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Alexander the Great Timeline

(356 BC – 323 BC)

Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) was the King of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history by the age of 30, conquering Greece, Persia, Egypt, and parts of India through brilliant military campaigns. Less

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Art and Archaeology

Pella mosaic depicts Alexander with blond hair

320 BC

The Pella mosaic of a lion hunt from the late 4th century BC depicts Alexander as having blond hair. The mosaic contains empty spots where eye stones, which would have been made of semi-precious gems, were plucked out.

Image source: Alexander the Great

Pella mosaic depicts Alexander with blond hair

Head statue of Alexander discovered

1886

A head statue of Alexander was found in 1886. The Acropolis Museum suggests that trace amounts of red paint on it were most likely a base coat for golden hues to be painted over for his hair.

Image source: Acropolis Museum

Head statue of Alexander discovered

Karl Schefold suggests earlier dating for a sarcophagus

1969

In 1969, Karl Schefold suggested that the sarcophagus associated with Abdalonymus may date from earlier than Abdalonymus's death, challenging its traditional dating.

Image source: Alexander Sarcophagus

Karl Schefold suggests earlier dating for a sarcophagus

Enormous tomb discovered at Amphipolis

2014

The 2014 discovery of an enormous tomb in northern Greece, at Amphipolis, dating from the time of Alexander the Great gave rise to speculation that it was originally intended to be the burial place of Alexander.

Image source: Kasta Tomb

Enormous tomb discovered at Amphipolis

British Museum suggests Girsu temple founded by Alexander

2023

In 2023, British Museum experts suggested the possibility that a Greek temple at Girsu in Iraq was founded by Alexander the Great, extending evidence of his city-building activities.

Image source: Girsu

British Museum suggests Girsu temple founded by Alexander

Hellenistic Legacy

Alexander's cities become major cultural centers

300 BC

Many of the cities founded by Alexander the Great became major cultural centers, many of which survived into the 21st century, spreading Greek culture across the ancient world.

Greek language becomes the region's lingua franca

300 BC - 1453

Through the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire into modern Western culture, the Greek language became the lingua franca of the region and was the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire until its collapse in 1453 AD.

Image source: Koine Greek

Greek language becomes the region's lingua franca

Greek astronomical instruments at Ai Khanoum

250 BC

Greek astronomical instruments dating to the 3rd century BC were found in the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai Khanoum in modern-day Afghanistan, showing the reach of Hellenistic science into Central Asia.

Image source: Ai-Khanoum

Greek astronomical instruments at Ai Khanoum

Pataliputra capital shows Ionic influences

250 BC

Several examples of capitals displaying Ionic influences can be seen as far as Patna, especially with the Pataliputra capital, dated to the 3rd century BC, evidencing Hellenistic artistic influence in India.

Image source: Pataliputra capital

Pataliputra capital shows Ionic influences

Gandhara art reflects Greco-Buddhist contact

250 BC - 500

The cosmopolitan art and mythology of Gandhara, spanning roughly the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD, is among the most evident signs of direct contact between Hellenistic civilization and South Asia.

Image source: Gandhara

Gandhara art reflects Greco-Buddhist contact

Edicts of Ashoka mention Greeks converting to Buddhism

250 BC

The Edicts of Ashoka directly mention Greeks within Ashoka's dominion as converting to Buddhism, along with the reception of Buddhist emissaries by Ashoka's contemporaries in the Hellenistic world.

Image source: Edicts of Ashoka

Edicts of Ashoka mention Greeks converting to Buddhism

The Alexandrias thrive after Alexander's death

220 BC

A century or so after Alexander's death, many of the Alexandrias were thriving, with elaborate public buildings and substantial populations that included both Greek and local peoples.

Greek spherical Earth cosmology reaches India

200 BC

The Greek concept of a spherical Earth surrounded by the spheres of planets eventually supplanted the long-standing Indian cosmological belief of a disc consisting of four continents grouped around Mount Meru like flower petals.

Byzantine Empire preserves Hellenistic traditions

330 - 1453

Aspects of Hellenistic culture remained evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire through the mid-15th century, when the empire collapsed in 1453 AD.

