Siege of Babylon (331 BC)

E374350

event in ancient history military campaign siege

The Siege of Babylon (331 BC) was the largely unopposed occupation of the wealthy Persian city of Babylon by Alexander the Great following his decisive victory over Darius III, marking a key step in the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Fall of Babylon to Alexander the Great	1
Siege of Babylon	1
Siege of Babylon (331 BC) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3626245 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Siege of Babylon (331 BC)
Context triple: [Battle of Gaugamela, followedBy, Siege of Babylon (331 BC)]

A. Siege of Babylon Fortress
The Siege of Babylon Fortress was a pivotal early 7th-century engagement in which Rashidun forces captured the Byzantine stronghold near modern Cairo, opening the way for the Muslim conquest and Islamization of Egypt.
B. Siege of Susa
The Siege of Susa was a key engagement during Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, in which his forces captured the wealthy ceremonial capital of Susa.
C. Siege of Halicarnassus
The Siege of Halicarnassus was a key early battle in Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire, in which he captured the heavily fortified Carian capital on the coast of Asia Minor.
D. Siege of Nineveh
The Siege of Nineveh (612 BC) was the decisive Babylonian and Median assault that destroyed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and led to the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
E. Siege of Tyre
The Siege of Tyre was Alexander the Great’s famous 332 BC assault on the heavily fortified Phoenician island city, marked by the construction of a massive causeway and resulting in a decisive Macedonian victory that secured control of the eastern Mediterranean.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Siege of Babylon (331 BC)
Target entity description: The Siege of Babylon (331 BC) was the largely unopposed occupation of the wealthy Persian city of Babylon by Alexander the Great following his decisive victory over Darius III, marking a key step in the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.

A. Siege of Babylon Fortress
The Siege of Babylon Fortress was a pivotal early 7th-century engagement in which Rashidun forces captured the Byzantine stronghold near modern Cairo, opening the way for the Muslim conquest and Islamization of Egypt.
B. Siege of Susa
The Siege of Susa was a key engagement during Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, in which his forces captured the wealthy ceremonial capital of Susa.
C. Siege of Halicarnassus
The Siege of Halicarnassus was a key early battle in Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire, in which he captured the heavily fortified Carian capital on the coast of Asia Minor.
D. Siege of Nineveh
The Siege of Nineveh (612 BC) was the decisive Babylonian and Median assault that destroyed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and led to the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
E. Siege of Tyre
The Siege of Tyre was Alexander the Great’s famous 332 BC assault on the heavily fortified Phoenician island city, marked by the construction of a massive causeway and resulting in a decisive Macedonian victory that secured control of the eastern Mediterranean.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	event in ancient history ⓘ military campaign ⓘ siege ⓘ
acceptedBy	Babylonian priestly elites ⓘ
after	Battle of Gaugamela ⓘ
associatedWith	Achaemenid satrap Mazaeus ⓘ
belligerent	Achaemenid Empire ⓘ Macedonian Empire ⓘ linked to: Macedon
captured	Babylon ⓘ
capturedFrom	Achaemenid Empire ⓘ
cause	Alexander’s pursuit of Darius III after Gaugamela ⓘ Macedonian invasion of the Achaemenid Empire ⓘ linked to: Invasion of the Achaemenid Empire
characteristic	largely unopposed occupation ⓘ peaceful surrender of the city ⓘ welcoming reception of Alexander by Babylonian elites ⓘ
commander	Alexander the Great ⓘ
conflict	Wars of Alexander the Great ⓘ
date	331 BC ⓘ
economicImpact	gave Alexander access to Babylon’s wealth ⓘ
followedBy	Macedonian advance into the Persian heartland ⓘ Siege of Susa ⓘ
historicalPeriod	Hellenistic period ⓘ late Achaemenid period ⓘ
locatedInPresentDay	Iraq ⓘ
location	Achaemenid Empire ⓘ Babylon ⓘ Mesopotamia ⓘ
militaryAspect	minimal direct fighting ⓘ negotiated surrender ⓘ
opposingCommander	Darius III ⓘ
outcome	enhanced Alexander’s prestige in the Near East ⓘ key step in the fall of the Achaemenid Empire ⓘ secured a major administrative and economic center ⓘ
partOf	Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire ⓘ linked to: Invasion of the Achaemenid Empire Wars of Alexander the Great ⓘ
politicalImpact	strengthened Alexander’s claim as successor to the Achaemenid kings ⓘ undermined Darius III’s authority ⓘ
precededBy	Battle of Gaugamela ⓘ
recognizedAs	turning point in Alexander’s Asian campaign ⓘ
recordedIn	Babylonian astronomical diaries ⓘ ancient Greek historical sources ⓘ
result	Babylon surrendered largely without resistance ⓘ Macedonian victory ⓘ occupation of Babylon by Alexander the Great ⓘ
significance	marked Macedonian control over Mesopotamia ⓘ opened the way to Susa and Persepolis ⓘ symbolic transfer of power from Persia to Macedonia ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of Gaugamela → followedBy → Siege of Babylon (331 BC) ⓘ

Achaemenid conquest of Mesopotamia → hasPart → Siege of Babylon ⓘ

linked to: Siege of Babylon (331 BC)

Siege of Susa → relatedEvent → Fall of Babylon to Alexander the Great ⓘ