State · 334–323 BCE
Alexander's conquests
Pella (Macedon) to the Indus
Alexander III of Macedon crossed into Asia in 334 BCE, beat the Persians at the Granicus, Issus (333) and Gaugamela (331), took Egypt, where he founded Alexandria, and overthrew the Achaemenid Empire. He pushed on to the Indus, defeating King Porus at the Hydaspes in 326 BCE, until his army refused to go further; he died at Babylon in 323 BCE, aged 32.
Why it mattered
His conquests and the kingdoms of his successors spread Greek language and culture from Egypt to north-western India, opening the Hellenistic age in which Greek became a shared language across the region and cultures mixed, from Greco-Buddhist art to Alexandrian science.
Related
- The world in 400 BCE: Age of Philosophers chapter
- The Persian Wars previous moment · 490–479 BCE
- Euclid and the Library of Alexandria next moment · c. 300 BCE