Alexander Dies at 32: Empire Shatters Without Heir
He conquered from Greece to the edge of India in thirteen years, starting at twenty years old. Alexander the Great died in Babylon at thirty-two, during a banquet. Some historians say fever, probably typhoid. Others suspect poison. Either way, he hadn't named a successor. "To the strongest," he supposedly said when asked. His generals immediately went to war with each other. Within fifty years, the empire he built had been carved into five separate kingdoms. All of them spoke Greek.
June 11, 323 BC
What Else Happened on June 11
Eratosthenes calculated that Greek forces sacked and burned Troy in 1184 BC, ending a decade-long siege that shattered the city's power and reshaped the Aegean …
Alexander collapsed in Babylon after days of fever or agonizing pain from a bowl of wine, leaving no clear heir behind. His sudden death at thirty-two shattered…
A Roman army, cut off and dying of thirst in Moravia, was saved by a thunderstorm. That's the official story. But Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic philosopher who spent…
Eighty thousand people came home because of a gift basket. Emperor Taizong didn't send armies north to the Xueyantuo — he sent diplomats carrying gold and silk,…
Tang China was paying ransom for its own people — prisoners taken during the chaos of a civil war that had ended years earlier. Emperor Taizong sent envoys nort…
Two rival empires showed up at the same door on the same day and nearly started a war over who knocked first. The Abbasid Arabs and Uyghur Turks had both travel…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.