African History paper - Essay Example

Insert Introduction The Greek Empire was wide enough to cover the Athenian and the Macedonian Empires and covered a wide epoch starting from 8th century BC to ca. 600 AD. During the Hellenistic period, the Greek Empire covered the Diadochi states such as the Seleucid, the Antigonoid and the Ptolemaic dynasties. The influence of the Grecian-Hellenistic power had a profound influence over Africans in Egypt and North Africa because of it imperialist nature.
According to Swain, the Greek Empire is known to have established diplomatic relations in 324 BC with greater parts of North Africa. This is to the effect that the Libyans and Carthaginians are some of the people who sent complimentary embassies to Alexander the Great in 325 BC, while he was in Babylon. The diplomatic relations were imposed upon the people of North Africa through instruments of coercion. Precisely, Alexander the Great had in 324 executed a ruthless punitive expedition in the hills of Luristan, against the Cossaeans. It is this incident that spread fear around North Africa and the rest of the Mediterranean region into capitulation (75).
It is also important to note that during the Hellenistic period, after the demise of Alexander the Great, North African kingdoms such as Egypt and Libya became Hellenized, to the point of taking on the Greek culture and language. For this same reason, urban centers in North Africa became Greek-speaking, though the rural areas maintained native traditions.
Specifically, in Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter created a strong Hellenistic state that stretched from Cyrene to Syria and South of Nubia. Economically, Alexandria, the then capital of Egypt served as the capital city and the center of Greek culture and commerce. To perpetuate themselves in Egypt, the Ptolemaic kings arrogated themselves the names of Pharaohs, married from elite families in Egypt and had themselves etched in Egyptian fabric and monuments.
Works Cited
Swain, Simon. Hellenism and Empire: Language, Classicism and the Power of the Greek World, AD 50-250. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1998. Print Read More