Hellenization is a term coined by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to denote the spread of Greek language, culture, and population into the former Persian empire after Alexander's conquest.[171] That this export took place is undoubted, and can be seen in the great Hellenistic cities of, for instance, Alexandria (one of around twenty towns founded by Alexander[173]) and Antioch.[174] However, exactly how widespread and deeply permeating this was, and to what extent it was a deliberate (more...)policy, is debatable. Alexander certainly made deliberate efforts to insert Greek elements into Persian culture and in some instances he attempted to hybridize Greek and Persian culture, culminating in his aspiration to homogenise the populations of Asia and Europe. However, the successors explicitly rejected such policies after his death. Nevertheless, Hellenization occurred throughout the region, and moreover, was accompanied by a distinct and opposite 'Orientalization' of the Successor states. (less)