The Hellenistic Age began when Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, leaving his vast empire stretching from Greece to India without a clear heir. His generals carved the territory into competing kingdoms—the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in Persia and Syria, and the Antigonids in Macedonia. These successor states fought each other for dominance while Greek culture, language, and ideas spread across the eastern Mediterranean and Near East, blending with local traditions to create a cosmopolit