Image source: Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire preserves Hellenistic traditions

Historical Sources

Legendary material coalesces into the Alexander Romance

100 BC - 200

In the first centuries after Alexander's death, probably in Alexandria, legendary material coalesced into the Alexander Romance, later falsely ascribed to Callisthenes and therefore known as Pseudo-Callisthenes.

Image source: Alexander Romance

Legendary material coalesces into the Alexander Romance

Diodorus Siculus writes his history

60 BC

Diodorus Siculus, writing in the 1st century BC, is the earliest of the main surviving ancient historians whose works describe the life and campaigns of Alexander the Great.

Image source: Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus writes his history

Arrian writes the Anabasis of Alexander

100 - 150

Arrian, writing between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, composed the Anabasis of Alexander, one of the most reliable surviving accounts of Alexander's campaigns.

Image source: Arrian

Arrian writes the Anabasis of Alexander

Plutarch writes his Life of Alexander

100 - 150

The biographer Plutarch, writing between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, included a Life of Alexander in his Parallel Lives, shaping much of the later perception of Alexander's character.

Image source: Plutarch

Plutarch writes his Life of Alexander

Alexander Romance spreads across Europe and the Islamic world

250 - 1453

Legends of Alexander's exploits coalesced into the 3rd-century Alexander Romance, which went through over one hundred recensions, translations, and derivations in the premodern period, translated into almost every European vernacular and every language of the Islamic world.

Justin compiles his epitome covering Alexander

300 - 400

Justin's work, dated as late as the 4th century, is the last of the major surviving ancient sources used by historians studying Alexander the Great.

Image source: Justin (historian)

Justin compiles his epitome covering Alexander

Itinerarium Alexandri describes Alexander's campaigns

340 - 360

The Itinerarium Alexandri is a 4th-century Latin description of Alexander the Great's campaigns, likely composed for the emperor Constantius II.

Quintus Curtius Rufus writes his History of Alexander

40 - 70

Quintus Curtius Rufus, writing in the mid-to-late 1st century AD, produced one of the major Latin accounts of Alexander the Great's campaigns and character.

Image source: Quintus Curtius Rufus

Quintus Curtius Rufus writes his History of Alexander

Badian counters Tarn's arguments on Alexander's sources

1958

In 1958, Ernst Badian countered William Tarn's arguments regarding Alexander, though his concern was the reliability of the sources for Alexander rather than the figure of the eunuch himself.

Image source: Ernst Badian

Badian counters Tarn's arguments on Alexander's sources

Death and Poisoning Theories

NEJM attributes Alexander's death to typhoid fever

1998

A 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed Alexander's death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis.

Image source: Death of Alexander the Great

NEJM attributes Alexander's death to typhoid fever

BBC documentary proposes white hellebore poisoning

2003

In a 2003 BBC documentary investigating the death of Alexander, Leo Schep from the New Zealand National Poisons Centre proposed that white hellebore (Veratrum album), known in antiquity, may have been used to poison Alexander.

Analysis suggests spondylitis or meningitis caused death

2004

A 2004 analysis suggested that Alexander's death could have been caused by pyogenic (infectious) spondylitis or meningitis, adding another medical explanation to the debate.

River Styx water poisoning theory proposed

2010

A 2010 poisoning explanation proposed that the circumstances of Alexander's death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx (modern-day Mavroneri in Arcadia, Greece) containing calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.

Schep publishes Clinical Toxicology paper on Veratrum album

2014

In a 2014 paper in the journal Clinical Toxicology, Leo Schep suggested Alexander's wine was spiked with Veratrum album, producing poisoning symptoms matching the course of events described in the Alexander Romance.

Key Facts

  1. Alexander was born in Pella, Macedonia, in 356 BC, the son of King Philip II and Queen Olympias.
  2. He was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle, who instilled in him a love of Greek culture and learning.
  3. In 334 BC, he began his campaign against the Persian Empire, winning key battles at Issus (333 BC) and Gaugamela (331 BC).
  4. He founded more than 20 cities bearing his name, most famously Alexandria in Egypt, which became a major center of learning and culture.
  5. His empire stretched from Greece to northwestern India by the time of his death in Babylon in 323 BC at the age of just 32.

Source

This Alexander the Great timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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