Battle of Granicus River, Granicus - the battle in which Alexander won his first major victory against the Persians (334 BC)

battle of Ipsus, Ipsus - a battle between the successors of Alexander the Great (301 BC); Lysimachus and Seleucus defeated Antigonus and Demetrius

battle of Issus, Issus - a battle (333 BC) in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persians under Darius III

Bithynia - an ancient country in northwestern Asia Minor in what is now Turkey; was absorbed into the Roman Empire by the end of the 1st century BC

Cappadocia - an ancient country is eastern Asia Minor

Galatia - an ancient country in central Asia Minor

Phrygia - an ancient country in western and central Asia Minor

Pontus - an ancient region of northern Asia Minor on the Black Sea; it reached its height under Mithridates VI but was later incorporated into the Roman Empire

Aeolia, Aeolis - ancient name for the coastal region of northwestern Asia Minor (including Lesbos)

Lycia - an ancient region on the coast of southwest Asia Minor

Lydia - an ancient region on the coast of western Asia Minor; a powerful kingdom until conquered by the Persians in 546 BC

Ephesus - an ancient Greek city on the western shore of Asia Minor in what is now Turkey; site of the Temple of Artemis; was a major trading center and played an important role in early Christianity

Ilion, Ilium, Troy - an ancient city in Asia Minor that was the site of the Trojan War

Sakartvelo, Georgia - a republic in Asia Minor on the Black Sea separated from Russia by the Caucasus mountains; formerly an Asian soviet but became independent in 1991

Republic of Turkey, Turkey - a Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans; achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1923

Ionia - region of western Asia Minor colonized by Ancient Greeks

Asia - the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations

peninsula - a large mass of land projecting into a body of water

malik - the leader of a town or community in some parts of Asia Minor and the Indian subcontinent; "maliks rule the hinterland of Afghanistan under the protection of warlords"