Posts Tagged With: Chronology

Alexander’s Chronology

338
2nd August The Battle of Chaeronea. United army of Thebes and Athens is defeated by Philip II (Alexander fights on the left wing) (Michael Wood)

336
Summer Philip II is assassinated. Alexander III succeeds him (Michael Wood)
Summer Artaxerxes IV murdered; Darius III becomes Great King (Livius)
Summer (Late) Alexander confirmed as ‘captain-general of war against Persia by the Corinthian League (Peter Green)

335
Summer Alexander’s Thracian Campaign; Memnon pushes the Macedonian advance guard back in Asia Minor (Livius)

334
August The Siege of Halicarnassus gets underway (Livius)
Summer Alexander takes Sardis, Ephesus, and Miletus (by siege); he disbands his navy; The city of Halicanassus - excluding its citadel - is captured (Landmark Arrian)

333
July - September Pharnabzus continues the Persian naval offensive (Livius)
Summer Alexander crosses central Asia Minor; he cuts/slashes the Gordian Knot (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander falls ill [after bathing in the Cydnus River]; Alexander takes Cilicia; The citadel at Halicarnassus falls; Alexander settles Mallus (Landmark Arrian)

332
Summer Darius makes a second attempt to negotiate an end to the war [the first was in Autumn 333]. Alexander rejects his offer

331
July - August Alexander arrives at Thapsacus; Darius marches out of Babylon (Peter Green)
August - September Alexander crosses Mesopotamia (Livius)
Summer Alexander crosses modern day Syria and enters northern Iraq (Michael Wood)

330
July - August Alexander marches on Hyrcania (Peter Green)
August (Late) Alexander marches on Drangiana [i.e. Lake Seistan]; The Philotas Affair; From Arachosia to Parapamisadae (Peter Green)
August - September Alexander campaigns in Hyrcania, Parthia and Aria (Livius)
Summer Alexander orders Darius’ body to be given a royal burial; Alexander defeats Tapourians; Sundry Persians surrender; Mardians surrender; Greek mercenaries surrender; Alexander receives word that Bessus has declared himself king (Landmark Arrian)
Summer Darius III is assassinated; Alexander advances to the Caspian Sea (Michael Wood)

329
Summer (Early) After crossing the Hindu Kush, Alexander makes his way to Balkh [i.e. Bactra/Zariaspa] (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander crosses the Oxus River; captures Bessus; Alexander arrives at Samarkand [i.e. Maracanda]; Alexander reaches the Jaxartes [Tanais] River; founds Alexandria the Furthest [i.e. Eschate] (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexandria the Furthest is founded; a great rebellion [along the Jaxartes] is quelled (Landmark Arrian)

328
Summer The Bactria and Sogdia campaign continues (Livius; Landmark Arrian)
Summer Spitamenes conducts his semi-guerrilla war against Macedonian army (Landmark Arrian)
Summer (Late) Alexander murders Black Cleitus during a drunken row (Michael Wood)

327
Summer (Early) [Second] crossing of the Hindu Kush via Kushan Pass; Beginning of the Indian campaign (Peter Green)
Summer The Macedonian army reunites in Balkh; the introduction of the practice of proskynesis; Alexander marries Roxane (Livius)
Summer Alexander meets Taxiles in Hindu Kush; Macedonian army divides between Alexander and Hephaestion and Perdiccas. The latter two take their part of the army to Peucelaotis (Landmark Arrian)
Summer (Late) The Pages Plot; Callisthenes’ execution (Livius)
Summer - Early Autumn Alexander spends six months in the Kabul Valley (Michael Wood)

326
Summer Numerous Macedonian ships and boats are damaged by the strong current on the Acesines river; Alexander pursues a renegade king named Porus (not the king of the Hydaspes river); Sangala is destroyed; Macedonian army refuses to go any further east at the Hyphasis river; Abisares appointed satrap (Landmark Arrian)
Summer (Late) The Macedonian army mutinies at the Hyphasis River (Livius)

325
August (Late) Alexander sets out for Carmania (Livius)
Summer Alexander arrives at the delta of the Indus River (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander sends Craterus and part of the army west [via an inland route]; Alexander explores the delta of the Indus river by ship (Landmark Arrian)

