IN JULY 356 B.C. AD
Birth of Alexander the Great:
Alexander is the son of the Macedonian king Philip II and his 4th wife Olympia . He was born in Pella in Macedonia and received from 343 BC. JC, an exceptional education for the time. The teachings of the philosopher Aristotle allowed him to build his personality and his intellect.
IN 338 B.C. AD
Philip II takes control of Greece:
He raises a powerful army of well-trained soldiers and conquers the Greek city-states one by one to finally control the entire country.
IN 336 B.C. AD
Alexander rules Greece and begins to build his empire:
His father Philip II was assassinated and acceded to the throne at the age of 20. He is a valiant soldier and a brilliant commander who aims to fight his old enemies, the Persians. He and his soldiers form a powerful army in particular because they have known each other since their earliest childhood and their friendship is strong and close-knit. Alexander leads his army on a journey of more than 32,000 km and founds the largest empire of antiquity in just ten years. This one is modeled after the Persian Empire, which is the largest empire in the world and was founded in about 227 years. In the territories he conquered, Alexander the Great erected many cities that bear his name.
IN 334 B.C. AD
Alexander the Great wins the Battle of Granicus against the Persians:
Alexander the Great passes with his army through Hellespont , the arm of the sea that separates Europe and Asia Minor . He fought the Persians for the first time on the banks of the Granic River (current Biga Çay in Turkey) and emerged victorious from the battle.
IN 333 B.C. AD
Alexander the Great wins the battle at Issus:
He defeats the Persians but King Darius III manages to escape.
IN 332 B.C. AD
Alexander conquers Phenicia:
It takes him months to conquer the city of Tyre with catapults that throw stones from the boats. He ends up destroying the port and enslaving the Phoenician people.
Alexander the Great conquers Egypt:
Alexander expels the Persians from Egyptian territory. As he feeds and is inspired by the culture of the civilizations he conquers, the Egyptians welcome him courteously to Siwa , an oasis located in the Western Desert. He is received as the son of the Egyptian god Amun and is crowned pharaoh . He founded the city of Alexandria which becomes the seat of learning, culture and commerce. He had large libraries built there so that the knowledge of men would never be forgotten. Scholars come from all over Greece to discuss new ideas and, in particular, to build the first lighthouse in the world.
IN 331 B.C. AD
Alexander the Great confronts and crushes the Persians during the Battle of Gaugamela:
Persian King Darius III escapes yet again. Later the army of Alexander invades the palace of Persepolis and fire.
IN 330 B.C. AD
The Persians are definitively defeated when Darius III is assassinated:
After the assassination of Persian King Darius III, Alexander the Great takes his place on the throne. He makes allies among the Persians and marries a Persian princess. He marries twice with foreign princesses because he wants to mix cultures.
IN 326 B.C. AD
Alexander the Great wins the Battle of Hydaspes (North India):
He defeats King Poros in north India , whose soldiers ride hundreds of war elephants. Bucephalus , his faithful steed, and his dog Peritas are killed and he builds a city in memory of each of them. Then he finally beats a retreat because his exhausted troops refuse to go any further.
IN 324 B.C. AD
Rebellion of the Macedonians:
Alexander recruits more and more Persians and Macedonians mutinied because they saw it as an affront.
JUNE 11, 323 B.C. AD
Death of Alexander the Great:
Back in Babylon Alexander the Great dies of a powerful fever at the age of 33. His embalmed body is taken to Alexandria or it is exposed for more than 500 years. After his death, his generals fight and his empire is fragmented. Antigonos takes over Greece and Macedonia , Ptolemy wins Egypt and the rest is taken over by Seleucos and becomes the kingdom of the Seleucids.
IN 146 B.C. AD
Greece becomes part of the Roman Empire:
The 3 kingdoms shared by Antigonos, Ptolemy and Seleucus were finally conquered by the Romans.
Learn about the time from the Greeks to the Romans in Egypt and the Egyptians during antiquity.
Learn more about the Persians and the Middle East during antiquity.