Alexander the Great, the Macedonian ruler, is remembered as the greatest of military commanders in antiquity, owing to his conquest of nearly the whole known globe during his lifetime. He was, in effect, king of the world, albeit his reign was brief. Alexander was born in the Greek city-state of Macedonia, the son of King Philip II, who had ascended to power three years before. Alexander was raised and educated in the manner of a young Greek royal, being schooled by Greek philosopher Aristotle and trained in athletics and war. His knowledge of Greek literature and art would eventually be combined with his fighting prowess to create a fearsome conqueror.

He was not only inspired by Greek culture, but he also had the military prowess and skill to expand Hellenism throughout the known world. Alexander took over the leadership of Macedonia at the age of sixteen, while his father, King Philip, fought military expeditions to protect and extend his country. Alexander accompanied his father on the battlef

ield at the age of seventeen, commanding a division of the army in the defeat of Thebes. Alexander proceeded promptly after Philip’s assassination in 336 B.C.E. to assert his claim to the throne. He proceeded to carry out his father’s wars after 335 B.C.E., securing Greece and the Balkan Peninsula by the fall of that year. He then launched an all-out assault on the Persian Empire, Greece’s long-time foe. Alexander was supremely brave and confident in his own talents as well as those of his warriors, and by the fall of 331 B.C.E., he had defeated the Persian army and captured Egypt along the way.

The Persian Empire fell apart, and the youthful Macedonian monarch declared himself “Lord of Asia.” Despite this, he continued to claim Afghanistan and then India. When he died of illness in 324 B.C.E., he was on his way to conquering the Arabian peninsula. He was thirty-three years old. His large realm was split among his old generals, whom he had controlled leniently yet authoritatively.