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Historical Period

A dozen years of conquest under Alexander, from Macedon and Thebes to Persia, Egypt and India.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Wars of Alexander · 336–323 BC
Macedon conquers the known world

The Wars of Alexander the Great

From the murder of Philip and the crushing of rebellious Thebes, through the great victories at Issus and Gaugamela that toppled the Persian Empire, to the elephants of the Hydaspes and the mutiny that turned the army home from India. Slide across a dozen years in which a young Macedonian king led his soldiers from Greece to the Indus, never lost a battle, and died at Babylon with the world at his feet.

336 BC
The Young King
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336 BC

The Young King
  • Political

    Alexander takes the throne

    Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    The murder of Philip II brings his twenty-year-old son to the throne of Macedon.

10 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 336 BC

Full Chronicle

The Wars of Alexander the Great

From the murder of Philip and the crushing of rebellious Thebes, through the great victories at Issus and Gaugamela that toppled the Persian Empire, to the elephants of the Hydaspes and the mutiny that turned the army home from India. Slide across a dozen years in which a young Macedonian king led his soldiers from Greece to the Indus, never lost a battle, and died at Babylon with the world at his feet.

  1. The Young King

    • Alexander takes the throne

      The murder of Philip II brings his twenty-year-old son to the throne of Macedon.

  2. The Young King

    • The destruction of Thebes

      Alexander crushes a Greek revolt and razes Thebes as a warning to the rest.

  3. The Conquest of Asia Minor

    • Crossing into Asia at the Granicus

      Alexander crosses the Hellespont and wins his first great victory over the Persians at the Granicus.

  4. The Conquest of Asia Minor

    • Darius defeated at Issus

      Alexander routs the Great King Darius III himself at Issus, capturing his family.

  5. Egypt and the Levant

    • Tyre falls; Egypt welcomes a pharaoh

      After a brutal siege of Tyre, Alexander takes Egypt, where he founds Alexandria.

  6. The Fall of Persia

    • Gaugamela breaks the empire

      At Gaugamela Alexander decisively defeats Darius's grand army, and Babylon opens its gates.

  7. The Fall of Persia

    • Persepolis burns; Darius dies

      The Persian capital is burned and the murdered Darius is succeeded by Alexander himself.

  8. To the Ends of the East

    • Into Bactria and India

      After hard years in Central Asia, Alexander marries Roxana and marches into India.

  9. To the Ends of the East

    • The Hydaspes and the army's revolt

      Alexander defeats King Porus and his elephants, but his weary soldiers refuse to go further.

  10. Death and Legacy

    • Death at Babylon

      Alexander dies at Babylon at thirty-two, and his generals carve the empire among themselves.