The campaigns of Alexander the Great and the struggles that followed his death in Babylon in 323 BCE transformed the political, economic, and cultural conditions of all the lands surrounding the eastern Mediterranean. The old cities of Classical Greece – and new centers like Alexandria – became part of a world dominated by the competing kingdoms of Alexander’s successors. Two of these major Greek-Macedonian empires ruled as foreigners over the non-Greek cultures of the Near East and Egypt. In a modern world still coming to grips with imperial legacies and globalization, this fascinating period of ancient history has become an object of renewed interest and scholarly attention. Using primary sources in translation as well as works of modern scholarship, students in this course will explore the Hellenistic world from Alexander until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BCE. Topics to be addressed will include: political changes and continuities, cultural and intellectual developments (religion, literature, philosophy, and science), and the problems of sources and evidence; particular attention will be devoted to the nature and consequences of interactions between different cultural and ethnic groups in the Hellenistic period.