Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BCE): his conquest of the Persian Empire and the world he left behind.
Category: Figures
- 356 BCEThe Temple of Artemis at Ephesus burns
Built about 550 BCE with funds from Croesus of Lydia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is burned in 356 BCE. Tradition blames Herostratus and says it was the night Alexander was born. The Ephesians refuse Alexander's offer to pay for the rebuilding.
- July 356 BCEAlexander the Great is born
Alexander is born at Pella in July 356 BCE, probably 20 July, the son of Philip II and Olympias. His tutor will be Aristotle.
- 343 BCEAristotle tutors Alexander
About 343-342 BCE Aristotle goes to Macedon to teach the young Alexander. The two later become estranged. Claims that Aristotle had a hand in Alexander's death rest on weak evidence.
- August 338 BCEBattle of Chaeronea
In August 338 BCE Philip II defeats Athens and Thebes in Boeotia, with his 18-year-old son Alexander commanding the left wing. Thebes's Sacred Band is wiped out. Philip becomes master of Greece.
- October 336 BCEAlexander becomes king
Aged about 20, Alexander is proclaimed king by the nobles and the army in October 336 BCE, probably 25 October. He secures the throne and the Greek states, which are restless after Philip's death.
- October 336 BCEPhilip II is assassinated
In October 336 BCE, perhaps 25 October, Philip is stabbed by his bodyguard Pausanias at Aegae, at the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra. His planned Persian campaign passes to Alexander. The motive is disputed.
- 335 BCEAlexander destroys Thebes
In 335 BCE Thebes revolts and Alexander punishes it with his Greek allies. The city is razed and its people sold into slavery, except, by tradition, Pindar's house and the temples. Its territory is shared among other Boeotian cities.
- May 334 BCEBattle of the Granicus
In May 334 BCE Alexander beats the Persian satraps at the Granicus river in the Troad. Cleitus the Black saves his life. Greek mercenaries in Persian service are largely killed or captured.
- c. 333 BCEThe Gordian Knot (traditional)
At Gordium in 333 BCE, tradition says, Alexander undoes the knot that was said to give rule over Asia to whoever freed it. Versions differ: he cut it with his sword, or he pulled out the pin. The story is ancient legend.
- November 333 BCEBattle of Issus
In November 333 BCE Alexander routs Darius III near Issus, and Darius flees, leaving his mother, wife and daughters in Alexander's hands. Ancient army numbers are far inflated. The victory opens Syria and Phoenicia.
- January 332 BCESiege of Tyre
From January to July 332 BCE Alexander besieges island Tyre, building a causeway about a kilometre long that still survives. Thousands of Tyrians die and some thousands are sold into slavery. Figures vary by source.
- April 331 BCEAlexander founds Alexandria
In April 331 BCE Alexander founds Alexandria on Egypt's coast, planned on a grid by the architect Dinocrates of Rhodes. After his death Ptolemy makes it his capital, and it becomes a centre of Hellenistic learning.
- October 1, 331 BCEBattle of Gaugamela
On 1 October 331 BCE Alexander defeats Darius III near Gaugamela, in modern Iraqi Kurdistan, and Darius flees. Babylon surrenders. The battle breaks the Achaemenid Empire. Ancient army sizes are unreliable.
- 330 BCEPersepolis is burned
Alexander takes Persepolis in 330 BCE and, after months there, a fire destroys its palaces, thought to have started in Xerxes's. Sources disagree on whether it was a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for the Acropolis; Thais is named in later accounts.
- July 330 BCEDarius III is murdered
In July 330 BCE Bessus, satrap of Bactria, and other nobles wound Darius III and abandon him, as Alexander closes in. Alexander gives him a royal funeral. Bessus takes the name Artaxerxes V; Alexander later has him executed.
- 327 BCEAlexander marries Roxana
In 327 BCE Alexander marries Roxana, a Sogdian or Bactrian noblewoman, against the wishes of his companions. Where it took place is uncertain. Her son Alexander IV is born after Alexander's death in 323.
- c. 326 BCEMutiny at the Hyphasis
After the Hydaspes, Alexander's army refuses to march farther east at the Hyphasis (Beas) river. The river marks the easternmost point of his conquests. He turns back, and the army returns by a southern route.
- May 326 BCEBattle of the Hydaspes
In May 326 BCE (some say July) Alexander defeats the Indian king Porus on the Jhelum river in the Punjab, then confirms him as satrap. His horse Bucephalus dies, and Alexander founds Bucephala in its honour.
- 324 BCEThe Susa weddings
In 324 BCE at Susa Alexander marries Stateira, daughter of Darius III, and perhaps Parysatis, and about eighty of his companions wed Persian and Median noblewomen. Historians now doubt that Macedonians widely resented the unions.
- 323 BCELamian War
On news of Alexander's death, Athens and other Greek states revolt against Macedon in 323 BCE. Antipater is besieged at Lamia, but wins at Crannon in August 322. Athens gets a garrison and an oligarchy; its citizen body falls from about 21,000 to 9,000.
- 323 BCEPartition of Babylon
After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, the infantry back his half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus while Perdiccas holds the signet ring. Philip III and the unborn Alexander IV are made joint kings in name; Perdiccas distributes the satrapies.
- June 323 BCEAlexander dies at Babylon
Alexander dies at Babylon on 10 or 11 June 323 BCE, aged 32, after a short illness. Poison, typhoid and other causes have been proposed; none is proven. He leaves no clear heir.
- 321 BCEPerdiccas is assassinated
In 321 BCE, after a failed crossing of the Nile into Ptolemy's Egypt, Perdiccas is killed by his own officers, including Seleucus. The regency passes to others and the wars of Alexander's successors begin in earnest.
- 306 BCEThe Successors proclaim themselves kings
In 306 BCE Antigonus and his son Demetrius take the royal crown, and Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus and later Cassander follow. Alexander's empire is formally split into rival kingdoms. Ptolemy is crowned king and pharaoh about 305-304.