3. Authorities & decisions: Alexander the Great: Conquest & Empire

Philip II and the Macedonian monarchy, to 336 BCE

Philip II expanded Macedonian control over neighboring territories and defeated a coalition of Greek city-states at Chaeronea in 338 BCE. The League of Corinth established a framework for Macedonian leadership over much of Greece. Alexander inherited both the army and the political structure supporting the planned Persian invasion.

Alexander III, king from 336 to 323 BCE

Alexander directed campaigns and appointed or confirmed governors in conquered territories. He sometimes retained local administrators and at other times replaced them with Macedonian officers. His decisions to punish Thebes in 335 BCE and to destroy or burn parts of Persepolis in 330 BCE illustrate the coercive dimensions of conquest. Surviving accounts differ on some details and motives, so particular claims about intent require caution.

Darius III and the Achaemenid administration, 336–330 BCE

Darius III was the Persian king whose armies were defeated at Issus and Gaugamela. The Persian imperial system used provincial governors known as satraps, tribute obligations, royal roads, and regional administrative practices. Alexander took control of an existing imperial structure; he did not create the entire system of revenue collection and provincial rule anew.

Successor commanders after 323 BCE

Perdiccas initially exercised authority as regent, but rival generals fought over succession and territory. Ptolemy established control in Egypt; Seleucus later built power in much of western Asia; Antigonus and his descendants competed for Macedonia and neighboring territories. The partition settlements at Babylon in 323 BCE and Triparadisus in 321 BCE did not end the conflicts. The resulting kingdoms were governed by different dynasties with separate military and fiscal policies.

Revenue, property, and populations

Royal treasuries and land revenues financed campaigns, garrisons, and new settlements. Tax obligations varied by region and depended on earlier Persian and local institutions as well as new rulers. The evidence does not support assigning every levy or property rule to a single universal decree by Alexander. For individual regions, surviving inscriptions, papyri, and later historical accounts must be distinguished from general descriptions of imperial policy.