324
August The Opis Mutiny (Livius)
Summer Reorganisation of Macedonian army; Opis Mutiny; Craterus [and 10,000] veterans sent home; Craterus is ordered to replace Antipater; Alexander sees the horses of Nysia
Summer Alexander issues the Exiles’ Decree; Craterus and [the 1o,000] veterans set out for Macedon (Livius)
Summer Mass Weddings at Susa. As part of the ceremony, Alexander marries Stateira II, daughter of Darius [and Parysatis, grand-daughter of Artaxerxes III Ochus] (Michael Wood)

Michael Wood In the Footsteps Of Alexander the Great A Journey from Greece to India (BBC Books 2004)
Livius
Peter Green Alexander of Macedon 356 – 323 B.C. A Historical Biography (University of California Press 1991)
The Landmark Arrian Ed. James Romm (Pantheon Books 2010)

Alexander’s Chronology

356
20th July Alexander son of Philip is born (Michael Wood)
20th or 26th July Alexander son of Philip is born (Peter Green)

336
Summer Philip II is assassinated; Alexander III succeeds him (Michael Wood)
Summer Artaxerxes IV murdered; Darius III becomes Great King (Livius)
Summer (Late) Alexander calls a meeting of the Hellenic League. He is elected Hegemon (Peter Green)

335
Summer Alexander’s Thracian Campaign; Memnon pushes the Macedonian advance guard back in Asia Minor (Livius)

334
July Alexander captures Miletus (Livius)
Summer Sardis, Ephesus and Miletus fall to Alexander; Alexander disbands navy; Halicarnassus captured (except for citadel) (Landmark Arrian)

333
April - July Alexander in Gordium (Livius)
July Memnon dies (Livius)
July (Late) Alexander leaves Gordium; Darius III leaves Babylon [ultimately for Issus] (Livius)
July - September Pharnabazus resumes the Persian naval offensive (Livius)
Summer Alexander marches through central Asia Minor; Unties/cuts knot at Gordion (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander falls ill suddenly; Alexander victorious in Cilicia; Citadel of Halicarnassus falls; Alexander brings peace to Mallus (Landmark Arrian)

332
January - July The Siege of Tyre (Livius, Michael Wood)
29th July Tyre falls (Peter Green)
July The Fall of Tyre (Livius)
Winter - Summer The Siege of Tyre (Landmark Arrian)
Summer Darius offers peace terms to Alexander who rejects them (Landmark Arrian)

331
July Alexander crosses the Euphrates River (Livius)
July - August Alexander arrives at Thapsacus; Darius leaves Babylon (Peter Green)
Summer Alexander marches through Syria and enters northern Iraq (Michael Wood)

330
17th July Around this time, Darius III is assassinated; Bessus declares himself king [regnal name: Artaxerxes V] (Livius)
July (Later than the 15th) Darius III is found dead; Bessus declares himself Great King (Peter Green)
July - August Alexander marches for Hyrcania (Peter Green)
Summer Darius III is assassinated; Alexander marches to the Caspian Sea (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander orders that Darius III be given a royal burial; Alexander defeats Tapourians and Mardians; Alexander takes surrender of Greek mercenaries; Alexander hears that Bessus has declared himself king (Landmark Arrian)

329
July Alexander founds Alexandria Eschate [Alexandria-the-Furthest]; Sogdian [and Bactrian] revolt; Battle of the Jaxartes; Reorganisation of the cavalry (Livius)
Summer (Early) Alexander arrives in Balkh [i.e. Zariaspa/Bactra]
Summer Crossing of Oxus River; Bessus is captured; Arrival in Maracanda; Arrival at Jaxartes [i.e. Tanais]; founding of Alexandria Eschate (Michael Wood)
Summer Founding of Alexandria Eschate; Uprising quelled (Landmark Arrian)

328
Summer Macedonian campaign in Bactria and Sogdia (Livius)
Summer (Late) Alexander murders Black Cleitus during a drunken row (Michael Wood)
Summer Macedonian army sweeps across Sogdiana [and Bactria] rooting out resistance; In Bactria, Spitamenes conducts semi-guerilla warfare (Landmark Arrian)

327
Summer The Macedonian army reunites at Bactria; The Introduction of the practice of proskynesis; Alexander marries Roxane (Livius)
Summer (Early) Alexander invades India (Peter Green)
Summer (Late) The Pages Plot; Callisthenes’ execution (Livius)
Summer - Early Autumn Alexander spends six months in the Kabul Valley at Begram (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander meets Taxiles in Hindu Kush; Hesphaestion and Perdiccas take a division to the Indus via Peukelaotis (Landmark Arrian)

