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Alexander the Great
From Macedon to India, 334–323 BC
The story, place by place
Alexander the Great
In 334 BC, a young king from Macedon crossed into Asia with about thirty-five thousand men. In eleven years of war, he would never lose a battle.
Pella, capital of Macedon
It began at Pella, his capital. In the spring he marched east and crossed the Hellespont into Asia.
Today: The ruins of Pella, 40 km west of Thessaloniki, Greece
Plan a visit: Thessaloniki, Greece →Battle of the Granicus
At the Granicus River, he charged across the water into the Persian cavalry and was nearly killed. His officer Cleitus saved his life.
Today: The Biga Çayı river, near Biga in north-west Turkey
Plan a visit: Turkey →The Gordian Knot
At Gordium, legend says, he cut the Gordian Knot with a single stroke of his sword.
Today: Yassıhüyük, near Polatlı, west of Ankara, Turkey
Plan a visit: Ankara, Turkey →Battle of Issus
At Issus, he faced the Persian king himself, Darius the Third. Darius fled the field and left his family behind.
Today: The coast near İskenderun, on Turkey's south-east corner
Plan a visit: Turkey →Siege of Tyre
Tyre was an island fortress. Alexander built a causeway across the sea and took the city after seven months.
Today: Tyre (Sour), Lebanon: his causeway joined the island to the land for good
Plan a visit: Lebanon →Pharaoh of Egypt
Egypt welcomed him as pharaoh. On its coast he founded a new city, Alexandria.
Today: Egypt's second city. His tomb there has never been found
Plan a visit: Alexandria, Egypt →Battle of Gaugamela
At Gaugamela, heavily outnumbered, he drove a wedge through the Persian line. Darius fled again, and the Persian Empire fell to Alexander.
Today: The plain north-east of Mosul, in northern Iraq
Plan a visit: Erbil, Iraq →Persepolis burns
At Persepolis, the great palace of the Persian kings went up in flames. Then came three hard years of war in Central Asia.
Today: Near Shiraz, Iran: a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Plan a visit: Shiraz, Iran →Battle of the Hydaspes
In what is now Pakistan, King Porus waited across the flooded Hydaspes with his war elephants. Alexander crossed upstream at night, in a storm, and won. Then he gave Porus his kingdom back.
Today: The Jhelum river, in Punjab, Pakistan
Plan a visit: Pakistan →The army says no
At the Beas River, his exhausted men refused to go any further. For the first time, Alexander turned back.
Today: The Beas river in Punjab, India: the farthest east he ever went
Plan a visit: Amritsar, India →Death in Babylon
He crossed the Gedrosian desert, where thousands of his men died, and came back to Babylon. There, in June 323 BC, he died at just thirty-two.
Today: Near Hillah, Iraq: a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019
Plan a visit: Baghdad, Iraq →Follow his route
From Pella to the Beas, you can follow his whole route on Next Stop Atlas.