3427–3438 AM · 334 BCE — 323 BCE · world history
Alexander the Great
In eleven years a young king marches from Macedon to India and scatters Greek culture across the East.
In eleven years he goes from Macedon to India. At twenty-two Alexander crosses into Asia and destroys the Persian empire in three battles. He takes Egypt and founds Alexandria, enters Babylon, reaches the Punjab and turns back only because his army refuses to go further. He dies at thirty-two without an heir, but Greek language and city life remain in the East for centuries.
Sources
Scholarship
- Greek authors: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plutarch — Plutarch, Alexander; the campaign described in detail by Arrian from the notes of the king’s companions
- archaeology of the Aegean world — the Alexandrias he founded, the coins bearing his image, and the Hellenistic layer across the East
Basis: documents and evidence.