Turkey has officially registered one of Alexander the Great’s famed battlefields as a "Historical Site," Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on X/Twitter in mid-June.

“We have secured the site of the Battle of Granikos, a turning point that changed the course of world history,” Ersoy wrote in his post. “The Battlefield of Granikos, where Alexander the Great achieved his first major victory against the Persians and opened the doors to his campaign into Asia, has now been officially registered as a ‘Historical Site.’”

“I believe this important step, which will add value to Çanakkale's cultural heritage, will make significant contributions to historical science, cultural tourism, and the strengthening of our cultural routes,” Ersoy went on.

Archaeological and scientific surveys were carried out at the site ahead of the Çanakkale Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural Heritage’s decision in order to evaluate whether it met the criteria to be designated as a historic site.

Under the decision, both the battlefield and its surrounding areas have gained protected status.

The site, located within the boundaries of the Karabiga township in the Biga district of Çanakkale, was formally identified by researchers in 2025.

"The Battle of Granicus was not only one of the most significant turning points in Alexander's life, later earning him the epithet 'the Great,' but [was] also a pivotal moment in world history," Reyhan Körpe, an archaeology professor at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, told Live Science in an email at the time.

Körpe explained to Live Science that while Heinrich Kiepert, a 19th-century archaeologist, had suggested the area near the Biga River as the infamous battlefield, his team had discovered additional evidence to support the claim - the remains of the ancient city of Hermaion.

According to historical records, Hermaion served as Alexander's final encampment ahead of his battle with the Persians. 

In March, a research team led by Professor Stefan Hauser, Chair of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Konstanz, confirmed the rediscovery of the long-lost city of Alexandria on the Tigris in southern Iraq near the Persian Gulf. 

Researchers began working at the believed site of the city in the 2010s, mapping the site using high‑resolution geophysical scanning and drone imagery.  Analysis of the results revealed fortification walls and a dense street grid buried beneath the surface, as well as an extensive port and canal system.

“We quickly realized that a large part of the city was laid out systematically," Hauser explained in the University of Konstanz's online magazine, campus.kn. "Even two kilometers south of the northern city wall, we see streets and blocks of houses laid out exactly parallel to it. The city's structure must therefore have followed an overall plan."

However, Hauser noted occasional deviations from the grid, most likely from later phases of the city.

“Alexander founded Alexandria on the Tigris to serve as a port and distribution center for trade with India. And indeed, all goods traffic probably passes through this city," he said. "Even when new ports are built to the south as the river silts up, this is the point where everything is first transshipped."

"The settlement was probably largely abandoned in the 3rd century CE. It was likely no longer situated on any river at that time and, as ancient sources tell us, due to the progressive silting up of the land to the south, was by then also 180 kilometers from the Persian Gulf."

"The town lost its importance as the capital of the northern Gulf region and as a trading center and was eventually completely abandoned. Its modern successor is the city of Basra," Hauser said.