A report on Achaemenid Empire, Iranian peoples and Uzbekistan

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

The Bistun Inscription of Darius the Great describes itself to have been composed in Arya [language or script].

Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with it. The GGC (Swat), Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for the same associations.

Female statuette wearing the kaunakes. Chlorite and limestone, Bactria, beginning of the second millennium BC

According to Allentoft (2015), the Sintashta culture probably derived from the Corded Ware culture.

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

The Andronovo culture's approximate maximal extent, with the formative Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), the location of the earliest spoke-wheeled chariot finds (purple), and the adjacent and overlapping Afanasevo, Srubna, and BMAC cultures (green).

Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus. Mosaic in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples.

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Scythian horseman, Pazyryk, from a carpet, c. 300 BCE

Triumphant crowd at Registan, Sher-Dor Madrasah. The Emir of Bukhara viewing the severed heads of Russian soldiers on poles. Painting by Vasily Vereshchagin (1872).

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

Extent of Iranian influence in the 1st century BCE. The Parthian Empire (mostly Western Iranian) is shown in red, other areas, dominated by Scythia (Eastern Iranian), in orange.

Russian troops taking Samarkand in 1868, by Nikolay Karazin.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BCE to 486 BCE)

Two Sart men and two Sart boys in Samarkand, c. 1910

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

Map of Uzbekistan, including the former Aral Sea.

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

The Eastern Iranian and Balto-Slavic dialect continuums in Eastern Europe, the latter with proposed material cultures correlating to speakers of Balto-Slavic in the Bronze Age (white). Red dots = archaic Slavic hydronyms

Uzbekistan map of Köppen climate classification

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Archaeological cultures c. 750 BCE at the start of Eastern-Central Europe's Iron Age; the Proto-Scythian culture borders the Balto-Slavic cultures (Lusatian, Milograd and Chernoles)

Cotton picking near Kyzyl-Kala, Karakalpakstan.

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

Silver coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (reigned c. 35–12 BCE). Buddhist triratna symbol in the left field on the reverse

Map of flooded areas as a result of the collapse of the Sardoba Reservoir

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

Comparison of the Aral Sea between 1989 and 2014

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Nowruz, an ancient Iranian annual festival that is still widely celebrated throughout the Iranian Plateau and beyond, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan (Lower House).

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

The ruins at Kangavar, Iran, presumed to belong to a temple dedicated to the ancient goddess Anahita.

Islam Karimov, the first President of Uzbekistan, during a visit to the Pentagon in 2002

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

Bronze Statue of a Parthian nobleman, National Museum of Iran

President Islam Karimov with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Samarkand in November 2015

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

A caftan worn by a Sogdian horseman, 8th–10th century

Leaders present at the SCO summit in Ufa, Russia in 2015

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Tat men from the village of Adur in the Kuba Uyezd of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire

A proportional representation of Uzbekistan exports, 2019

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Kurdish people celebrating Nowruz, Tangi Sar village.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Population genomic PCA, showing the CIC (Central Iranian cluster) among other worldwide samples.

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Newlywed couples visit Tamerlane's statues to receive wedding blessings.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

A page in Uzbek language written in Nastaʿlīq script printed in Tashkent 1911

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Uzbek troops during a cooperative operation exercise

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Achaemenid Empire, also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia that was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. It reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece.

- Achaemenid Empire

The area was incorporated into the Iranian Achaemenid Empire and, after a period of Macedonian rule, was ruled by the Iranian Parthian Empire and later by the Sasanian Empire, until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century.

- Uzbekistan

By the 5th century BC, the Kings of Persia were either ruling over or had subordinated territories encompassing not just all of the Persian Plateau and all of the territories formerly held by the Assyrian Empire (Mesopotamia, the Levant, Cyprus and Egypt), but beyond this all of Anatolia and Armenia, as well as the Southern Caucasus and parts of the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Paeonia, Thrace and Macedonia to the north and west, most of the Black Sea coastal regions, parts of Central Asia as far as the Aral Sea, the Oxus and Jaxartes to the north and north-east, the Hindu Kush and the western Indus basin (corresponding to modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) to the far east, parts of northern Arabia to the south, and parts of eastern Libya (Cyrenaica) to the south-west, and parts of Oman, China, and the UAE.

