Was rome the ultimate heir of Alexander's world empire?

Answer 1

yes and no. Yes in a geographical sense, as the Romans were familiar with the eastern countries because of Alexander's conquests. However Rome had very little contact with Alexander/Macedon at the time of those conquests as Alexander traveled to the east and Rome was in the west. At his death, Alexander's "empire" fell apart leaving the local peoples to develop along their own lines under Greek rule. By the time Rome became interested in the territories in the mid east, the culture of most of the peoples was a blend of Greek and their own, loosely called Hellenistic.