Chronology of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia
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Chronological summary of the expedition of Alexander the Great into Asia against the Persian Empire of king Darius III, with indication of the countries/places visited or simply crossed, including the most important battles/sieges and the cities founded (Alexandrias). The events of the expedition are shown in chronological order. For each event is given, separated by ― : 1) Date of event, 2) Places/cities crossed, indicated by Ancient name (Present name, Country), 3) Regions, provinces or Persian satrapies of the places/cities crossed, with indication of their capital cities (where appropriate).
Expedition
Date | Event | Source |
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April 334 B.C. | Departure of the expedition from Amphipolis Amphipolis Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in... (Greece) |
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May 334 | Troy (Turkey)―Troades, capital city | |
May 334 | Battle of the Granicus Battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire... River (Biga Çay, near Dimetoka, Turkey)―Hellespontine Phrygia (capital city Dascylium (Ergili), captured by Parmenion Parmenion Parmenion was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, murdered on a suspected false charge of treason.... ) |
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Jun 334 | Sardes (near Salihli, Turkey)―Lydia, capital city | |
Jun 334 | Ephesus (Turkey)―Ionia | |
Jul 334 | Siege of Miletus Siege of Miletus The Siege of Miletus was Alexander the Great's first naval encounter with the Achaemenid Empire. This minor siege was directed against the inhabitants of Miletus, a city in southern Ionia, in Caria. Which is now located in the Anatolia province of modern-day Turkey. It was captured by Parmenion's... (Turkey)―Ionia, capital city |
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Sep 334 | Siege of Halicarnassus Siege of Halicarnassus The Siege of Halicarnassus was fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334 BC. Alexander, who had no navy, was constantly being threatened by the Persian navy. It continuously attempted to provoke an engagement with Alexander, who would have none of it. Eventually,... (Bodrum, Turkey)―Caria, capital city |
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? | Lycia (Turkey)―Lycia (capital city Xanthos) | |
Dec 334 | Phaselis (near Kemer, Turkey)―Pamphylia | |
? | Termessos (Turkey)―Pamphylia | |
Jan 333 | Perge (modern Murtina, near Aksu, Turkey)―Pamphylia, capital city | |
? | Aspendos (near Serik, Turkey)―Pamphylia | |
? | Side (near Manavgat, Turkey)―Pamphylia | |
? | Kelainai (near Dinar, Turkey)―Pisidia (capital city Sagalassos) | |
Apr 333 | Gordion (Yassihöyük, near Polatli, Turkey)―Great Phrygia, capital city | |
? | Ankyra (Ankara, Turkey)―Cappadocia (capital city Comana (Kayseri)) | |
? | Cilician Gates (Turkey)―Cilicia | |
Sep 333 | Cydnos River (Tarsus Çayi River, Turkey )―Cilicia | |
Sep 333 | Tarsus (Turkey)―Cilicia, capital city | |
Oct 333 | Soli (Mezetlu, west of Mersin, Turkey)―Cilicia | |
Nov 333 | Battle of Issus Battle of Issus The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia... , Pinarus River (Payas River, near Dörtyol, Turkey)―Cilicia |
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Nov 333 | Alexandretta or Alexandria near Issus (Iskenderun, Turkey)―Cilicia | |
Dec 333 | Aradus Island (Arwad, 3 km off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus, Syria)―Phoenicia (Syria) | |
Jan 332 | Byblos (40 km north of Beirut, Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) | |
Jan 332 | Sidon (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) | |
Jan 332 | Siege of Tyre Siege of Tyre The Siege of Tyre was a siege of the city of Tyre, a strategic coastal base on the Mediterranean Sea, orchestrated by Alexander the Great in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Persians. The Macedonian army was unable to capture the city through conventional means because it was on an island... (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) |
