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Wars of Alexander the Great

Also Known As Alexander's Conquests

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Alexander the Great of Macedon carried out a sustained series of conquests and military campaigns from 336 to 323 BC. After securing his northern borders in the Balkan campaign of 335 BC, he crossed into Asia Minor and defeated the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Darius III at the Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, then advanced through Mesopotamia and Persia into Central Asia before entering the Indian subcontinent. His army mutinied at the Hyphasis River in 326 BC, refusing to march further east, which marks the easternmost extent of his conquests. He died in 323 BC without establishing a stable governing structure for the territory he had conquered, and his empire dissolved into the Wars of the Diadochi among his successors.

Facts
Disputed
Death Toll, Low Estimate
from 1,000,000 1
Aggregate order-of-magnitude estimate across all of Alexander's campaigns (336-323 BCE, Greece through Persia to India). Ancient battle-casualty figures (Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch) are notoriously unreliable, often propagandistic in either direction, so this figure is treated as illustrative of scale rather than a precise count.
Year
336 BCE 1
Location
Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia, extending into Central Asia and northwestern India. 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

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In Era

Participant

Additional Source Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the GreatLead section, campaign leader and dates

Related To

Resulted In

Additional Source Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the GreatPersis subsection, fall of the Achaemenid Empire
In the Other Atlases
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaDate Range section
Quote, Date Range section
carried out a series of conquests and military campaigns
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaIndian Campaign section
Quote, Indian Campaign section
His army mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to march further east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
Wikipediacasualties summary
Quote, casualties summary
More than 1 million
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaRelated To: The Hellenistic Period, Overall Outcome section
Quote, Related To: The Hellenistic Period, Overall Outcome section
Despite his military accomplishments, Alexander did not establish a stable empire, and his untimely death threw the vast territories he conquered into a series of civil wars known as the Wars of the Diadochi.
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaParticipant: Alexander the Great, Lead section, campaign leader and dates
Quote, Participant: Alexander the Great, Lead section, campaign leader and dates
Alexander the Great of Macedon carried out a series of conquests and military campaigns from 336 to 323 BC.
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1. Wikipedia: Wars of Alexander the Great
WikipediaResulted In: The Achaemenid Empire, Persis subsection, fall of the Achaemenid Empire
Quote, Resulted In: The Achaemenid Empire, Persis subsection, fall of the Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Persian Empire is considered to have fallen with the death of Darius.
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Wikipedia: Achaemenid Empire
WikipediaRelated To: The Achaemenid Empire, Fall to Alexander III of Macedon section
Quote, Related To: The Achaemenid Empire, Fall to Alexander III of Macedon section
In 330 BC, amidst a Greek military campaign that began in 336 BC, the Achaemenid Empire was conquered in its entirety by Alexander the Great
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