Alexander the Great

Alexander's Campaign

Alexander the Great Mosaic

When Alexander III inherited the throne of the Kingdom of Macedon upon the assassination of his father Philip II of Macedon there were already plans underway to begin a military incursion to first conquer the rest of Hellenistic Greece and then mount a resistance against the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians had previously made many attempts to subjugate the city-states of Greece through force, mostly famously in the Greco-Persian Wars.

Alexander began first on the Balkan Campaign which was successful in bringing the rest of Greece under Macedonian control. Following this he would begin his highly successful and famous Persian Campaign where he faced off against the leader of the Persian Empire named Darius III. After several early victories at the Battle of the Granicus, the Battle of Issus and the Siege of Tyre he would strike a mighty blow against the Persian Empire who long thought itself only capable of expanding and advancing further into Europe.

Following the Battle of Guagemela and adventures to mystical places such as the Siwa Oasis and Babylon Alexander would be victorious over the Persian army for good.

Wars of the Diadochi - Alexanders Empire Map (336-323 BCE)

Alexanders Empire (336-323 BCE) Historical Atlas (1923)

After finding Darius III killed by his own men he would go on to inherit the title of King of Asia and then begin on another even more arduous task to reconquer all of the Achaemenid satrapies in what became known as the Indian Campaign. Here after exploring and fighting in areas no Greek had ever seen like the Hindu Kush he would eventually be wounded following the extremely costly Battle of the Hydaspes and chose to end his campaign and return to Babylon.

Balkan Campaign

Persian Campaign

Indian Campaign

Wars of the Diadochi

Upon the sudden and unexpected death of Alexander the Great in the city of Babylon the massive empire that he conquered spanned from Greece to Egypt all the way to Indus Valley which was roughly the size of the Achaemenid Empire that he had conquered. Due to his enigmatic nature his military advisors and close friends had no idea how to maintain success and as characteristic of ancient history, it got bloody and ruthless very quickly.

Kingdoms of the Diadochi Map - Historical Atlas (1923)

The ensuing wars became known as the Wars of the Diadochi and saw the establishment of several Hellenistic Kingdoms that all began to war and fight amongst each other which eventually allowed for an easy takeover under the famous Cleopatra VII by the Roman Republic under the command of Julius Caesar, an act which would seal the fate for the republic and bring about the Roman Empire under the leadership of Octavius.

The Diadochi

Hellenistic Kingdoms

Four major Hellenistic Kingdoms emerged in the aftermath of Alexander the Great's untimely death. In the Kingdom of Macedon there was much conflict over the successor to Alexander which led some of his former generals who were placed in charge of various Achaemenid satrapies to declare independence and establish their own sovereignty. This led to many conflicts which resulted in the murder of all Alexander's heirs and eventually the collapse of the Argead Dynasty of Macedon.