Alexander the Great

Birth of Alexander the Great

356 BCE

Alexander III of Macedon was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon, on 20 July 356 BC. He was the son of Philip II, the king of Macedonia, and his fourth wife, Olympias.

Alexander's War Horse

346 BCE

Alexander tamed a horse and named him, Bucephalus. He became Alexander's war horse. The horse took him as far as India. In later events, Alexander names a city after Bucephalus's death.

Alexander's Education

343 BCE

As a child, Alexander was taught to fight, ride, and endure hardships such as forced marches by Leonidas of Epirus (a relative of his mother, Olympias).
Next, he was taught by Lysimachus of Acarnania. He taught Alexander how to read, write, and play the lyre.
By the age of 13, Alexander was taught by the philosopher, Aristotle, for three years at the Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza.

Alexander's Military Training

340 BCE

A year after Alexander completed his education, he became a soldier. He joined his father's army, who wanted to unite Macedonia and Greece. He had his first military expedition against the Thracian tribes.

The Defeat of the Athenian and Theban Armies

338 BCE

By the age of 18, Alexander to charge of the Companion Cavalry in the Battle of Charonea. He helped Philip II, his father, defeat the Athenian and Theban armies. After their success, the father and son's relationship disintegrated. Philip II married Cleopatra Eurydice and forced Alexander and his mother, Olympias, to flee from Macedonia.

Alexander the Great took on Phlip II's throne.

336 BCE

After his father's death, he became a heir to a strong kingdom with an experienced army. Also, he was given the generalship of Greece. He started his reign by removing possible opponents to the throne. Within a year of his reign, he defeated Thebes and enslaved its people as punishment for their rebellion.

Philip II's Death

336 BCE

During Alexander's sister's wedding, King Philip II was murdered by a Macedonian noble named Pausanias.

Invading the Persian Empire

334 BCE

Alexander the Great started his own war against the Persians at the age of 23. Darius III was the king of Persia at the time and he underestimated Alexander greatly. At the time Macedonia was bankrupt. Alexander had no money to support his troops so he borrowed money. On November 5th, the Battle of Issus took place and Alexander was victorious.

Winter in Gordium

333 BCE

Alexander leads his troop to Gordium and there they spend the winter. While he is there he hears of an ancient tale that says that an ancient king had tied a knot and whoever untied the knot would rule all of Asia. Alexander could not untie the knot because there were no ends to unbind it, so he cut the rope to create two ends. That night there was a terrible thunderstorm, and Alexander's prophet took that as a sign that Zeus was pleased and would grant Alexander many victories.

Conquering Egypt

332 BCE

The commander of Gaza, Batis, denied to surrender to Alexander, who reacted by commanding assaults on the stronghold. After three attacks, Gaza was finally under Alexander's control. The men had sword put to their necks, and the women and children were sold into slavery. Alexander then marched to Egypt where he was welcomed as their king. This was because the Egyptians hated the Persians.

Alexander the Great wins the Persian Empire

331 BCE

After his stay in Egypt, Alexander the Great went to Gaugamela. There, he defeated the Persians for the last time. At first, Darius attempted to persuade Alexander to halt his attacks, but this failed and Darius prepared for attacks. After Alexanders victory, Darius had run away. Later, he was found to be murdered by one of his nobles. This granted Alexander the crown of the Persian Empire.

Alexander the Great traveled across the Indus River

327 BCE

Alexander the Great wanted to travel deeper in India. However, his soldiers wanted to go home, and they were tired. As a result, Alexander the Great went back to Greece in disappointment with his soldiers in 325 BC.

Alexander commands his soldiers to go to Babylon

324 BCE

By 324 BC, Alexander tells his army to visit Babylon so that he could take this opportunity to settle down after his military campaigns. However, on the way he was met by Chaldeans who advised Alexander to not go. The Chaldeans warned them that going to Babylon at this time could be fatal to him and mentioned that his soldiers moving towards the sun setting meant a symbol of decline. Alexander suggested moving their route eastward, but it was inevitable because of the obstacles on their journey.

The Death of Alexander the Great

323 BCE

After some time at Babylon, Alexander soon died at Nebuchadnezzar's palace on June 10 or June 11, 323 BC. Many historians explain how he had the symptoms of typhoid fever, but others theorize that he may have been poisoned. The Macedonians and other residents grieved at the loss of their leader. His body was then planned to be moved to Macedonia but on the way was redirected to Memphis, Egypt. Later on it was reburied at Alexandria, but it is now unknown at to where Alexander's body's burial is.

Alexander the Great's Empire Divides

300 BCE

Alexander's death left his kingdom with no heir to become the next leader of his empire. His three generals took this chance to argue over who would rule, but they soon agreed by dividing the empire into three kingdoms. Each of the three generals then ruled over Hellenistic Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt by 300 BC.