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.
Region
Asia
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
Seleucid Empire (312-63 BC): Greek Kingdom From Syria to Bactria
After losing its eastern provinces to Parthia and its western lands to Rome, the Seleucid kingdom was reduced to Syria and annexed by Pompey as a Roman province.
Ancient World
King Wuling of Zhao's Reform (307 BC): Nomad Dress and Cavalry
Zhao built a strong force of mounted archers, conquered Zhongshan and expanded north; cavalry became a standard arm of Chinese warfare.
Ancient World
Seleucid-Mauryan War (305 BC): Chandragupta and Seleucus
Treaty: Seleucus ceded his easternmost provinces to Chandragupta in return for 500 war elephants and a marriage alliance.
Ancient World
Megasthenes and the Indica: A Greek Envoy in Mauryan India
Megasthenes' Indica became the main source of Greek and Roman knowledge about India for centuries.
Ancient World
Pazyryk Burials: Frozen Tombs of Scythian-Era Horsemen
Ice that formed inside the robbed tombs preserved bodies, textiles, wood and leather, giving an unrivalled picture of the nomadic horse cultures of the Eurasian steppe.
Ancient World
Sangam Age: Tamil Kingdoms and Poetry of Ancient South India
Three Tamil dynasties and many chieftains ruled the far south, leaving a large body of classical Tamil poetry and evidence of busy trade with the Roman world.