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World at War

Macedonian Conquests

336–323 BC Europe / Asia / Africa Status: ended Casualties: ~100,000+ battle dead; millions affected

Alexander the Great conquered the largest contiguous empire to that point — from Greece to Egypt, Persia, Central Asia, and northwestern India — in just 13 years. Ended with his death in Babylon at age 32.

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Belligerents

  • Macedonian Empire (Alexander the Great)
  • Achaemenid Persia
  • Indian kingdoms

Casualties

~100,000+ battle dead; millions affected

Key events

  • 334 BC — Granicus
  • 333 BC — Issus
  • 331 BC — Gaugamela
  • 326 BC — Hydaspes (last great battle)

Aftermath

Hellenized the entire Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. Greek became the lingua franca from Egypt to Bactria for ~1000 years. Successor states (Ptolemies, Seleucids) defined politics until Roman conquest. Founded ~70 cities including Alexandria.

Weapons & matériel

  • Macedonian sarissa (5–7m pike)
  • Companion cavalry (xyston lance)
  • Torsion-spring siege artillery
  • Composite bow (Persian)

Technology

Combined-arms doctrine: pike phalanx as anvil, cavalry as hammer; first systematic use of torsion artillery; integrated siege train

Economy

Funded initially by 800 talents from Macedonian mines; later by ~180,000 talents seized from Persepolis — the largest single transfer of wealth in antiquity

Sources

  • Arrian, Anabasis
  • Plutarch, Life of Alexander
  • Diodorus Siculus
From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.