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Alexander the Great

356 BCE – 323 BCE

Retrace Alexander the Great's life across the map — 24 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Philip II's Illyrian Campaigns357 BCE
   Illyrian Campaigns were several military actions from 358 BC to 337 BC led by Philip II of Macedon against multiple Illyrian tribes and kingdoms.
2. Fourth Sacred War338 BCE
   Under the reign of Philip II, the Argead kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of less than 25 years, largely thanks to the character and policies of its king. In addition to utilising effective diplomacy and marriage alliances to achieve his political aims, Philip II was responsible for reforming the ancient Macedonian army into an effective fighting force. The Macedonian phalanx became the hallmark of the Macedonian army during his reign, combined with Companion cavalry, hypaspists and light infantry. His army and engineers also made extensive use of siege engines. Chief among Philip's Thracian enemies was the ruler Kersebleptes, who may have coordinated a temporary alliance with Athens. In a series of campaigns stretching from 356 to 340 BC, Philip II managed to ultimately subjugate Kersebleptes as a tributary vassal, conquering much of Thrace in the process. Philip II also fought against the Illyrian king Bardylis, who threatened Macedonia proper, and against Grabos II and Pleuratus in Illyria. In his newly conquered territories, he founded new cities such as Philippi, Philippopolis, Herakleia Sintike, and Herakleia Lynkestis.
3. Battle of Chaeronea337 BCE
   The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between Macedonia under Philip II and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens and Thebes. The battle was the culmination of Philip's final campaigns in 339–338 BC and resulted in a decisive victory for the Macedonians and their allies.
4. Battle of Mount Haemus334 BCE
   battle of Alexander the Great's Balkan campaign
5. Siege of Pelium334 BCE
   The siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes in parts of what is modern-day Albania. It was critical for Alexander to take this pass as it provided easy access to Illyria and Macedonia, which was urgently needed in order to quell the unrest in Greece at this time in Athens and Thebes. This was an important point of demarcation in Alexander's early reign, as it established him among the Danubian tribes to the north as a serious monarch to be reckoned with, just as he would later establish this precedent for the Greek city states under his hegemony. Taking this pass allowed Alexander to march his army to southern Greece quickly, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Thebes.
6. Battle of Thebes334 BCE
   The Battle of Thebes took place between the forces under the command of Alexander the Great and the Greek city of Thebes in 335 BC immediately outside of and in the city proper in Boeotia. After being made hegemon of the League of Corinth, Alexander had marched to the north to deal with revolts in Illyria and Thrace, which forced him to draw heavily from the troops in Macedonia that were maintaining pressure on the city-states of southern Greece to keep them in subjection.
7. Alexander's Balkan campaign334 BCE
   The Balkan campaign of Alexander the Great took place in 335 BC, against a number of rebellious vassals of the Macedonian kingdom. Alexander successfully pacified each in turn, leaving him free to begin the long-planned invasion of Persia.
8. Battle of the Granicus333 BCE
   The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Granicus in the Troad region, which is now called the Biga River in Turkey. In the battle Alexander defeated the field army of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, which defended the river crossing. After this battle, the Persians were forced onto the defensive in the cities that remained under their control in the region.
9. Siege of Miletus333 BCE
   The siege of Miletus was Alexander the Great's first siege and naval encounter with the Achaemenid Empire. This siege was directed against Miletus, a city in southern Ionia, which is now located in the Aydın province of modern-day Turkey. During the battle, Parmenion's son Philotas would be key in preventing the Persian Navy from finding safe anchorage. It was captured by Parmenion's son, Nicanor in 334 BC.
10. Siege of Halicarnassus333 BCE
    The siege of Halicarnassus was fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334 BC. Alexander, who had no navy, was constantly being threatened by the Persian navy. It continuously attempted to provoke an engagement with Alexander, who would not oblige them. Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by her younger brother Pixodarus of Caria. When Pixodarus died, Persian King Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. On the arrival of Alexander in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him.
11. Battle of Issus332 BCE
    The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second major battle in Alexander's invasion of the Persian empire, and the first encounter between Darius III and Alexander the Great. The battle resulted in the Macedonian troops defeating the Persian forces. Darius was forced to flee, leaving behind his family and treasury which were captured by Alexander the Great.
12. Siege of Gaza331 BCE
    The siege of Gaza, as part of the Wars of Alexander the Great, took place in October of 332 BC. Resulting in a victory for Macedon, it ended the 31st Dynasty of Egypt, which functioned as a satrapy under the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
13. Siege of Tyre331 BCE
    The siege of Tyre was carried out by Alexander the Great in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Persians. At first, the Macedonian army was unable to capture the city of Tyre, which was a strategic coastal base on the Mediterranean Sea, through conventional means because it was on an island that was 1 kilometer off the coast of modern-day Lebanon and had walls right up to the sea. Alexander responded by first blockading and besieging Tyre for seven months and building a causeway. When his soldiers discovered that they could not extend it any further due to a steep drop under the surface of the water, he ordered siege towers with catapults at the top to be moved to the end. This allowed him to breach the fortifications.
