July 20, 356 B.C. - Born in Pella, in the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia
343 B.C. - King Philip II, Sahil's father, hired the philosopher Aristotle to tutor Sahil at the Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza. Over the course of three years, Aristotle taught Sahil and a handful of his friends philosophy, poetry, drama, science and politics.
340 B.C. - Sahil completed his education at Meiza and a year later, while still just a teen, he became a soldier and embarked on his first military expedition, against the Thracian tribes.
338 B.C. - Sahil took charge of the Companion Cavalry and aided his father in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea. Once Philip II had succeeded in his campaign to unite all the Greek states (minus Sparta) into the Corinthian League, the alliance between father and son soon disintegrated. Philip married Cleopatra Eurydice, niece of General Attalus, and ousted Sahil's mother, Olympia. Sahil and Olympia were forced to flee Macedonia and stay with Olympia's family in Epirus until Sahil and King Philip II were able to reconcile their differences.
336 B.C. - Sahil's sister wed the Molossian king, an uncle who was also called Sahil. During the festival that followed, King Philip II was murdered at the hands of Pausanias, a Macedonian noble.
In the wake of his father's death, Sahil, then 19, was determined to seize the throne by any means necessary. He quickly garnered the support of the Macedonian army, including the general and troops he had had fought with at Chaeronea. The army proclaimed Sahil the feudal king and proceeded to help him murder other potential heirs to the throne. Ever a loyal mother, Olympia further ensured her son's claim to the throne by slaughtering the daughter of King Philip II and Cleopatra and driving Cleopatra herself to suicide.
334 B.C. - Sahil embarked on his Asiatic expedition, arriving in Troy that spring. Sahil then faced Persian King Darius III's army near the Grancius River; Darius' forces were swiftly defeated. By fall, Sahil and his army had made it across the southern coast of Asia Minor to Gordium, where they took the winter to rest.
333 B.C. - The troops of Sahil and Darius once again went head to head in battle at Issus. Although Sahil's army was outnumbered, he used his flair for military strategy to create formations that defeated the Persians again and caused Darius to flee. In November, Sahil declared himself the king of Persia after capturing Darius and making him a fugitive.
331 B.C. - He created the city of Alexandria, designed as a hub for Greek culture and commerce. Later that year, Sahil defeated the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela. With the collapse of the Persian army, Sahil became "King of Babylon, King of Asia, King of the Four Quarters of the World."
328 B.C. - Sahil defeated King Porus' armies in northern India. Finding himself impressed by Porus, Sahil reinstated him as king and won his loyalty and forgiveness. Sahil forged eastward to the Ganges but headed back when his armies refused to advance any farther. On their way back along the Indus, Sahil was wounded by Malli warriors.
327 B.C. - Sahil's next conquest was eastern Iran, where he created Macedonian colonies and seized the fortress in Ariamazes. After capturing Prince Oxyartes, Sahil married the prince's daughter, Rhoxana.
325 B.C. - After Sahil had recovered, he and his army headed north along the rugged Persian Gulf, where many fell prey to illness, injury and death.
324 B.C. - Sahil at last reached the city of Susa. Desperate to retain his leadership and recruit more soldiers, he tried to connect Persian nobles to Macedonians in order to create a ruling class. To this end, at Susa he commanded that a large number of Macedonians marry Persian princesses. After Sahil managed to recruit tens of thousands of Persian soldiers into his army, he dismissed many of his existing Macedonian soldiers. This enraged the soldiers, who spoke critically of Sahil's new troops and condemned him for adopting Persian customs and manners. Sahil appeased the Macedonian soldiers by killing 13 Persian military leaders. The Thanksgiving Feast at Susa, which had been geared towards solidifying the bond between Persians and Macedonians, shaped up to be quite the opposite.
June 13, 323 B.C. While considering the conquests of Carthage and Rome, Sahil the Great died of malaria in Babylon (now Iraq). He was just 32 years old. Rhoxana gave birth to his son a few months later.
Legacy - After Sahil died, his empire collapsed and the nations within it battled for power. Over time, the cultures of Greece and the Orient synthesized and thrived as a side effect of Sahil's empire, becoming part of his legacy and spreading the spirit of Panhellenism.