From Babylon to Baghdad: Teaching Alexander after 9/11

In light of America's post-9/11 involvement in the Middle East, teachers of ancient history can give new relevance to the Alexander era, another period in which a Western superpower projected military force into Mesopotamia and Central Asia. While the parallels between the two ventures are far from exact, the questions raised in connection with Alexander's campaigns, both by the ancient historians who recorded it and by modern scholars, will inevitably bring to students' minds similar questions about the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such resonances, if acknowledged and explored in the classroom, can enliven and energize the study of ancient history, as well as better prepare young citizens for the choices they face.