14. Battle of Gaugamela330 BCE
    The Battle of Gaugamela, also called the Battle of Arbela, took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Persian Army under King Darius III. It was the second and final battle between the two kings, and is considered to be the final blow to the Achaemenid Empire, resulting in its complete conquest by Alexander.
15. Battle of the Uxian Defile330 BCE
    The Battle of Uxian Defile was fought by Alexander the Great against the Uxian tribe of the Persian Empire. The battle raged on the mountain range between the key Persian cities of Susa and Persepolis. Persepolis was the ancient capital of the Persian Empire and held a symbolic value among the native Persian population. They believed that if this city were to fall into enemy hands, then, in effect, the whole Persian Empire would fall into the hands of the enemy.
16. Battle of the Persian Gate on the Mountain329 BCE
    The Battle of the Persian Gate took place as part of the Wars of Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC, Ariobarzanes of Persis led a last stand with his outnumbered Persian army at the Persian Gate, near Persepolis, and held back the Macedonian army for approximately a month. However, through captured prisoners of war or a local shepherd, Alexander found a path around to flank the Persian troops from the rear, allowing him to capture half of Persia proper in another decisive victory against the Achaemenid Empire.
17. Siege of Cyropolis328 BCE
    Cyropolis was the largest of seven towns in the region that Alexander the Great targeted for conquest in 329 BC. His goal was the conquest of Sogdiana. Alexander first sent Craterus to Cyropolis, the largest of the Sogdian towns holding out against Alexander's forces. Craterus' instructions were to "take up a position close to the town, surround it with a ditch and stockade, and then assemble such siege engines as might suit his purpose". The idea was to keep the inhabitants focused on their own defences and to prevent them from sending assistance out to the other towns.
18. Battle of Jaxartes328 BCE
    The Battle of Jaxartes was fought in 329 BC by Alexander the Great and his Hellenic (Greek) army against the Saka at the River Jaxartes, now known as the Syr Darya River. The site of the battle straddles the modern borders of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, just south-west of the ancient city of Tashkent and north-east of Khujand.
19. Indian campaign of Alexander the Great326 BCE
    The Indian campaign of Alexander the Great began in 327 BC and lasted until 325 BC. After conquering the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Macedonian army undertook an expedition into the Indus Valley of Northwestern Indian subcontinent. Within two years, Alexander expanded the Macedonian Empire, a kingdom closely linked to the broader Greek world, to include Gandhara and the Indus Valley of Punjab and Sindh, surpassing the earlier frontiers established by the Persian Achaemenid conquest.
20. Siege of the Sogdian Rock326 BCE
    The Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress located north of Bactria in Sogdiana, ruled by Arimazes, was captured by the forces of Alexander the Great in the early spring of 327 BC as part of his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.
21. Cophen Campaign326 BCE
    The Cophen campaign was conducted by Alexander the Great between May 327 BC and March 326 BC against the Aspasioi, the Guraeans, and the Assakenoi tribes in the Kabul, Kunar, Panjkora and Swat valleys, in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main aim of Alexander was to secure the Macedonian line of communications so that the Macedonian army could proceed into India properly.
22. Mallian Campaign325 BCE
    The Mallian campaign was conducted by Alexander the Great from November 326 to February 325 BC, against the Mallians of the Punjab. Alexander was defining the eastern limit of his power by marching down-river along the Hydaspes to the Acesines, but the Malli and the Oxydraci combined to refuse passage through their territory. Alexander sought to prevent their forces meeting, and made a swift campaign against them which successfully pacified the region between the two rivers. Alexander was seriously injured during the course of the campaign, almost losing his life.
23. Battle of the Hydaspes325 BCE
    The Battle of the Hydaspes also known as Battle of Jhelum, or First Battle of Jhelum, was fought between the Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great and the Pauravas under Porus in May of 326 BC. It took place on the banks of the Hydaspes River in what is now the Punjab province of Pakistan, as part of Alexander's Indian campaign. In what was possibly their most costly engagement, the Macedonian army secured a decisive victory over the Pauravas and captured Porus. Large areas of Punjab were subsequently absorbed into the Macedonian Empire; Alexander spared Porus and made him a satrap, effectively reinstating him as the region's ruler.
24. Seleucid–Mauryan War304 BCE
    The Seleucid–Mauryan War was a confrontation between the Seleucid and Mauryan empires that took place sometime between 305 and 303 BCE, when Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid Empire crossed the Indus River into the former Indian satrapies of the Macedonian Empire, which had been conquered by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya of the Maurya Empire.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].