Ancient World
Aristotle and the Lyceum (335 BC): Founding Western Science
Aristotle's school became a centre of research and teaching whose writings shaped philosophy and science for some 2,000 years.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Battle of the Granicus (334 BC): Alexander's First Asian Victory
Macedonian victory; the Persian satraps' army was destroyed and western Asia Minor lay open to Alexander.
Ancient World
Battle of Issus (333 BC): Alexander the Great Defeats Darius III
Decisive Macedonian victory; Darius III fled and his mother, wife and children were captured.
Ancient World
Siege of Tyre (332 BC): Alexander Builds a Causeway to the Island
Tyre was taken by storm; thousands were killed or enslaved and the island was permanently joined to the mainland by Alexander's causeway.
Ancient World
Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC): The Fall of the Persian Empire
Decisive Macedonian victory; Darius III fled and the Achaemenid Persian Empire collapsed, leaving Alexander master of its heartland.
Ancient World
Founding of Alexandria (331 BC) by Alexander the Great
Alexandria became the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt and one of the largest and most influential cities of the ancient world.
Ancient World
Burning of Persepolis (330 BC): Alexander Torches the Palace
The main palaces of Persepolis were destroyed by fire after their treasury had been looted, and the city never regained its royal role.
Ancient World
Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BC): Alexander Against King Porus
Macedonian victory; Porus was captured but kept his kingdom as Alexander's ally.
Ancient World
Death of Alexander the Great (323 BC): Babylon and the Succession
Alexander died without an adult heir; his generals divided the empire and soon went to war, leading to its break-up into rival kingdoms.
Ancient World
Wars of the Diadochi (322-281 BC): Alexander's Generals at War
Alexander's empire broke apart permanently; the Ptolemaic, Seleucid and Antigonid dynasties emerged as the main Hellenistic kingdoms.
Ancient World
Chandragupta Maurya and the Founding of the Maurya Empire
Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda dynasty and built an empire stretching from Afghanistan to Bengal.
Ancient World
Battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC): Rome Under the Yoke
The trapped Roman army surrendered, passed under the yoke and accepted a peace that cost Rome Fregellae and other gains.