326
July (Late) Mutiny at the Hyphasis River (Livius)
?July Macedonian mutiny at the Hyphasis River; return to Hydaspes; reinforcements from Greece arrive (Peter Green)
Summer Many Macedonian ships damaged in Akesinos river; Alexander pursues the renegade Porus [not the king of the Hydaspes battle]; Alexander captures Sangala; The Macedonian Army mutinies at the Hyphasis river; Abisares appointed satrap (Landmark Arrian)

325
c.15th July Peithon et al arrive at Patala (Livius)
Summer Alexander arrives at the Indus Delta (Michael Wood)
Summer Alexander sends Craterus west by an inland route; Alexander explores the Indus delta and coast (Landmark Arrian)

324
Summer Alexander issues the Exiles’ Decree (Livius)
Summer Mass Weddings in Susa; Alexander himself marries a daughter of Darius [i.e. Stateira II] (Michael Wood)
Summer Mutiny at Opis; Reconciliation banquet; Craterus is sent back to Macedon with discharged veterans; Alexander sees the famous Nysaean horses (Landmark Arrian)

323
Summer Alexander dies after an 11 day fever in Babylon (Landmark Arrian)

Michael Wood In the Footsteps Of Alexander the Great A Journey from Greece to India (BBC Books 2004)
Peter Green Alexander of Macedon 356 – 323 B.C. A Historical Biography (University of California Press 1991)
The Landmark Arrian Ed. James Romm (Pantheon Books 2010)
Livius

For a while now I have been meaning to breakdown the various sections of Alexander’s expedition to the east to see how long he spent in each city or region.

I finally got round to doing so a few days ago. I won’t post the results here just yet - I used just one source and worked quite quickly, so there was plenty of room for error - but I am confident enough in the accuracy of my work so far to share some of my findings.

Before starting the breakdown, I knew that Alexander spent two years in Bactria-Sogdia, and a-year-and-a-half, or so, in Asia Minor. I hope to return to a study of why he spent so long in the latter. Bactria-Sogdia I can understand as these countries gave him a great deal of difficulty during the expedition but Asia Minor fell to the Macedonians in a fairly straight forward manner; he should have just swept through it - shouldn’t he? (Obviously not, so I hope to find out why).

In addition to the above, I also knew that Alexander stayed nearly two years (in my notes, it is 19 months) in Macedon after becoming king. When I say ‘stayed’ I mean he was based in Macedon for two years. During that time he went abroad to fight the Thracians and Illyrians and recalcitrant Greeks (i.e. Thebans).

Some things I did not appreciate so well, however:-

• It took Alexander and his men a whole year to march from Issus to Memphis. I should not have been so surprised at this. During that year, for example, the six month Siege of Tyre and two month Siege of Gaza both took place.
• The journey from Bactria to the Hyphasis River took another year to complete, and the journey from the Hyphasis to the Indian Ocean another 10 months. This still surprises me, but I wonder if it is only because I had not taken the time to truly appreciate the distances that Alexander covered while in the sub-continent and, perhaps, the number of battles he fought along the way.
• Despite the fact that he was in pursuit of Darius during this period, Alexander ultimately took a year to march/ride from Persepolis to the Hindu Kush. Obviously, he caught up with Darius in Media* so could slow down thereafter but I’m not aware of him taking any long breaks. With that said, short breaks add up in time.

One last thing - according to my notes, Alexander just 4-5 months in Egypt. I’m not sure yet how much of that time he spent travelling (for example, from Memphis to the site of Alexandria and then to Siwah and back to Memphis again - Arrian**) but if it was substantial could that give us a clue as to whether he was received a coronation as pharaoh or not? I am assuming that pharaonic coronations needed a lot of time to plan and execute and if Alexander was travelling hither and thither before leaving to begin the (six month) journey to Gaugamela he simply would not have had time for it. It’s just a thought.

As and when I have time I will finish my breakdown of Alexander’s schedule and post it here. For now, though, I hope the above provides some food for thought.

* I thought it was in Hyrcania or Parthis but Livius says he died ‘in the desert east of modern Tehran (ancient Rhagae)’ and Rhagae was in Media. I shall double check this.
** Or from Memphis to Siwah and then to the site of Alexandria and back to Memphis according to Curtius