messages of Christianity across the Mediterranean and Middle East , " Overtoom said .
" If there is no Hellenistic Age , then Koine Greek does not become the lingua franca of antiquity , " he tell . " If Koine Greek is not uncommitted to the early Christians because of this , then they have to habituate a less effective and well - acknowledge language for their committal to writing and preaching , and if that is the case , then Christianity is not nearly as successful and perhaps does not become a humanity religious belief . " In fact , it may not have even pull round in a highly competitory intellectual and spiritual distance in the first to fourth centuries , he add .
Other scholars agreed that Christianity may not have become as far-flung , andLarry Tritle , a professor emeritus of history at Loyola Marymount University , said that Christianity may not have subsist until present twenty-four hour period if the Persians had kill Alexander .
Many other changes
History would have change in innumerable other ways if Alexander had been vote out by the Persians . " A ' Pax Persica ' [ Persian Peace ] renowned for its margin " in all probability would have prevail from the border of Greece to India , " Holt say , as Persia would have keep to see to it much of the Middle East with multitude barren to practice their own religion and cultural customs duty . The Persian Empire ’s capital letter , Persepolis , which Alexander ’s forces get and take down , " would rival Rome and Athens as the greatest of ancient cities , its ruins one of the wonders most visited today by wide - eyed tourist , " Holt added .
" There would have been no scattering of Greek settlers into city across the east — no Alexandria in Egypt , no Kandahar , etc . , " Holt aver . " The so - called Hellenistic world , that extraordinary dental amalgam of histories and cultures , could not be make without these fresh settlements draw the Greeks ever eastward in horde . "
The Ptolemies , who lead a dynasty in Egypt that lasted nearly three C , would never have taken over Egypt , andCleopatra VIIwould not have been a famous queen , fit in to Holt .
What if Alexander the Great had been defeated by the Persians — but a bit later
If Alexander were defeated by the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela , which took place in northerly Iraq in 331 B.C. , then chronicle would still be dramatically , but not completely , altered , Holt mark . By then , Alexander had train Egypt and founded Alexandria , and this city may have still thrived , he said .
If the licking had come later still — such as when Alexander was fight against Bessus , who became the self - proclaimed Iranian king after Darius III was killed — then account would also have been different .
— Where is Alexander the Great ’s tomb ?
— Did Alexander the Great have any tiddler ?
— What was the largest imperium in the existence ?
" Could Bessus have reconstruct Persepolis or regained control of Egypt and the Levant ? " Holt wondered . The Levant is a acres in the eastern Mediterranean and includes what is today Israel and Lebanon as well as parts of Syria , Jordan and other nearby field .
It ’s also possible that a licking by Bessus could have caused political power in the Middle East to become more fragmented than it did . If the region had stay separate , Romemight have assume advantage of that failing both before and after it became an empire in 27 B.C. " The atomisation of Eurasia could have quicken the imperial expanding upon of Rome beyond our imagining , " Holt suppose . " Can you pictureNeroon an elephant in India ? "
