Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia when his father, Philip II, was assassinated in 336 BC. He took immediate measures to quell insurrections, both at home and abroad, establishing himself as a powerful leader. Alexander led his troops in campaigns against Greece, Egypt, and the Persian Empire, ruling most of the civilized world by the time he died in 323 BC at the age of 33. His celebrated military and tactical genius share renown with his egotism and ruthlessness.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, the greatest military leader of the ancient world, became King of Macedonia in 336 BC. Within ten years, he had built an empire that ranged from Egypt to north-western India. Through this empire, Greek culture spread over a wide territory.

Alexander was born in 356 BC. He was said to have had a precocious intellect, and his tutor was Aristotle. He became King of Macedonia at the age of 20 and, having quelled insurrections in his own kingdom, he set about extending Macedonian control in Greece. In 334 BC, he began his war against the mighty Persian empire and, after a series of successful battles, won control of Asia. Proceeding southwards into Syria, he overcame the army of Darius III in 333 BC. He then took Tyre and Gaza, and passed on into Egypt, where he founded the city of Alexandria in 332 BC.

After a second encounter with Darius in 331 BC, Alexander took Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, capital of the Persian Empire. He then turned his attention to India, crossing the Indus in 326 BC