- Achaemenid Empire

Later on, in 550 BCE, Cyrus the Great, would overthrow the leading Median rule, and conquer Kingdom of Lydia and the Babylonian Empire after which he established the Achaemenid Empire (or the First Persian Empire), while his successors would dramatically extend its borders.

- Iranian peoples

Currently, most of these Iranian peoples live in Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus (mainly Ossetia, other parts of Georgia, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan), Iraqi Kurdistan and Kurdish majority populated areas of Turkey, Iran and Syria, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

- Iranian peoples

4 related topics with Alpha

Sogdia

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Sogdian soldier circa 338 BCE, tomb of Artaxerxes III.

Sogdians on an Achaemenid Persian relief from the Apadana of Persepolis, offering tributary gifts to the Persian king Darius I, 5th century BC

Head of a Saka warrior, as a defeated enemy of the Yuezhi, from Khalchayan, northern Bactria, 1st century BCE.

A Yuezhi (left) fighting a Sogdian behind a shield (right), Noin-Ula carpet, 1st century BC/AD.

Local coinage of Samarkand, Sogdia, with the Hepthalite tamgha Hephthalite_tamgha.jpg on the reverse.

Relief of a hunter, Varahsha, Sogdia, 5th-7th century CE.

The Sogdian merchant An Jia with a Turkic Chieftain in his yurt. 579 AD.

Ambassadors from various countries (China, Korea, Iranian and Hephthalite principalities...), paying hommage to king Varkhuman and possibly Western Turk Khagan Shekui, under the massive presence of Turkic officers and courtiers. Afrasiab murals, Samarkand, 648-651 AD.

Coin of Turgar, the last Ikhshid of Sogdia. Excavated in Penjikent, 8th century CE, National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan.

Chinese silk in Sogdia: Tang Dynasty emissaries at the court of the Ikhshid of Sogdia Varkhuman in Samarkand, carrying silk and a string of silkworm cocoons, circa 655 CE, Afrasiab murals, Samarkand.

A lion motif on Sogdian polychrome silk, 8th century AD, most likely from Bukhara.

Sogdian Huteng dancer, Xiuding temple pagoda, Anyang, Hunan, China, Tang dynasty, 7th century.

Two Buddhist monks on a mural of the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves near Turpan, Xinjiang, China, 9th century AD. Albert von Le Coq (1913) assumed the blue-eyed, red-haired monk was a Tocharian, modern scholarship however identified similar Caucasian figures of [[:File:BezeklikSogdianMerchants.jpg|the same cave temple]] (No. 9) as ethnic Sogdians, who were a minority in Turpan during the Tang Dynasty in 7th–8th century and Uyghur rule (9th–13th century).

Sogdians having a toast, with females wearing Chinese headdresses. Anyang funerary bed, 550–577 AD.

A Tang Dynasty Chinese ceramic statuette of a Sogdian merchant riding on a Bactrian camel

Details of a replication of the Ambassadors' Painting from Afrasiyab, Samarkand, showing men on a camel, 7th century AD

Sogdians in a religious procession, a 5th–6th-century tomb mural discovered at Tung-wan City.

A Sogdian gilded silver dish with the image of a tiger, with clear influence from Persian Sasanian art and silverwares, 7th to 8th centuries AD

Silk road figure head, probably Sogdian, Chinese Sui Dynasty (581–618), Musée Cernuschi, Paris

A minted coin of Khunak, king of Bukhara, early 8th century, showing the crowned king on the obverse, and a Zoroastrian fire altar on the reverse

Pranidhi scene, temple 9 (Cave 20) of the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Turfan, Xinjiang, China, 9th century AD, with kneeling figures praying in front of the Buddha who Albert von Le Coq assumed were Persian people (German: "Perser"), noting their Caucasian features and green eyes, and comparing the hat of the man on the left (in the green coat) to headgear worn by Sasanian Persian princes. However, modern scholarship has identified [[:File:BezeklikSogdianMerchants.jpg|praṇidhi scenes of the same temple]] (No. 9) as depicting Sogdians, who inhabited Turfan as an ethnic minority during the phases of Tang Chinese (7th–8th century) and Uyghur rule (9th–13th century).

Central Asian foreigner worshipping Maitreya, Cave 188

The tomb of Wirkak, a Sogdian official in China. Built in Xi'an in 580 AD, during the Northern Zhou dynasty. Xi'an City Museum.

