CLASS DISCUSSION, MARCH 7:
PERSIAN CUSTOMS AND ASSIMILATION, 336-323 BC

Tuesday's class will focus on the lengthy period during which Alexander and his forces came into contact with, and defeated, the Persian Empire. Read to p. 402 in Green and the appropriate primary sources in conjunction. One pair of students will lead the class discussion on the following topic for 15-20 minutes:

• Persian Customs and Assimilation

Jamie Garfield and Tristan Power
The final defeat of Darius signalled the conquest of the Persian Empire. Trace the development of the cultural contact, and conflict, between Alexander and the Greco-Macedonian tradition on the one hand, and the Persian (a conglomeration of many "sub-"cultures) on the other. To what extent did Alexander actively seek to assimilate Persian customs into his own, and how did this assimilation (or lack thereof) manifest itself? How do the sources assess his policies of cultural absorption? How did his colleagues respond?