Alexander III of Macedon, most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders.
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 great battle of Alexander's conquest of Asia, and the first encounter between Darius III and Alexander the Great. The battle resulted in the Macedonian troops defeating the Persian forces.
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.
The wars of Alexander the Great were a series of conquests carried out by Alexander III of Macedon from 336 to 323 BC. They began with battles against the Achaemenid Empire, then under the rule of Darius III. After Alexander's chain of victories, he began a campaign against local chieftains and warlords that stretched from Greece to as far as the region of Punjab in South Asia. By the time he died, Alexander ruled over most regions of Greece and the conquered Achaemenid Empire, including much of Achaemenid Egypt; he did not, however, manage to conquer the Indian subcontinent in its entirety according to his initial plan.
Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, probably of the 1st century, author of his only known and only surviving work, Historiae Alexandri Magni, "Histories of Alexander the Great", or more fully Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis Libri Qui Supersunt, "All the Books That Survive of the Histories of Alexander the Great of Macedon." Much of it is missing.
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.
The Anabasis of Alexander was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The Anabasis is a history of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, specifically his conquest of the Persian Empire between 336 and 323 BC. Both the unusual title "Anabasis" and the work's seven-book structure reflect Arrian's emulation of the Greek historian Xenophon, whose own Anabasis in seven books concerned the earlier campaign "up-country" of Cyrus the Younger in 401 BC.
The siege of Tyre was orchestrated by Alexander the Great in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Persians. The Macedonian army was unable to capture the city, which was a strategic coastal base on the Mediterranean Sea, through conventional means because it was on an island and had walls right up to the sea. Alexander responded to this problem by first blockading and besieging Tyre for seven months, and then by building a causeway and placing siege towers with catapults built on top at the end after his soldiers discovered that they could not extend it any further due to a steep drop under the surface of the water. This allowed him to breach the fortifications.
Dioxippus was an ancient Greek pankratiast, renowned for his Olympic victories in the sport of pankration. His fame and skill were such that he was crowned Olympic champion by default in 336 BC when no other pankratiast dared meet him on the field. This kind of victory was called "akoniti". The most famous story of Dioxippus is his victory over Coragus of the Macedonian army.
Amyntas was a Macedonian officer in Alexander the Great's army, son of Andromenes from Tymphaia. After the Battle of the Granicus, 334 BC, when the garrison of Sardis was quietly surrendered to Alexander, Amyntas was the officer sent forward to receive it from the commander, Mithrenes. Two years after, 332, we again hear of him as being sent into Macedonia to collect levies, while Alexander after the siege of Gaza advanced to Egypt; and he returned with them in the ensuing year, when the king was in possession of Susa.
Satibarzanes, a Persian, was satrap of Aria under Darius III, king of Persia.
The Battle of Megalopolis was fought in 331 BC between Spartan-led forces and Macedonia. Alexander's regent Antipater led the Macedonians to victory over King Agis III. Alexander, warring in Asia at the time, called it a "battle of mice", according to Plutarch.
The Partition of Babylon was the first of the conferences and ensuing agreements that divided the territories of Alexander the Great. It was held at Babylon in June 323 BC. Alexander’s death at the age of 32 had left an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India. The issue of succession resulted from the claims of the various supporters of Philip Arrhidaeus, and the as-of-then unborn child of Alexander and Roxana, among others. The settlement saw Arrhidaeus and Alexander’s child designated as joint kings with Perdiccas serving as regent. The territories of the empire became satrapies divided between the senior officers of the Macedonian army and some local governors and rulers. The partition was solidified at the further agreements at Triparadisus and Persepolis over the following years and began the series of conflicts that comprise the Wars of the Diadochi.
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.
Amphoterus the brother of Craterus, was appointed by Alexander the Great to be his commander of the fleet in the Hellespont in 333 BC. Amphoterus' appointment recognized his successful attempts to subdue the islands between Greece and Asia which had not acknowledged Alexander. Amphoterus cleared Crete of the Persians and pirates. He then sailed to the Peloponnese in 331 BC, where he put down an uprising against Macedonian control. Alexander sent Cypriot and Phoenician ships to help Amphoterus.
Batis was a eunuch and commander of the city of Gaza in the Achaemenid Empire during the 4th century BC and an opponent of Alexander the Great during his eastern campaigns. He was executed after the lengthy siege of Gaza in which he held the city that connected the only road between Egypt and the rest of the empire, thus blocking Alexander from entering that province. Batis not only rejected entreaties to surrender the city without the fight but, even after defeat, refused to submit to the Macedonians or to acknowledge Alexander as the new King of Asia, which enraged Alexander. Reportedly, a rope was inserted through Batis' Achilles tendon and the lower bones of his legs and was dragged behind a chariot around his city walls until he died in the manner as Hector had been treated by Alexander's hero Achilles, except that Hector had already been dead when he was dragged.
There are numerous surviving ancient Greek and Latin sources on Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, as well as some Asian texts. The five main surviving accounts are by Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, Quintus Curtius Rufus, and Justin. In addition to these five main sources, there is the Metz Epitome, an anonymous late Latin work that narrates Alexander's campaigns from Hyrcania to India. Much is also recounted incidentally by other authors, including Strabo, Athenaeus, Polyaenus, Aelian, and others. Strabo, who gives a summary of Callisthenes, is an important source for Alexander's journey to Siwah.
Sabaces was an Achaemenid Persian satrap of the Achaemenid Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt during the reign of king Darius III of Persia.
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.
