Campaigns of Alexander the Great, 336-323 BC

Before invading Persia, Alexander imposed his authority over his tribal neighbors and across the Greek world. Ruthlessness and speed characterized his actions, and after two years he was advancing across Asia Minor, crushing Persian armies at the Granicus and Issus before overrunning the rest of the Levant and Egypt. Advance into Mesopotamia brought a third great victory, whose humiliation King Darius could not survive. As the new ruler of Persia, Alexander imposed his authority on its eastern provinces as far as the Indus, where mutiny forced his return. He died in 323 bc, aged 33, planning further grand conquests in the west.