Alexander took his troops to the edge of the world as he knew it. Today, many of the towns and countries known to the Macedonians still exist but are called by different names. This chapter will take you on a virtual tour to visit some of the places Alexander conquered.
- Tyre - On the Mediterranean Sea, in today's Lebanon, the town is also known as Sur.
- Gaza - has some Palestinian autonomy and Israeli control of its airspace and maritime access. During ancient times Gaza, situated on the coastal highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia, was an important commercial and military center. Today the Gaza Strip has limited Palestinian autonomy and Israeli control.
- Alexandria (Egypt) - Known today as both Alexandria and El Iskandariya, this still-thriving city on the Mediterranean Sea is Egypt's second-largest. It was once home to the famous library (whose destruction remains a mystery) and the Pharos Lighthouse, a wonder of the ancient world before it was destroyed by an earthquake.
- Gaugamela - (Tel Gomel, Iraq) - The scene of this famous battle is somewhere northeast of the Tigris River between the northern Iraqi town of Arbela (known as Arbil today) and Mosul (Al Mawsil, Iraq).
- Ecbatana - Capital of the ancient Median empire (known today as Hamadan, Iran), it is the place where Hephaestion (Alexander's close friend and leader of the Macedonian cavalry) died. It is also the place from which orders were given to kill Parmenion, one of Alexander's best generals.
- Babylon - Situated north of Al Hillah, Iraq, this famous city was the capital of the ancient Babylonian empire, site of the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (another wonder of the ancient world). It is also the place where Alexander died.
- Persepolis - Site of awesome ruins and known today as Marvdasht, Iran (northeast of Shiraz), this city was the magnificent capital of the Persian empire until it was sacked by Alexander the Great.
- Susa - This ancient city, important to Darius III and his ancestors, is east of Babylon.
- Maracanda - Known today as Samarkand, Uzbekhistan, it was in a palace in this town where Alexander killed (most likely accidentally) his friend Clitus.
- Oxus River - Known today as the Amu Darya River, this region, and north of it, was the place of key Alexander conquests.
- Alexandria Eschate - One of the many towns Alexander founded and named after himself is now known as Khujand (on the Syr-Darya River in today's Tajikistan).
- Alexandria Arachosia - Another town (from the former Persian empire) which Alexander named, it is known today as Kandahar, Afghanistan (scene of considerable fighting in the Second Gulf War).
- Alexandria on the Oxus - Today this place is known as Ai Khanum, Afghanistan.
- Gedrosian - In this inhospitable desert, located today in Baluchistan, Iran/Pakistan - look at the bottom of the linked map - an extraordinary number of Alexander's men died from deplorable conditions.
- Paropamisus Range - Moving east, Alexander and his men reached the difficult Hindu-Kush Mountains. Snow was not the least of their worries as they met, and defeated, human and natural enemies.
- Hydaspes River - Known today as the Jhelum River in Pakistan, this is the site of the famous battle of the Hydaspes in which Alexander's men battled, and conquered, Porus and his elephants.
- Bactra/Zariaspa - Balkh (close to the current city of Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan) is the oldest town in that country and was the capital of ancient Bactria.
- Bactria/Sogdiana - This territory, so prominent in the story of Alexander, currently encompasses land in Afghanistan, Uzbekhistan, and Tajikistan. Alexander's wife, Roxane, was from Bactria.
Roxane was expecting Alexander's child when her husband died. What happened to her, and her baby boy?
