(356–323 BCE)

King of Macedon from 336 who conquered the Persian Empire. Greek culture then permeated the Mediterranean region and Greek became the international language, leading to the Greek translation of the OT (LXX), and the writing of the NT, and the early Christian liturgies, in Greek. The Seleucid dynasty derived from Alexander (from 275 BCE), which explains the interest in Alexander shown in 1 Macc. 1: 1–7.