Thus, in the period after Alexander the long struggle between East and West reached a peaceful conclusion. The distinction between Greek and Barbarian gradually faded away, and the ancient world became ever more unified in sympathies and aspirations. It was this mingled civilization of Orient and Occident with which the Romans were now to come in contact, as they pushed their conquering arms beyond Italy into the eastern Mediterranean. [Illustration: ORIENTAL, GREEK, AND ROMAN COINS 1. Lydian coin of about 700 B.C.; the material is electrum, a compound of gold and silver. 2. Gold _daric_; a Persian coin worth about $5. 3. Hebrew silver _shekel_. 4. Athenian silver _tetradrachm_ showing Athena, her olive branch and sacred owl. 5. Roman bronze _as_ (2 cents) of about 217 B.C.; the symbols are the head of Janus and the prow of a ship. 6. Bronze _sestertius_ (5 cents) struck in Nero's reign; the emperor, who carries a spear, is followed by a second horseman bearing a banner. 7. Silver _denarius_ (20 cents) of about 99 B.C.; it shows a bust of Roma and three citizens voting. 8. Gold _solidus_ ($5) of Honorius about 400 A.D.; the emperor wears a diadem and carries a scepter.] STUDIES 1. On an outline map indicate the routes of Alexander, marking the principal battle fields and the most important cities founded by him. Note, also, the voyage of Nearchus. 2. On an outline map indicate the principal Hellenistic kingdoms about 200 B.C. 3. Give the proper dates for (a) accession of Alexander; (b) battle of Issus; (c) battle of Arbela; and (d) death of Alexander. 4. In what sense was Chaeronea a decisive battle? 5. How is it true that the expedition of the Ten Thousand forms "an epilogue to the invasion of Xerxes and a prologue to the conquests of Alexander"? 6. How much can you see and describe in the Alexander Mosaic (illustration, page 123)? 7. Compare Alexander's invasion of Persia with the invasion of Greece by Xerxes. 8. Distinguish between the immediate and the ultimate results of Alexander's conquests. 9. Comment on the following statement: "No single personality, excepting the carpenter's son of Nazareth, has done so much to make the world we live in what it is as Alexander of Macedon." 10. How did the Macedonian Empire compare in size with that of Persia? With that of Assyria? 11. What modern countries are included within the Macedonian Empire under Alexander? 12. How did the founding of the Hellenistic cities continue the earlier colonial expansion of Greece? 13. Why were the Hellenistic cities the real "backbone" of Hellenism? 14. Why do great cities rarely develop without the aid of commerce? Were all the great cities in Alexander's empire of commercial importance? 15. Show how Alexandria has always been one of the meeting points between Orient and Occident. 16. How did the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 A.D. affect the commercial importance of Alexandria?