The Hellenistic Period was a time of expansion of the Greek world and the Hellenizing of many parts of the Mediterranean, including parts of N. Africa, Italy, the Meditteranean Islands, Asia Minor, the Baltics, the Black Sea, Pallistine, and beyond to Persia, Bactria, and India. It was a time both of conquest and the spread of Hellenic ideas and ideals, including art, political science, education, literature, and philosophy. It was also a period during which the Hellenic art of war spread over a wide area, beginning with the conquests of Alexander and following through the period of his successors down through the turn of the millenium. The period covers roughly the fourth century BC to the end of the first century BC, ending with the conquests of Rome.