(gaw-guh-MEE-luh), Alexander’s men were clearly out-
numbered by the Persian forces, which had estab-
lished the battle site on a broad, open plain where
their war chariots could maneuver to best advantage.
Alexander was able to break through the center of the
Persian line with his heavy cavalry, followed by the in-
fantry. The battle turned into a rout, although Darius
managed to escape. After his victory, Alexander
entered Babylon and then proceeded to the Persian
capitals at Susa and Persepolis, where he acquired the
Persian treasuries and took possession of vast quanti-
ties of gold and silver.
By 330B.C.E., Alexander was again on the march.
After Darius was killed by one of his own men,
Alexander took the title and office of the Great King
of the Persians. But he was not content to rest with
the spoils of the Persian Empire. During the nextthree years, he moved east and northeast, as far as
modern Pakistan. By the summer of 327B.C.E., he had
entered India, which at that time was divided into a
number of warring states. In 326B.C.E., Alexander and
his armies arrived in the plains of northwestern India.
At the Battle of the Hydaspes River, Alexander won a
brutally fought battle (see the box on p. 78). When
Alexander made clear his determination to march east
to conquer more of India, his soldiers, weary of cam-
paigning year after year,mutinied and refused to go
further. Alexander acceded to their demands and
agreed to return, leading his troops through southern
Persia across the Gedrosian Desert, where they suf-
fered heavy losses from appalling desert conditions.
Alexander and the remnants of his army went to Susa
and then Babylon, where he planned still more cam-
paigns. But in June 323 B.C.E., weakened fromIndus^R.yH
daspes (^) R.
Nil
e (^) R
.
Tig
ris
(^)
(^) R
.
(^) Eup
hra
tes
R.
H
alys
R.
Oxu
s (^)
(^) R
.
Me
dit
err
ane
an
Sea
Pe
rs
ia
nG
ullf
Aral
Caspian Sea
Sea
Black Sea
Red
Sea
Arabian
Sea
Aegean
Sea
Cauc
asus
(^) Mt
s.
Arabian
Desert
Gedrosian
Desert
Pergamum
Ephesus
Gaugamela
331 B.C.E.
Hydaspes River
326 B.C.E.
Susa
Persepolis
Alexandria
Rhodes
Cyprus
Granicus River
334 B.C.E.
Issus
333 B.C.E.
Tyre
332 B.C.E. Damascus Babylon
(Alexander's^323 B.C.E.
death)
Gaza
Pella
Ancyra
Paraetonium
Siwah
Seleucia
Pasargadae 324 B.C.E.
Epiphaneia
Alexandria
Patala
325 B.C.E.
LYDIA
SYRIA
EGYPT
PERSIA
MACEDONIA
PALESTINE
ARABIA
INDUS
VALLEY
MEDIA PARTHIA
BACTRIA
Jaxartes (^)
(^) R.
(^330) B.C.E.
32
9 B
.C.E
.
327 B.C.E.
0 300 600 Miles
0 300 600 900 Kilometers
Alexander’s empire
Battle sites
Alexander’s route
MAP 4.1The Conquests of Alexander the Great.In just twelve years, Alexander the Great
conquered vast territories. Dominating lands from west of the Nile to east of the Indus, he brought
the Persian Empire, Egypt, and much of the Middle East under his control and laid the foundations
for the Hellenistic world.
Q Approximately how far did Alexander and his troops travel during those twelve years?
Macedonia and the Conquests of Alexander 77
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