The Hellenistic Kingdoms

After Alexander's death his commanders spend forty years dividing the inheritance; the battle of Ipsus finally fixes their borders. Three main kingdoms take shape: the Ptolemies in Egypt with Alexandria, the Seleucids in Syria and Mesopotamia, the Antigonids in Macedon. Greek becomes the common language of officials and merchants from the Aegean to the Indus; gymnasia and theatres are built in the new cities; local cults grow together with Greek ones. Judea finds itself on the border between Ptolemies and Seleucids and passes from hand to hand—a neighbourhood that will shape its history for the next two centuries.