Research On The Hellenistic Newly-founded Cities

Alexander the Great and his armies crossed the Hellespont and invaded the Persian Empire in 334 BC.Their campaigns not only founded a vast empire whose territory extended from Macedonia to India,but also proclaimed the coming of a new era,the Hellenistic period(334-30BC).To strengthen control for their new territory,Alexander and his successors built hundreds of “newly founded cities” all over the Hellenistic world,in which Alexandria in Egypt was the first Hellenistic newly-founded city built by Alexander the Great.A Hellenistic city usually honored a king as its founder and were named after the royal families or titles of them.In general,political and strategic considerations were the chief factors influencing the choice of sites.When a king was planning to build a new city,he usually considered from the following three aspects: the sites near or at the pre-existed towns,on the vital communication line and the potential to be prosperous.Most of the Hellenistic new-founded cities were planned in the traditional Hippodamean style,with typical Greek style architectures like theatre,gymnasium etc.,besides,it was common to see heroon(royal sanctuaries)and oriental temples in a city.The residents of a Hellenistic newly-founded cities usually stemmed from colonization or synoikismos.The Macedonian veterans and Greece mercenaries were not only the main military resources of the early Hellenistic empires,but also the most important part of citizens,the upper-class of cities.The indigenous residents from the surrounding areas were also admitted to the cities and part of the local aristocracies can join the city’s administrative system through marriage or military duties.Hellenistic newly-founded cities were known as polis,their administrative system also stem from the polis tradition.They organized citizens into tribes and demes,held their own Boule and Assembly,elected archons,agoranomoi and other Greek style officials.What is different with classical polis is that Hellenistic kings often set epistatai in the cities,who controlled vital fields of the cities in holding other important offices.Hellenistic newly founded cities were important instruments for the early hellenistic empires when constructing their imperial systems.For their vital political status and important roles on the main roads,they usually became significant cities on the silk road and hub of different cultures.