A Tang Dynasty sancai statuette of Sogdian merchants riding on a Bactrian camel, 723 AD, Xi'an.

Epitaph in Sogdian by the sons of Wirkak, a Sogdian merchant and official who died in China in 580 CE.

Sogdians, depicted on the Anyang funerary bed, a Sogdian sarcophagus in China during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577 AD). Guimet Museum.

Shiva (with trisula), attended by Sogdian devotees. Penjikent, 7th–8th century AD. Hermitage Museum.

Contract written in Sogdian for the purchase of a slave in 639 CE, Astana Tomb No. 135.

Sogdian musicians and attendants on the tomb of Wirkak, 580 AD.

Dragon-King Mabi saving traders, Cave 14, Kizil Caves

Two-headed dragon capturing traders, Cave 17

Sab leading the way for the 500 traders, Kizil Cave 17.

Sogdia (Sogdian: soɣd) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire, and listed on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great.

Sasanian Empire

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The last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the.

The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II

Initial coinage of founder Ardashir I, as King of Persis Artaxerxes (Ardaxsir) V. c. 205/6–223/4 CE. Obv: Bearded facing head, wearing diadem and Parthian-style tiara, legend "The divine Ardaxir, king" in Pahlavi. Rev: Bearded head of Papak, wearing diadem and Parthian-style tiara, legend "son of the divinity Papak, king" in Pahlavi.

1840 illustration of a Sasanian relief at Firuzabad, showing Ardashir I's victory over Artabanus IV and his forces.

Rock relief of Ardashir I receiving the ring of kingship by the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda.

Rock-face relief at Naqsh-e Rostam of Persian emperor Shapur I (on horseback) capturing Roman emperor Valerian (standing) and Philip the Arab (kneeling), suing for peace, following the victory at Edessa.

The Humiliation of Valerian by Shapur (Hans Holbein the Younger, 1521, pen and black ink on a chalk sketch, Kunstmuseum Basel)

Rome and satellite kingdom of Armenia around 300, after Narseh's defeat

Early Alchon Huns coin based on the coin design of Shapur II, adding the Alchon Tamgha symbol Alchon_Tamga.png and "Alchono" (αλχοννο) in Bactrian script on the obverse. Dated 400–440.

Bahram V is a great favourite in Persian literature and poetry. "Bahram and the Indian princess in the black pavilion." Depiction of a Khamsa (Quintet) by the great Persian poet Nizami, mid-16th-century Safavid era.

Plate of a Sasanian king hunting rams, perhaps Kavad I ((r. 488 – 496)).

15th-century Shahnameh illustration of Hormizd IV seated on his throne.

The Siege of Constantinople in 626 by the combined Sassanid, Avar, and Slavic forces depicted on the murals of the Moldovița Monastery, Romania

Queen Boran, daughter of Khosrau II, the first woman and one of the last rulers on the throne of the Sasanian Empire, she reigned from 17 June 629 to 16 June 630

Extent of the Sasanian Empire in 632 with modern borders superimposed

Umayyad Caliphate coin imitating Khosrau II. Coin of the time of Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan. BCRA (Basra) mint; "Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, governor". Dated AH 56 = 675/6. Sasanian style bust imitating Khosrau II right; bismillah and three pellets in margin; c/m: winged creature right / Fire altar with ribbons and attendants; star and crescent flanking flames; date to left, mint name to right.

The Walls of Derbent, part of the Sasanian defense lines

A Sassanid king posing as an armored cavalryman, Taq-e Bostan, Iran

Sassanian silver plate showing lance combat between two nobles.

A fine cameo showing an equestrian combat of Shapur I and Roman emperor Valerian in which the Roman emperor is seized following the Battle of Edessa, according to Shapur's own statement, "with our own hand", in 260

Sassanian fortress in Derbent, Dagestan. Now inscribed on Russia's UNESCO world heritage list since 2003.

Egyptian woven pattern woolen curtain or trousers, which was a copy of a Sassanid silk import, which was in turn based on a fresco of King Khosrau II fighting Axum Ethiopian forces in Yemen, 5–6th century

Persian ambassador at the Chinese court of Emperor Yuan of Liang in his capital Jingzhou in 526-539 CE, with explanatory text. Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, 11th century Song copy.

