Biography
Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC), was King of Macedon and one of the greatest military commanders of the ancient world. As leader of the alliance of Greek states established by his father, Philip II, he launched the campaign against the Persian Empire and, within little more than a decade, created an empire stretching from Greece and Egypt across the former Persian territories to Central Asia and the Indus Valley.
Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia, in 356 BC. His father was King Philip II of Macedon and his mother was Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus I of Epirus. He received an exceptional education. Among his tutors was Leonidas, a relative of Olympias who was known for his strict discipline, while the philosopher Aristotle later instructed him in philosophy, literature, politics, science and medicine. Alexander developed a particular admiration for Homer and is said to have carried a copy of the Iliad with him during his campaigns.
At the age of sixteen, while Philip was away on campaign, Alexander was entrusted with responsibility for the kingdom. During this period he suppressed a revolt by the Maedi, a Thracian people, and founded a settlement traditionally known as Alexandropolis. Two years later, in 338 BC, he played an important role in Philip’s decisive victory over Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea.
When Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC, the twenty-year-old Alexander succeeded him as King of Macedon. He quickly secured his position, suppressed rebellions and re-established Macedonian authority over the Greek states. He was subsequently recognized as leader of the alliance created by Philip for the planned war against the Persian Empire, with Sparta remaining outside the alliance.
In the spring of 334 BC, Alexander crossed into Asia Minor with an army of roughly 30,000–40,000 infantry and about 5,000 cavalry, although ancient sources give different figures. This marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary military campaigns in history. Through victories at the Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, he destroyed the power of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and defeated its king, Darius III.
Alexander continued eastward through Central Asia and eventually reached the Indian subcontinent. In 326 BC he defeated King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes. His troops, exhausted after years of campaigning, refused to advance farther east at the Hyphasis River, forcing Alexander to turn back.
His conquests transformed the ancient world. Alexander founded or refounded numerous cities, many of them named Alexandria, the most famous being Alexandria in Egypt. These urban centres encouraged trade, administration and cultural exchange across the vast territories he controlled. Greek language, art and ideas spread widely throughout Egypt and Asia, while at the same time Greek and Macedonian culture absorbed influences from the civilizations of the East. This interaction laid the foundations of the Hellenistic world that flourished for centuries after his death.
Alexander also attempted to govern his enormous empire by combining Macedonian and Persian political traditions. He retained elements of the Persian administrative system, employed local officials and encouraged closer relations between Macedonians and the peoples of his new territories. These policies, however, sometimes caused tension among his Macedonian companions, who were uneasy with his adoption of Persian court customs.
In 323 BC, while in Babylon and preparing further military expeditions, Alexander became seriously ill with a high fever. After several days his condition deteriorated, and he died in June 323 BC, a little more than a month before his thirty-third birthday. The precise cause of his death remains unknown. Various explanations have been proposed, including infectious disease, while ancient rumours of poisoning have never been conclusively demonstrated.
According to a famous ancient tradition, when Alexander was asked to whom he left his empire, he replied, “to the strongest.” Whether these exact words were actually spoken is uncertain, but they proved prophetic. Alexander had left no adult heir capable of ruling the enormous territory, and his generals soon began a prolonged struggle for power known as the Wars of the Successors.
His empire was eventually divided among the Diadochi, his generals and successors, giving rise to major Hellenistic kingdoms such as the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in Asia and the Antigonid kingdom in Macedonia. Alexander’s posthumous son, Alexander IV, was later murdered together with his mother Roxana on the orders of Cassander, bringing the direct Argead royal line to an end.
Alexander married three times: Roxana of Bactria, Stateira II, daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis II, daughter of Artaxerxes III. His only legitimate son to survive infancy, Alexander IV, was born after his father's death.
After his death, Alexander rapidly became a legendary figure far beyond the Greek and Macedonian world. Stories about his life spread through Europe, Egypt, Persia and the Islamic world and gradually became mixed with myth and folklore. In the Alexander Romance, he was even portrayed as the son of the last Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II. In several medieval Persian traditions he was incorporated into the line of Persian kings and became known as Eskandar or Iskandar.
In later Islamic and Persian literature, Alexander was also frequently identified with Dhu al-Qarnayn, “the Two-Horned One,” a figure mentioned in the Qur’an. This association may have been encouraged by ancient representations of Alexander with the horns of the god Zeus-Ammon. Through these traditions, the historical Macedonian king became one of the most enduring legendary figures of world literature, remembered not only as a conqueror but also, in many later cultures, as an explorer, philosopher-king and seeker of the limits of the known world.