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? | Damascus (Syria)―Syria, capital city | |
Aug 332 | Jerusalem (Israel)―Syria | |
Sep 332 | Siege of Gaza Siege of Gaza During the Siege of Gaza, Alexander the Great, by utilizing the engines he had employed against Tyre, succeeded in reaching the walls. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold was taken by storm.... (Palestine)―Syria |
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Dec 332 | Pelusium (Port Said, Egypt)―Egypt | |
Jan 331 | Memphis (Egypt)―Egypt, capital city | |
Jan 331 | Alexandria (Egypt)―Egypt | |
Feb 331 | Siwa, oracle (Egypt)―Egypt | |
May 331 | Tyre (Lebanon)―Phoenicia (Syria) | |
? | Damascus (Syria)―Syria | |
? | Alep (Syria)―Syria | |
Jul 331 | Thapsacus (Tipsah) (Dibsi Faray, Euphrates River, Syria)―Mesopotamia | |
Jul 331 | Harran (Turkey)―Mesopotamia | |
Jul 331 | Edessa or Urhai (Urfa, Turkey)―Mesopotamia | |
Jul 331 | Tigris River (Iraq)―Mesopotamia | |
Oct 331 | Battle of Gaugamela Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.-Location:Darius chose a flat, open plain... (Tel Gomel, Iraq)―Mesopotamia |
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Oct 331 | Arbela (Arbil/Irbil, Iraq)―Mesopotamia (ancient Assyria), capital city | |
Oct 331 | Babylon Babylon Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad... (on the Euphrates, Iraq)―Babylonia Babylonia Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as... , capital city |
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Dec 331 | Susa Susa Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers.... (Iran)―Susiana (Elam), capital city |
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? | Battle of the Persian Gate Battle of the Persian Gate The Battle of the Persian Gate was a military conflict between the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander the Great at the Persian Gates. The Achaemenid army was commanded by the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes and the invading Macedonian army was commanded by Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330 BC,... (Darvazeh-ye Fars, northeast of Yasuj, Iran)―Persia |
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Jan 330 | Persepolis Persepolis Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid... (Iran)―Persia, capital city |
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? | Pasargad (plain of Morghab, Iran)―Persia | |
Jun 330 | Deh Bid Pass (Zagros Range) to modern Yazd and Esfahan, Iran―Persia/Media | |
Jun 330 | Ecbatana Ecbatana Ecbatana is supposed to be the capital of Astyages , which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of Nabonidus... (Hamadan, Iran)―Media Medes The MedesThe Medes... , capital city |
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Jun 330 | Rhagae (Rey, Iran)―Media | |
Jun 330 | Caspian Gates (between modern Eyvanakey and Aradan or Theran and Semnan, Iran, Media/Parthia border)―Media/Parthia | |
Jul 330 | Alexander's detour from modern Semnan to the Dasht-e-Kavir desert (Iran)―Parthia Parthia Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire.... |
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Jul 330 | Thara (near Ahuan, between Semnan and Qusheh, Iran) where the Persian king Darius III was killed―Parthia | |
Jul 330 | Hecatompylos (Shahrud, near Emamshahr, Iran)―Parthia, capital city | |
Jul 330 | Zadracarta (Gorgan, Iran)―Hyrcania, capital city | |
Aug 330 | Hyrcanian campaign (Caspian Sea/Elburz Range, Iran)―Hyrcania Hyrcania Hyrcania was the name of a satrapy located in the territories of present day Gilan, Golestan, Mazandaran and part of Turkmenistan, lands south of the Caspian Sea. To the Greeks, the Caspian Sea was the "Hyrcanian Sea".-Etymology:... |
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Sep 330 | Susia (Tus, near Mashhad, Iran)―Parthia | |
? | Nisa-Alexandroupolis (Bagir Village, 18 km southwest of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan)???―Parthia | |
