As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Home / Historical Periods / Alexander the Great / Wars of Alexander the Great

War

Wars of Alexander the Great

334–323 BCE

The Wars of Alexander the Great began when Alexander crossed into Asia Minor in 334 BC. Over the next decade he defeated Persian armies, captured cities, took Egypt, conquered Mesopotamia and Persia, and campaigned through Central Asia into India. These campaigns created one of the largest empires of the ancient world.

The wars mattered because they ended the Achaemenid Empire and spread Greek and Macedonian power far beyond the Aegean. They also placed huge strain on Alexander’s army, court, and identity. Conquest created new opportunities but also mutiny, cultural tension, succession problems, and violence among companions.

Mary Renault and Valerio Massimo Manfredi are the key authors for Alexander’s campaigns, while Christian Cameron’s work explores the successor age that followed. Conn Iggulden’s Alexander fiction also fits this broad campaign arc. The wars support long series about marching armies, royal courts, siegecraft, companions, Persian nobles, Egyptian priests, frontier warfare, and soldiers who realise conquest has no obvious end.

Related people for Wars of Alexander the Great

Alexander of Lyncestisc. 5th century BCE–331 BCE Alexander the Great357 BCE–324 BCE Antigonus I Monophthalmus383 BCE–302 BCE Antipater398 BCE–320 BCE Aristotle385 BCE–323 BCE Bagoasc. 5th century BCE–c. 4th century BCE Cassander356 BCE–297 BCE Darius III381 BCE–331 BCE Dion of Syracuse410 BCE–355 BCE Dionysius II of Syracuse398 BCE–344 BCE Eurydice II of Macedon337 BCE–318 BCE Hephaestion357 BCE–325 BCE Olympias376 BCE–317 BCE Parmenion401 BCE–330 BCE Perdiccas366 BCE–322 BCE Philip III of Macedon360 BCE–318 BCE Philip II of Macedonc. 382–336 BCE Ptolemy I Soterc. 360s BCE–c. 280s BCE Roxana348 BCE–311 BCE

Series

Series about Wars of Alexander the Great (1 series)

Alexander the Great Mysteries in Order

by Paul Doherty 3 books 4.3

The Alexander the Great Mysteries follow Telamon, a physician and boyhood companion of Alexander, during the opening campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334 BCE. Alexander’s army has crossed from Macedonia into Asia, but assassinations, infiltrators and rivalries within the command threaten the expedition before and between…

Books

11 Best Novels About the Wars of Alexander the Great

Bestselling authors first, then star rating.

Non Fiction

4 Non-Fiction Books About the Wars of Alexander the Great

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.