In the summer of 336BCE Philip was assassinated, and Alexander ascended the throne of Macedonia. In 336BCE he was elected by a congress to gain position in Greece. In 335BCE he defeated the Thracians and the Illyrians. In the spring of 334BCE Alexander the Great started his campaign against Persia. After this long battle all of Asia Minor was given to him. In 333BCE Alexander ended the battle of Issus in victory. Alexander took Tyre in 332 BCE after a seven-month battle. He seized Jerusalem in 332BCE. He next took Gaza and secured the whole Mediterranean coastline. In late 332BCE he founded the city of Alexandria slightly west of the Nile River Delta. In 331BCE he made a pilgrimage to the temple of Amon-Ra. He next crossed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and met Darius, the Persian General. The Persian army was defeated by Alexander the Great on October 1, 331BCE at the battle of Gaugamela. He continued invasions through 325BCE. On his way back to Babylon in 323BCE and caught a fever and died.