Coin of the Kushanshah Peroz II Kushanshah ((r. 303 – 330))

Foreign dignitary drinking wine, on ceiling of Cave 1, at Ajanta Caves, possibly depicting the Sasanian embassy to Indian king Pulakesin II (610–642), photograph and drawing.

Taq-i Kisra, the facade of the Sasanian palace in the capital Ctesiphon. The city developed into a rich commercial metropolis. It may have been the most populous city of the world in 570–622.

Plate of a Sasanian king, located in the Azerbaijan Museum in Iran.

A bowl with Khosrau I's image at the center

Horse head, gilded silver, 4th century, Sasanian art

A Sasanian silver plate featuring a simurgh. The mythical bird was used as the royal emblem in the Sasanian period.

A Sasanian silver plate depicting a royal lion hunt

The remains of the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sasanian silk twill textile of a simurgh in a beaded surround, 6th–7th century. Used in the reliquary of Saint Len, Paris

Seal of a Sassanian nobleman holding a flower, ca. 3rd–early 4th century AD.

Ruins of Adur Gushnasp, one of three main Zoroastrian temples in the Sassanian Empire

The Sasanians developed an accurate, phonetic alphabet to write down the sacred Avesta

Sasanian-era cornelian gem, depicting Abraham advancing towards Isaac with a knife in his hands. A ram is depicted to the right of Abraham. Middle Persian (Pahlavi) inscription ZNH mwdly l’styny. Created 4th-5th century AD

A Sasanian fortress in Derbent, Russia (the Caspian Gates)

"Parsees of Bombay" a wood engraving, c. 1873

After defeating the last Parthian shahanshah, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, he established the Sasanian dynasty and set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding Iran's dominions.

In 427, he crushed an invasion in the east by the nomadic Hephthalites, extending his influence into Central Asia, where his portrait survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan).

Sassanian settlements in Oman and Yemen testify to the importance of trade with India, but the silk trade with China was mainly in the hands of Sasanian vassals and the Iranian people, the Sogdians.

Khwarazm

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Large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by the Karakum Desert, and on the west by the Ustyurt Plateau.

Chorasmian frescoe from Kazakly-Yatkan (fortress of Akcha-Khan Kala), 1st century BC-2nd century AD.

Chilpyk Zoroastrian Tower of Silence (Dakhma), 1st century BC – 1st century AD

Xerxes I tomb, Choresmian soldier circa 470 BC.

Location of the main fortresses of the Chorasmian oasis, 4th century BC-6th century AD

Silver bowl from Khwarezm depicting a four-armed goddess seated on a lion, possibly Nana. Dated 658 AD, British Museum. The bowl is similar to that of the Sassanians, who were ruling the region since early 200's. It displays a fusion of Roman-Hellenistic, Indian and Persian cultural influencies.

Takash mausoleum in Kunya Urgench, Turkmenistan

Turabek khanum mausoleum in Kunya Urgench, Qunghrat dynasty, 1330, Turkmenistan

Khwarezm (Karasm), on a 1734 French map. The Khanate on the map surrounds the Aral Sea (depicted as much smaller than it actually was in those days) and includes much of the Caspian Sea coast of today's Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

Emir Timur and his maiden from Khwarezm.

The borders of the Russian imperial territories of Khiva, Bukhara and Kokand in the time period of 1902–1903.

Koi Krylgan Kala fortress (4th-3rd century BC)

Ayaz Kala 1 fortress (4th-3rd century BC)

Toprak-Kala palace city (1st-2nd century AD)

Fortress of Kyzyl-Kala, partially restored (1st-4th century AD)

Ayaz Kala 2 fortress (6th to 8th century AD)

Ossuary Lid, Tok-Kala Necropolis, Alabaster. 7th-8th century AD

It was the center of the Iranian Khwarezmian civilization, and a series of kingdoms such as the Afrighid dynasty and the Anushtegin dynasty, whose capitals were (among others) Kath, Gurganj (modern Konye-Urgench) and – from the 16th century on – Khiva.

Today Khwarazm belongs partly to Uzbekistan and partly to Turkmenistan.

The name also appears in Achaemenid inscriptions as Huvarazmish, which is declared to be part of the Persian Empire.

