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October 1, 331 B.C-

The Battle of Gaugamela was the greatest victory in the history of the Persian Empire. Iksander, attempting to bluff Darius into sending more cavalry to the flanks, rode to the right flank with his Royal Companians. He was spotted by a Persian archer, and a well aimed arrow went through the aspiring Emperors eye. He was killed immediately. The Macedonian army, in disarray, fell to the massive Persian envelopment that followed. No Macedonian’s escaped that day. Darius the III then called for a Persian conquest of the land’s the Macedonian’s had taken from Persian rule.

October 5- December 25, 331 B.C.-

The Persians launch their conquest against the wavering Macedonians. The influential Macedonian commanders fight each other for rule, leaving them easy targets for the powerful Persian army. By December 25, The Persians have reached the Sinai and the Hellespont in Anatolia.

Janurary 1, 330 B.C.-

The Persians take Alexandria in Egypt. They burn the city to the ground, selling the inhabitants into slavery.

March 3- October 14, 330 B.C.-

After many months of preparation, Darius III leads his men against the Macedonian homeland and the pesky Greeks. It is surprisingly easy- the Greek city states had been fighting the Macedonians ever since news of Iksander’s death reached Athens. The l Persian’s fight a bloody campaign, subduing the Greeks city by city over the course of eight months. The Greeks and Macedonians put up strong, but individual resistance. Efforts to form a coalition fail, and by the fourteenth, the area is under Persian control. Several rebellions continue to flare up, however.

January 4, 329 B.C.-

The Emperor Darius declares the fight over, and returns to Susa after the last Macedonian fortress surrenders. He leaves a large garrison of soldiers to hold down Greece. He also leaves orders to create a fleet by utilizing Greek shipbuilders and sailors.

May 3, - November 2, 313 B.C.-

Emperor Darius the Conqueror dies, leaving Persia at its greatest extent in history. He did what his forebears failed to do- subdue the Greeks. Unfortunately, he does not leave a son- his eldest daughter, Stateira II, declares herself Empress of Persia. With the loyalty of the military, she subdues the revolts of the Susa Coalition, forcing them to sign the Accords of Ctesiphon on November 2 which recognizes her right to reign. She now (officially) inherits the one of the largest armies and navies in the world, allowing her the luxury of not worrying about foreign invasion. But, she uses her extensive spy service to keep an eye on the rising powers of Carthage and Rome in the Western Mediterranean.

July 5, 269 B.C.-
Stateria II dies, leaving her seventeen year old son Cyrus III the a more wealthy and influential Persia. He immediately seeks trading contracts with Carthage and Rome, showing that he would take a more active role in international relations.

May 3, 264- January 4, 258 B.C.-

Rome and Carthage go to war. Rome’s increasingly expansionist attitude worries Cyrus III, but he does not want Carthage to become the greatest power in the West, afraid that they might use the power of conquering Rome to wage war against Persia. In 256, deciding that Rome is the greater threat, he declares war against the Roman Republic. The massive Persian fleet and armies defeat and conquer the Roman Republic, giving Carthage full control of Sicily and Southern Italy. Cyrus III is content to control the north and Rome.

March 5, 258 B.C.-

Carthage and Persia sign the Athenian Accord, which grants Carthage a full hand in Spain while recognizing Gaul as a Persian sphere of influence. This sets up a status quo that will last for almost three hundred years, the Persian Peace. The end of those three hundred years will see the rise of a new religion and the creation of a third player at the table.
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