Alexander the Great

Who is Alexander the Great?

Alexander III of Macedon, known as Alexander the Great, was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and one of history's most successful military commanders. Tutored in his youth by Aristotle, he succeeded his father Philip II in 336 BC and inherited a powerful army. Over little more than a decade, he led campaigns that toppled the vast Persian Empire and extended his rule from Greece and Egypt across Asia as far as the Indus River, founding numerous cities, many named Alexandria. He was never defeated in battle. His conquests spread Greek language, art, and culture across the ancient world, inaugurating the Hellenistic era, in which Greek civilization blended with Eastern traditions. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, aged thirty-two, and his empire soon fragmented among his generals, yet his legend endured for centuries.

Sources: Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander (2nd century AD) · Plutarch, Life of Alexander · Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica