Toby Wilkinson: evaluation

Transcript context

…Alexander is able to take over Egypt because Persian incursions had weakened it, or how did that happen? We think of Egypt as so strong and mighty and everlasting back then. Yes. Egypt, of course, had been a very, very mighty civilization for thousands of years, but in the centuries before Alexander the Great, it had been weakened internally and threatened externally by a variety of other powers, and it had fallen to the might of Persia. The Persians were hated in Egypt. They really were loathed and despised because they didn’t celebrate or even pay due respect to Egyptian gods and Egyptian traditions. When Alexander the Great, who himself was trying to overthrow Persia, arrived at the gates of Egypt, he was welcomed as a hero because he had thrown off the hated Persians. I suppose it was the old principle, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Alexander the Great was welcomed as a friend into Egypt and took over control of the country almost without a fight. Either technologically or institutionally, what is it that the Persians had that the Egyptians did not?…

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