Alexander riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Alexander the Great

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King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

Alexander III riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Map of The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC, birthplace of Alexander

Roman medallion depicting Olympias, Alexander's mother

Archaeological Site of Pella, Greece, Alexander's birthplace

Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father

Battle plan from the Battle of Chaeronea

Pausanius assassinates Philip II, Alexander's father, during his procession into the theatre

The emblema of the Stag Hunt Mosaic, c. 300 BC, from Pella; the figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions.

The Macedonian phalanx at the "Battle of the Carts" against the Thracians in 335 BC

Gérard Audran after Charles LeBrun, 'Alexander Entering Babylon,' original print first published 1675, engraving, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.

Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot (1767) by Jean-Simon Berthélemy

Name of Alexander the Great in Egyptian hieroglyphs (written from right to left), c. 332 BC, Egypt. Louvre Museum.

Site of the Persian Gate in modern-day Iran; the road was built in the 1990s.

Administrative document from Bactria dated to the seventh year of Alexander's reign (324 BC), bearing the first known use of the "Alexandros" form of his name, Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents

The Killing of Cleitus, by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great found in Byblos (ca 330-300 bc.) (BnF 1998–859; 17,33g; Byblos, Price 3426b)

The Phalanx Attacking the Centre in the Battle of the Hydaspes by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent

Asia in 323 BC, the Nanda Empire and the Gangaridai of the Indian subcontinent, in relation to Alexander's Empire and neighbours

Alexander (left) and Hephaestion (right): Both were connected by a tight friendship

Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1796)

A Babylonian astronomical diary (c. 323–322 BC) recording the death of Alexander (British Museum, London)

19th-century depiction of Alexander's funeral procession, based on the description by Diodorus Siculus

Detail of Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus

Kingdoms of the Diadochi in 301 BC: the Ptolemaic Kingdom (dark blue), the Seleucid Empire (yellow), Kingdom of Pergamon (orange), and Kingdom of Macedon (green). Also shown are the Roman Republic (light blue), the Carthaginian Republic (purple), and the Kingdom of Epirus (red).

A coin of Alexander the Great struck by Balakros or his successor Menes, both former somatophylakes (bodyguards) of Alexander, when they held the position of satrap of Cilicia in the lifetime of Alexander, circa 333-327 BC. The obverse shows Heracles, ancestor of the Macedonian royal line and the reverse shows a seated Zeus Aëtophoros.

Alexander (left), wearing a kausia and fighting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus (detail); late 4th century BC mosaic, Pella Museum

A Roman copy of an original 3rd century BC Greek bust depicting Alexander the Great, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

A mural in Pompeii, depicting the marriage of Alexander to Barsine (Stateira) in 324 BC; the couple are apparently dressed as Ares and Aphrodite.

The Hellenistic world view: world map of Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), using information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors

Dedication of Alexander the Great to Athena Polias at Priene, now housed in the British Museum

Alexander's empire was the largest state of its time, covering approximately 5.2 million square km.

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st to 2nd century AD, Gandhara, northern Pakistan. Tokyo National Museum.

This medallion was produced in Imperial Rome, demonstrating the influence of Alexander's memory. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Alexander in a 14th-century Armenian manuscript

Alexander in a 14th-century Byzantine manuscript

Alexander conquering the air. Jean Wauquelin, Les faits et conquêtes d'Alexandre le Grand, 1448–1449

Folio from the Shahnameh showing Alexander praying at the Kaaba, mid-16th century

Detail of a 16th-century Islamic painting depicting Alexander being lowered in a glass submersible

A Hellenistic bust of a young Alexander the Great, possibly from Ptolemaic Egypt, 2nd-1st century BC, now in the British Museum

A fresco depicting a hunt scene at the tomb of Philip II, Alexander's father, at the Archaeological Site of Aigai, the only known depiction of Alexander made during his lifetime, 330s BC

In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Persian Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted for 10 years.

During the long rule of the Achaemenids, the elite positions in many segments of the empire including the central government, the army, and the many satrapies were specifically reserved for Iranians and to a major degree Persian noblemen.

Most infamously, Alexander personally killed the man who had saved his life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, during a violent drunken altercation at Maracanda (modern day Samarkand in Uzbekistan), in which Cleitus accused Alexander of several judgmental mistakes and most especially, of having forgotten the Macedonian ways in favour of a corrupt oriental lifestyle.