After Alexander the Great's ventures in the Persian Empire, Hellenistic kingdoms were established throughout south-west Asia (Seleucid Empire, Kingdom of Pergamon), north-east Africa (Ptolemaic Kingdom) and South Asia (Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Indo-Greek Kingdom). This resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to these new realms through Greco-Macedonian colonization, spanning as far as modern-day Pakistan. Equally, however, these new kingdoms were influenced by the indigenous cultures, adopting local practices where beneficial, necessary, or convenient. Hellenistic culture thus represents a fusion of the Ancient Greek world with that of the Near East, Middle East, and Southwest Asia, and a departure from earlier Greek attitudes towards "barbarian" cultures. The Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization (as distinguished from that occurring in the 8th–6th centuries BC) which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa. Those new cities were composed of Greek colonists who came from different parts of the Greek world, and not, as before, from a specific "mother city". The main cultural centers expanded from mainland Greece to Pergamon, Rhodes, and new Greek colonies such as Seleucia, Antioch, Alexandria and Ai-Khanoum. This mixture of Greek-speakers gave birth to a common Attic-based dialect, known as Koine Greek, which became the lingua franca through the Hellenistic world. COUNT 9
QSN1 What is a common Attic-based dialect? ANS1 Koine Greek QSN2 Where is the Ptolemaic Kingdom? ANS2 north-east Africa QSN3 Where is the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom? ANS3 South Asia QSN4 Where is the Indo-Greek Kingdom? ANS4 South Asia QSN5 Where is the Kingdom of Pergamon? ANS5 south-west Asia QSN6 Where was the Ptolemaic Kingdom located? ANS6 north-east Africa QSN7 Alexander the Great was the emperor of what? ANS7 Persian Empire QSN8 The Hellenistic Period expanded the Greek Empire into what 2 continents? ANS8 Asia and Africa QSN9 What was the new, Attic-based dialect called? ANS9 Koine Greek