Link To My Google Maps

View Alexander the Great in a larger map

Pella- Location 1

This was simply where Alexander was born. He was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon, and his parents were King Philip II of Macedon, a ruthless general and conqueror who lost an eye in battle, and his fourth, but principal wife Olympias, an Epirote princess. There were troubles in there marriage constantly, and thy eventually split up, but Philip still had seven or eight other wives, and would marry again. As a teenager, Alexander was shocked to see his Dad assassinated at a festival party one day. He became King after his father, and, along with his childhood friend Bucephalas, who was a horse, he would expand the Macedonian empire farther than his dad had, and his dad was a phenomenal conqueror.

Issus- Location 2

The battle of Issus was definitely a very important one for Alexander. It took place in 333 BC, and was his 6th major battle, out of many. It was the people of Macedon, with their Greek allies, against the Archaemenid Empire, led by King Darius III, fighting along with Greek Mercenaries. In this battle in Issus, Turkey, Alexander was greatly outnumbered in troops, and in commanding officers, of which he was outnumbered 6 to 1. Yet Alexander, using his cunning tactics, pulled off a phenomenal victory. While Darius’ troops lost about 20000 men, Alexander lost 7,000, despite being outnumbered 2 to 1 in terms of troops. This battle gave him control of Southern Asia Minor.

Gaugamela- Location 3

It was fought in 331 BC on October 1st, and this time it was just Darius III and his troops, against Alexander the Great and his troops. This time Alexander was not outnumbered in commanders, but Darius’ army was more than twice as large. While Alexander had about 47,000 troops, Darius had a massive 104,000 troops. The battle was fought in Tel Gomel (Gaugamela), which is near Mosul. Despite him being outnumbered in troops yet again, Alexander won a decisive victory over Darius. While Alexander only had about 1300 casualties, Darius lost about 47,000 men. This was a victory that led to the fall of the Persian empire, and gave Alexander control over half of Persia.

Granicus- Location 4

The battle of Granicus, which was actually fought along the Granicus River, also in Turkey, was the first of three major battles that Alexander fought with the Persian Empire. It took place in 334 BC. It was here that Alexander won his first major victory, and quite easily at that. As with the battle of Issus, which would come later on, he fought with the army of Macedon along with some Greek allies, against the Archaemenid Empire, and many Greek mercenaries. This was one of the several times that Alexander didn’t fight alone. He fought along with Parmenion and Cleitus the Black who were both friends of his. The Persian commanders outnumbered them 4 to 1, and even though Alexander was inexperienced, him and his allies pulled off another victory, only losing 400 men to the Persians 4000. The victory gave him control over half of Asia Minor.

Alexandria- Location 5

After fighting a two month siege against the Phoenician city of Gaza, Alexander and his army marched across the Sinai desert into Egypt. Alexander and his troops were warmly welcomed, as liberators, and the Egyptians were happy to see the end of Persian rule. The Egyptian priests crowned Alexander pharaoh, and Alexander made sacrifices to Egypt’s gods. Early in the year 331 BC, Alexander sailed down the Nile, and found a place that he felt was perfect for a city. He decided to name it Alexandria, a name that stays today. It quickly became Egypt’s capital, and was a city that was populated by people of neighboring villages and towns, and also veterans of Alexander’s army.

Hydaspes- Location 6

Unlike several of his other major victories, this battle was not fought between Alexander and the Persians. Instead, it was fought between Alexander and the Indian king Porus. As the name suggests, it was fought near the Hydaspes River, in modern-day Pakistan. It was fought in May 325 BC. Alexander fought with his friend Craterus, against King Porus. In terms of troops, they were about evenly matched, although Alexander had the slight advantage. Alexander had about 41,000 men, while king Porus had about 35000 men, 1000 chariots, and 200 war elephants, the first time Alexander had faced them in battle. The elephants gored many, but Alexander was relentless in his drive for victory. It was another Macedonian victory, and Alexander only lost about 4300 men, while Porus lost about 23,000. This victory gave Alexander control of Punjab, which was a portion of land in modern day Pakistan.

Tyre- Location 7

The siege of Tyre, which is in modern-day Lebanon, lasted seven months. It started when Alexander set out to conquer Tyre, but they resisted. So for over half a year, Tyre held up while Alexander waged war on them. Tyre was the largest and most important city state in what is now Lebanon. It was well-protected too, with walls over 200 feet high, making it impregnable from the front. Despite attacks from Tyre’s navy, he used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a causeway and once within reach of city walls, he used siege engines to batter down the fortifications. The losses were great, as the Tyrian losses were about 8,000 with 30000 residents taken hostage. The Macedonians lost 400 men, and this Macedonian victory let him capture the Levant. 332 BC is when it happened. The Image to the left is the triumphal Arch a proud monument in Tyre, before the siege.

Babylon- Location 8

In 323 BC Alexander was returning to Babylon, very depressed after the death of his childhood friend, Hephaestion. Suddenly Alexander fell very ill and would die not long after. It is believed that on May 29, after drinking heavily at a banquet, Alexander felt extremely sick, and had to be rushed to bed. Immediately troops starting wondering about what had happened, and finally the generals lt the soldiers have a look at the captain before he died. The day later, on either June 10th or 11th, according to historians, Alexander the Great died. His officers fought over his empire for forty years after Alexander’s death, and they divided his massive land. It was the final resting place of Alexander, and his legacy.