Often considered the greatest military leader of ancient history, Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, was born in 356 BC, the son of King Philip II of Macedon. His family claimed divine descent from Zeus, and from a young age, Alexander was raised to believe in a destiny of greatness.

Tutored by the philosopher Aristotle, Alexander received a world-class education in philosophy, science, and politics. Though Aristotle taught him to view non-Greeks as inferior, Alexander later abandoned this narrow view as he built his vast, multicultural empire.

After his father Philip was assassinated, the twenty-year-old Alexander inherited the throne. He swiftly crushed revolts across Greece, most notably destroying Thebes, and was soon declared supreme commander of the Greek forces. His mission: to conquer Persia.

In 333 BC, Alexander faced King Darius III of Persia. Despite being heavily outnumbered, his disciplined troops defeated the Persian army at the Battle of Issus. Darius fled, leaving behind his family, who were treated with respect—Darius’s mother even “adopted” Alexander as her son. Alexander’s forces triumphed again in 331 BC at Gaugamela, where Darius was killed by his own men.

After seizing the Persian throne, Alexander began to adopt Persian customs, which alienated many of his Macedonian soldiers. Seeking renewed glory, he pushed eastward into India. In 326 BC, he faced King Porus and his war elephants in a grueling battle. Though victorious, his weary soldiers refused to march further.

Alexander’s later policies aimed to fuse Greek and Persian cultures. He encouraged intermarriage between his officers and Persian women and founded cities—most famously Alexandria—that became centers of Hellenistic culture and science. Yet these efforts sparked unrest and mutiny among his troops, who saw him drifting from his Greek roots.

He introduced new economic reforms, including the use of a silver standard, and poured the wealth of Persia into building a new cosmopolitan empire. But the strain of constant conquest and cultural tension began to erode his power.

In 323 BC, at just 32 years old, Alexander died in Babylon under mysterious circumstances. His empire, stretching from Greece to India, soon fractured—but his legacy endured. The Hellenistic Age that followed spread Greek language, art, and ideas across three continents.

Alexander the Great remains one of history’s most brilliant—and most relentless—military minds, remembered not just for his conquests, but for the enduring cultural world he left behind.