Key Facts
- Duration
- 336–323 BC (13 years)
- Total casualties
- ~200,000
- Geographic span
- Greece to the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan)
- Primary adversary
- Achaemenid Empire under Darius III
- Aftermath
- Wars of the Diadochi lasted ~40 years
Strategic Narrative Overview
Alexander's campaign swept through Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt before pushing into Mesopotamia, where he decisively defeated Darius III. He continued through Greater Iran and Afghanistan, establishing the furthest eastern extent of his empire at Taxila in the Indus Valley. Each phase combined pitched battles against Persian forces, sieges of fortified cities, and campaigns against local chieftains and warlords who resisted Macedonian authority.
01 / The Origins
Alexander III inherited the Macedonian throne after his father Philip II's assassination in 336 BC. Philip had united the Greek city-states under the League of Corinth, leaving Alexander a powerful base. Driven by ambition and the existing Macedonian plan to challenge Persia, Alexander first secured his position by suppressing Greek rebellions and northern city-states, then turned east to conquer the vast Achaemenid Empire ruled by Darius III.
03 / The Outcome
Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC without having established a stable imperial administration or a clear successor. His generals, the Diadochi, abandoned his planned Arabian and Carthaginian campaigns and within years turned on each other. The resulting Wars of the Diadochi lasted approximately 40 years, fragmenting the Macedonian Empire into several successor kingdoms and inaugurating the broader Hellenistic period.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Alexander III of Macedon.
Side B
2 belligerents
Darius III, Memnon of Rhodes, Bessus, Porus.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.