Sep 330 | Artacoana, Alexandria in Aria (Herat, Afghanistan)―Aria, capital city | |
Oct 330 | Phrada, Alexandria Prophthasia (Farah, Afghanistan)―Drangiana, capital city | |
Dec 330 | Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan)―Arachosia, capital city | |
Winter 329 | Alexandria (Ghazni, Afghanistan)―Arachosia | |
Apr 329 | Ortospana, Kabura (Kabul, Afghanistan)―Gandara | |
Apr 329 | Cophen River (Kabul River, Afghanistan)―Gandara | |
Apr 329 | Kapisa, Alexandria in the Caucasus (Bagram near Charikar, Afghanistan)―Gandara, capital city | |
May 329 | Paropamisus (Hindu Kush, Afghanistan) (Paropamisus is the western part of Gandara)―Gandara | |
May 329 | Khawak Pass (leading from Badakhshan to Panjshir valley, 100 km northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan)―Gandara | |
May 329 | Drapsaca (Konduz/Kondoz or Qonduz/Qondoz, Afghanistan)―Bactria | |
May 329 | Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria Bactria Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River... , capital city |
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May 329 | Oxus River (Gozan Gozan Gozan may refer to:* The Ancient River Gozan, Amu Darya, The River Amu or Oxus, a river in North Afghanistan & Central Asia.* the Five Mountain System, a Japanese network of Zen temples... , (Amudar'ja River, Afghanistan/Uzbekistan border) |
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May 329 | Alexandria Tarmita (Termez/Termiz, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia (or Transoxiana) | |
Jun 329 | Nautaca (Uzunkir, near Shakhrisabz, between Samarkand and Karshi, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia | |
Jun 329 | Maracanda (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia, capital city | |
Jul 329 | Jaxartes River (Syrdar'ya River) and Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan/Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan)―Sogdia | |
Jul 329 | Fergana Valley with 7 Achaemenid cities-fortresses, among which Cyropolis or Cyreschata/Kurushkatha (Uroteppa, Tajikistan)―Sogdia | |
Jul 329 | Alexandria Eschate (Leninabad, Khodzent, Khudzhand or Hudzand, Tajikistan)―Sogdia | |
Oct 329 | Sogdians and Scythians Massagetes (Spitamenes' revolt) (north of Jaxartes River) | |
Nov 329 | Maracanda (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia | |
Nov 329 | Tribactra (Bukhara, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia | |
Nov 329 | Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria | |
Spring 328 | Alexandria Oxiane/on the Oxus (perhaps Ai Khanum/Ay Khanom???) (confluence of the Amudar'ja and Kowkcheh rivers, near Deshitiqala (Badakhshan region), northern frontier of Afghanistan )―Bactria | |
? | Alexandria in Margiana (Mary/Merv, Turkmenistan) (founded by Craterus and refounded by Antiochus I and called Antiochia)―Margiana, capital city | |
Summer/Autumn 328 | Sogdian campaigns and attack of the Sogdian settlements in the Gissarskiy (or Hissar) Range (Pamiro-Alai region, Tajikistan)―Sogdia | |
Dec 328 | Nautaca (Uzunkir, near Shakhrisabz, between Samarkand and Karshi, Uzbekistan)―Sogdia | |
Mar 327 | Sogdian Rock o Rock of Sisimithres (where Oxyartes and Roxana Roxana Roxana sometimes Roxane, was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. She was born earlier than the year 343 BC, though the precise date remains uncertain.... were) (Gissarskiy (or Hissar) Range, Pamiro-Alai region, Tajikistan)―Sogdia |
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Spring 327 | Bactra (Balkh, near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan)―Bactria | |
Spring 327 | Kapisa, Alexandria in the Caucasus (Bagram near Charikar, Afghanistan)―Gandara, capital city | |
? | Cophen River (Kabul River, Afghanistan/Pakistan)―Gandara | |
Sep 327 | Passo Khyber/Khyber Pass (Afghanistan/Pakistan)―Gandara | |
