Proto-Polemical War
In earlier times, violent conflicts between tribal groups were primarily about the acquisition of power, land and property. These early conflicts were called ‘tribal’ wars in the absence of state involvement. The first states developed from these early tribal wars. These early tribal wars were also called ‘proto-polemical’ wars because the tribe’s war aims were not clearly defined, it was a test of tribal strength rather than a statement of purpose.
The Ancient Greeks
Horton and Hunt model
Alexander the Great, known as the father of ancient Greece, conquered most of the known world in the third century B.C. Through a series of four wars in this period, known as the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek wars, Alexander extended the Hellenic Greek sphere of influence into the northwestern part of the known world. The final conquest of Egypt, known as the Great (or First) Syrian (Ptolemaic) Wars (323-285 B.C.), established the hegemony of the Greek city states over most of the eastern Mediterranean. These wars were the first to be rationalized as a war of conquest rather than a tribal war. Hence they are called ‘polemical’ wars.
The spread of the Hellenic world was, for the most part, confined to Asia Minor and southern Europe. From these early wars, a number of cultural and political institutions were to develop over the next two centuries, including such institutions as the city-state and the empire.
Alexander’s Successors
Through a process of regrouping and reorganization, the subsequent successors to Alexander’s empire came to be called the ‘Ptolemaic’ dynasty. The most prominent of these successors was the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt, whose name derived from Ptolemy, Alexander’s general and later his viceroy in Egypt.
Ptolemy
The Ptolemies were the most significant of the rulers of Alexander’s empire. Like Alexander, they had political ambitions which extended beyond the borders of their kingdom. Egypt, however, was a regional power. The Ptolemies, therefore, aimed to extend their control not only over Egypt but also over Libya, Cyrenaica and the eastern part of Syria. They were successful in doing so, and their kingdom became a major 01e38acffe
Related links: