Short Timeline
356 BC
July 20 - Birth of Alexander III, son of King Philip II and Olympias, at Pella, Macedonia (pothos of Alexander)
343 BC
Aristotle appointed as tutor to young Alexander
342 BC
Alexander gets Bucephalas, his personal horse (died in 326 BC after Hydaspes battle)
338 BC
August 2 - Battle of Chaeronea: King Philip's Macedonian army defeats Greeks, Alexander commands cavalry
336 BC
October [July] - Murder of King Philip; Alexander ascends throne of Macedonia (full discussion)
335 BC
May - Alexander crosses river Danube: establishment of northern frontiers
September - Alexander ends revolt at Thebes
334 BC
May - Alexander crosses Hellespont into Persia
May/June - Battle of the Granicus: Alexander defeats Persian defense force
Autumn - Alexander captures Halicarnassus, Persian stronghold
333 BC
March - Alexander solves riddle of the 'Gordian Knot'
November - Battle of Issus: Alexander's victory over Persian King Darius III; Alexander captures Persian Royal family
332 BC
January-July [August] - Siege of Tyre
September-October - Siege of Gaza
November 14 - Alexander crowned Pharaoh in Memphis, Egypt
331 BC
Winter - Oracle of Siwa allegedly confirms divinity of Alexander
April 7 [Winter] - Foundation of Alexandria, Egypt
October 1 - Battle of Gaugamela (Arbela): final defeat of Persian King Darius III
October 21 - Alexander enters Babylon
330 BC
January - Alexander forces his way through Persian Gates: defeat of last Persian defence troops
May - Alexander burns Persepolis, ceremonial Persian capital
July - Persian King Darius III murdered by his kinsmen
October [Autumn] - Alleged conspiracy: execution of officers Philotas and his father Parmenion
329 BC
Spring - Alexander crosses Hindu Kush into Central Asia
May - Arrest of Bessus, usurper of Persian throne
Summer - Battle of the Iaxartes: Alexander defeats Scythians; Rebel leader Spitamenes annihilates Macedonian forces at Maracanda
328 BC
Spring/Summer/Autumn - Army split in five divisions against rebellions in Central Asia
Autumn - Defeat of rebel leader Spitamenes; Alexander kills officer Cleitus the Black during brawl
327 BC
Winter - Alleged conspiracy: execution of court historian Callisthenes
Spring - Alexander captures 'Sogdian Rock', rebel stronghold
Spring [August] - Marriage to Roxane, daughter of Bactrian noble Oxyartes
Summer - Invasion of India
326 BC
April - Alexander captures 'Rock of Aornus', Indian stronghold
May [July] - Battle of the Hydaspes: Alexander defeats King Porus
September - Army refuses further advance at river Hyphasis: Alexander orders retreat
325 BC
July - Alexander reaches Indian Ocean
August - Alexander starts march through Makran desert (Gedrosian desert)
September 20/21 - Fleet under command of Nearchos sets sail to Persian Gulf
324 BC
Spring - Alexander orders mass wedding in Susa, Persia: marriage to Statira, daughter of Darius III
July - Mutiny (or strike) of the army at Opis
October - Death of Hephaestion, Alexander's lifelong friend and lover, in Ecbatana
323 BC
April - Alexander returns in Babylon
June 10 - Death of Alexander after ten days of severe illness
321 BC
Ptolemy hi-jacks Alexander's sarcophagus and brings Alexander's body to Egypt (Hellenism)
Go to Timeline (full).
Winter - December-February; Spring - March-May; Summer - June-August; Autumn - September-November; [ ] - alternative dating
Timeline compiled according to accounts of Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, Justin and especially the footnotes and comments of their translators and editors. All dates mentioned are subject to debate. With any corrections or suggestions please e-mail me.
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