Autumn 327 | Peucelaotis (Charsadda, north of Peshawar, at the Kabul River, Pakistan), occupied by Perdiccas Perdiccas Perdiccas was one of Alexander the Great's generals. After Alexander's death in 323 BC he became regent of all Alexander's empire.Arrian tells us he was son of Orontes, a descendant of the independent princes of the Macedonian province of Orestis... and Hephaestion―Gandara, Western Punjab |
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Autumn 327 | Arigaeum (Arigaion), capital city of the Aspasians (Nawagai, Pakistan), Alexander campaign against Aspasians and Guraei―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Autumn 327 | Massaca/Massaga, capital city of the Assacenes (Alexander campaign) (Wuch near Chakdara, lower Swat (Soastus) valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Autumn 327 | Bazira (Bir-Kot, lower Swat valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Autumn 327 | Ora (Ude-Gram, lower Swat valley, Pakistan)―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Autumn 327 | Shang-La Pass, Pakistan (4300m)―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Autumn 327 | Aornus Rock (Pir-Sar or Pir Sarai, 1600m, at the Indus River, Pakistan)―Western Punjab | |
Winter 326 | Modern Hund, Pakistan (the two Macedonian armies reunited)―Western Punjab | |
Mar 326 | Alexander's detour to Nysa (legend: founded by Dionysius) (near Jalalabad, at the river Chitral or Kunar (Euas) in eastern Afghanistan)―Gandara, Western Punjab | |
Spring 326 | Taxila (Takshaçila, 20 km west from Islamabad, Pakistan)―Western Punjab, capital city | |
Jul 326 | Battle of Hydaspes River against Porus (modern Jhelum, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab (kingdom of Porus, Pauravas) | |
Jul 326 | Alexandria Nicaea (west bank of Jhelum, Haranpur???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Jul 326 | Alexandria Bucephala Bucephala Bucephala may refer to:* Bucephala , the goldeneye, a duck genus* Bucephala is the name of at least two Greek cities:** Bucephala, or Alexandria Bucephalus, a city founded by Alexander the Great and named in honor of his horse, Bucephalus... (east bank of Jhelum, Haranpur???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab |
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Aug 326 | Acesines River (Chenab, Pakistan) (crossing between Gujrat and Sialkot, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Aug 326 | Hydraotes River (Ravi, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Aug 326 | Sangala (near Amritsar, India) (siege against the Mallians/Malli Malli Mallı is a village in the Goychay Rayon of Azerbaijan. The villages forms part of the municipality of Mallı-Şıxlı.... )―Eastern Punjab |
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31 Aug 326 | Hyphasis River (Bias/Beas, India) (the eastern-most border of Alexander's expedition, mutiny of the army)―Eastern Punjab | |
Sep 326 | Alexandria on the Hyphasis (west bank, eastern border of Alexander's empire, near Amritsar, India)―Eastern Punjab | |
Sep 326 | Return to Hydaspes River (modern Jhelum, Pakistan), Nicaea and Bucephala (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Nov 326 | Departure of the fleet at the Hydaspes River (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Nov-Dec 326 | Mallians and Oxydracae campaign (Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Nov-Dec 326 | Town of the Brahmans (Harmatelia???, Pakistan)―Eastern Punjab | |
Nov-Dec 326 | Siege of Multan Multan Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi... (capital city of the Mallians (Malava)), Pakistan (where Alexander was seriously wounded by an arrow)―Eastern Punjab |
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Nov-Dec 326 | Alexandria on the Indus (at the confluence of Indus and Chenab) (Uch, Pakistan) (Alexandria of Opiane???)―Eastern Punjab | |
Dec 326 | Campaigns against the kingdoms of Musicanus (modern Alor, Pakistan) and Sambus (modern Sehwan, Pakistan)―Sind (capital city Thatta) | |
Dec 326 | Patala (modern Hyderabad???, Pakistan)―Sindh Sindh Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can... |
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Jul-Dec 325 | Expedition of Craterus Craterus Craterus was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi.He was the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Alexander from Orestis and brother of admiral Amphoterus. Craterus commanded the phalanx and all infantry on the left wing in Battle of Issus... from Patala to Hormuz: Patala, Bolan Pass, between Sibi and Quetta (Pakistan), Kandahar (Afghanistan), Hamun Lake, Hormuz (Bandare Abbas) (Iran) |
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Aug-Dec 325 | The return of Alexander: Patala-Hormuz (with Hephaestion Hephaestion Hephaestion , son of Amyntor, was a Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great... ) |
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Aug 325 | Arabius River (Hab River, crossing near modern Karachi, Pakistan)―Sind | |
? | Arabitians and Oreitans campaigns, Pakistan―Gedrosia | |
Autumn 325 | Alexandria Rhambacia (Bela, Pakistan)―Gedrosia | |
? | Alexandria in Makarene (120 km west of Karachi, area of Hab River, Pakistan) | |
Autumn 325 | Gedrosian Desert (Baluchistan (Makkran), Pakistan/Iran)―Gedrosia Gedrosia Gedrosia from Pashto Gwadar-khua is the hellenized name of an area that corresponds to today's Balochistan. Eastern Balochistan is southwestern province of Pakistan and parts of southwestern and south-central Afghanistan and western Balochistan is divided between Iranian provinces of Hormozgan and... |
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Nov 325 | Pura (Bampur, Iran)―Gedrosia, capital city | |
Dec 325 | Alexandria in Carmania (Golashkerd, Iran)―Carmania (capital city Harmozia/Hormuz) | |
Sep-Dec 325 | Expedition of Nearchus Nearchus Nearchus was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. His celebrated voyage from India to Susa after Alexander's expedition in India is preserved in Arrian's account, the Indica.... from Patala to Hormuz: Patala, Karachi, Hab River, Sonmiani Bay, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar (Pakistan), Jask, Strait of Hormuz, Hormuz (Bandare Abbas) (Iran) |
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Dec 325 | The reuniting at Hormuz Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.... ―Carmania |
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Jan-Feb 324 | The return of Alexander from Hormuz to Susa: | |
Jan 324 | Pasargad (plain of Morghab, Iran) (visit to the tomb of Cyrus the Great)―Persia | |
Feb 324 | Persepolis Persepolis Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid... (Iran)―Persia |
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Feb 324 | Susa (Iran)―Susiana (Elam), capital city | |
Jan-Feb 324 | The return of Hephaestion and Craterus along the coastline of Carmania Carmania Carmania may refer to* Carmania, ancient satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian empire.* Carmania - a diecast model producer.* Kermān Province in the south-east of Iran.* RMS Carmania , a Cunard liner built 1905... and Persia (from Hormuz to Susa) |
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Jan-Feb 324 | The return of Nearchus from Hormuz to Susa: Hormuz, Qeshm Island, Mand River, Karun River, Susa | |
Mar 324 | The marriages of Susa (Iran) | |
? | Persian Gulf, Mouth of the Tigris (Iraq/Iran)―Susiana | |
Spring 324 | Alexandria in Susiana or Alexandria of Characene, later Alexandria Antiocheia), Karka (Charax, near Al Qurnah, Iraq)―Susiana | |
Spring 324 | Mutiny of the army at Opis (east bank of the Tigris, not far from the confluence of Tigris and Diyala rivers, south of Baghdad, Iraq)―Babylonia | |
Summer 324 | Ecbatana (Hamadan, Iran)―Media, capital city | |
Oct 324 | Death of Hephaestion in Ecbatana (Hamadan, Iran)―Media | |
Winter 323 | Cossaeans campaign (Loristan/Luristan, Zagros Range, Iran)―Media/Babylonia | |
Spring 323 | Babylon (on the Euphrates, Iraq)―Babylonia, capital city | |
10 or 11 June 323 B.C. | Death of Alexander in Babylon Babylon Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad... (Iraq)―Babylonia Babylonia Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as... |
External links
- Alexander the Great: chronology www.livius.org